OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC
of 8th April 1998, No. 236
on the Priorities and Procedure of the Government in Promoting
the Equality of Men and Women

The Government

I. Approves the Priorities and Procedures of the Government in Promoting the Equality of Men and Women set down in Part III of the material submitted, adjusted according to the suggestions of the Government;

II. Enjoins

1. the members of the Government and the Chairman of the Czech Statistical Office to ensure the fulfilment of the measures according to point I of this resolution,

2. the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs to elaborate and submit to the Government by 30th April 1999 a comprehensive report on the fulfilment of the measures according to points I and II/1 of this resolution.

The members of the Government,

The Chairman of the Czech Statistical Office

The Prime Minister

Ing. Josef To�ovský, (signed)

The equality of citizens regardless of their sex is a part of the basic principles of democratic society. The effective action of this principle presumes its precise anchorage in law, legal awareness of its fundaments and its consistent everyday individual promotion. The Government may make an important contribution through its policy to the fulfilment of each of the prerequisites mentioned. Apart from taking targeted measures it influences the public constantly through its everyday attitudes and manifestations of its activity through which it makes clear its own degree of determination to participate in the elimination of stereotypes in the view taken of the role of women in society and in the family.

Measures:
1.1. Within the framework of its medial policy to emphasise the principle of the equal standing of men and women and issue information on measures contributing to the ensuring of this.

Persons responsible: Members of the Government
Deadline: Continuously

1.2. To support the selection of suitable female candidates for functions in Government bodies and in top posts both in ministries and in administrative offices and institutions run by them.

Persons responsible: Members of the Government
Deadline: Continuously

1.3. In the meetings of the Council of Economic and Social Agreement to promote the principle of the equal standing of men and women, especially in questions concerning remuneration and working conditions.

Persons responsible: Government representatives in the Council of Economic and Social Agreement
Deadline: Continuously

1.4. To ensure that the individual ministries and administrative offices continue within their competencies or eventually expand co-operation with non-governmental organisations dealing with questions concerning women or eventually the equality of women and men. Part of this co-operation may also be entitlement to demand standpoints on prepared legislation or other fundamental decisions.

Persons responsible: Members of the Government
Deadline: Continuously

1.5. To utilise the possibilities of Government participation in activities (programmes) of international organisations which set themselves the aim of improving the standing of women in society and raising the level of the equal standing of women and men.

Persons responsible: Members of the Government
Deadline: Continuously

The principle of the equality of women and men is legally ensured in general by the Constitution, or rather by the Charter of Basic Rights and Freedoms, as well as by other basic legal documents. The Czech Republic is also bound to respect it consistently, including its practical implementation, by the requirements of its expected future membership of the EU. An important and indivisible part of the action of this principle is also the ensuring of accessible and effective mechanisms through which it is factually possible to achieve its fulfilment. For the strengthening of social awareness and ensuring the direct enforceability of the rights in question it is desirable that this principle be contained in the appropriate concrete provisions of all legal spheres. The Czech Republic is at present faced with this task during the on-going process of the transformation of the legal codex of the EU into the internal legislation of the country.

Measures:
2.1. To carry out the revision of valid legal regulations with regard to their accordance with the principle of the equal standing of women and men in society, eventually their accordance with the corresponding requirements of EU law. Following on from the results of this revision, to abolish, alter or supplement those valid legal regulations which are at variance with this principle. Then, in the preparation of new regulations, to pay consistent attention to the promotion of the above-mentioned principle.

Persons responsible: Members of the Government
Deadline: December 1999

The traditionally high share of the employment of women continues; also relatively high is the proportion of self-employed women. At present the basic reason for this situation is the continuing high degree of dependence of the majority of families on two working incomes. The extent of the threat of unemployment for women is higher than for men and the chance of finding a new job is, on the contrary, lower for women than for men. In the approach to employment there appears to be a tendency to discriminate against women, especially women with children. The most striking characteristic of the inequality of women and men in the execution of employment is then the factual difference in remuneration.

Measures:
3.1. In the interest of raising the extent of the ability of women to compete on the labour market to continue to support the creation of a range of educational qualification and re-qualification programmes facilitating the finding of suitable jobs for women, including work in the form of self-employment. To devote special attention to the range of educational programmes for women who, due to the rearing of their children, have not been economically active for a lengthy period of time.

Persons responsible: Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and
Minister of Education, Youth and Sport
Deadline: Continuously

3.2. To elaborate and propose a method of evaluating individual types of work in such a way that its use establishes an objective viewpoint for consideration of equality in remuneration.

Person responsible : Minister of Labour and Social Affairs
Deadline : February 1999

3.3. To aim the checks on the observance of labour-legal regulations at the observance of the provisions forbidding discrimination from the point of view of sex, including the observance of the principle of equal wages for equal work and for work of the same value, and at the observance of provisions on increased protection for women at work.

Person responsible : Minister of Labour and Social Affairs
Deadline : Continuously

Care of children and the family is mainly ensured by women. The unfavourable social consequences brought about by the execution of this care therefore affect mainly the women. True equality and the opportunity for the self-realisation of both sexes can be realised only if there exist real guarantees that neither sex will be discriminated against while caring for children and the family, eventually that the appropriate measures buffering the unfavourable social consequences of the execution of this care will not be intended exclusively for women.

Measures:
4.1. To promote that the essential execution of personal care for children and needy members of the family be taken into account in determining the conditions and the level of entitlement to social benefits, social insurance, unemployment benefits, etc.; at the same time to ensure that this taking into account is aimed consistently at the citizens doing the caring, regardless of their sex.

Person responsible : Minister of Labour and Social Affairs
Deadline : Continuously

4.2. Through the future legal arrangement of working relations to enable the creation of variable working hours which would make it easier for employees caring for children and family to combine the execution of employment with the execution of family responsibilities.

Person responsible : Minister of Labour and Social Affairs
Deadline : Continuously

4.3. Within the framework of their legal competencies to support the establishment and operation of facilities for the care of children and needy members of the family, especially if they supplement or replace the care provided by employed citizens.

Persons responsible: Minister of Education, Youth and Sport,
Minister of Health, Minister for Local Development
Deadline: Continuously

4.4. To support the development of the possibility of sheltered housing for citizens caring for children under difficult situations in their lives.

Person responsible: Minister of Labour and Social Affairs
Deadline: Continuously

5. The Respecting of Women with Regard to their Reproductive Function and Physiological Differences

The state of health of women merits important and constant attention, especially with regard to their reproductive health. Part of the protection of the biological function of women is taking it into account in the creation of suitable working conditions for women and safety and health protection at work.

Measures:
5.1. In the future adjustment of working relations to continue to promote the increased protection of the labour-legal conditions of women, especially pregnant women and the mothers of the youngest children.

Persons responsible: Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and
Minister of Health
Deadline: Continuously

5.2. In connection with the state budget to develop the National Programme of Health and to support projects in support of health aimed at improving the reproductive health of women and at the prevention of cardiovascular and tumorous diseases.

Person responsible: Minister of Health
Deadline: Continuously

The proportion of women who are victims of crimes is growing, the nature of the shows of violence to which women are exposed is changing. Some new forms of undesirable and eventually violent behaviour towards women, for instance domestic violence, sexual harassment or trading in women are difficult to qualify legally and therefore also difficult to penalise. The consequences of the suffering of the victims of violent crimes are not taken into account socially to an adequate extent.

Measures:
6.1. To evaluate the efficacy of present legislation in relation to the new manifestations of violence committed against women, including trading in women, domestic violence and sexual harassment. If the results of this evaluation show the insufficiency of present penalties, measures will be proposed to increase their efficiency. In this connection to propose measures for the protection of women witnesses who have become victims of the trade in women.

Persons responsible: Minister of Justice and Minister of the Interior
Deadline: March 1999

6.2. To support the activity of interdisciplinary teams combining health, social, legal and police assistance in the discovering and penalising of cases of violence against women.

Persons responsible: Minister of the Interior, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and Minister of Health
Deadline: Continuously

6.3. To concentrate social work on assistance for victims of violent crimes, on families where the healthy development and education of children, particularly girls, is at risk. Within the framework of this assistance to support the expansion of the network of shelters for women who are the victims of violence, especially women with children.

Person responsible: Minister of Labour and Social Affairs
Deadline: Continuously

The consistent suppression of manifestations of discrimination against women in society presumes their recognition (investigation), systematic study and the evaluation of their status and extent. Their regular systematic evaluation with regard to the efficiency of the implementation of the principle of the equal standing of men and women in society is not yet being carried out. The right to require from the appropriate departments reports and data on the state of the securing of equal standing for men and women is the basic prerequisite for the activity of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the co-ordinator of this agenda.

Measures:
7.1. Within the framework of their authority to study and evaluate the efficiency of the measures for the implementation of the principle of the equality of men and women and submit their results on request to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

Persons responsible: Members of the Government
Deadline: Continuously

7.2. To evaluate the effectiveness of the measures for implementation of the principle of equality and on request submit this to the Government and non-governmental organisations dealing with the standing of women and the equality of men and women.

Person responsible: Minister of Labour and Social Affairs
Deadline: Continuously

7.3. In co-operation with the Czech Statistics Office and the appropriate Ministries to evaluate the structure and contents of the statistical study of the data classified according to sex, eventually to demand changes and supplementation of these from the Czech Statistical Office.

Persons responsible: Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and
Chairman of the Czech Statistical Office
Deadline: March 1999

7.4. Within the framework of its grant policy to support the research of social phenomena which lead to discrimination against women, eventually to the threatening of their dignity, health or lives.

Persons responsible: Members of the Government
Deadline: Continuously

7.5. To elaborate a proposal for the monitoring of court negotiations of cases of discrimination on grounds of sex and cases of the suppression of other rights belonging to women.

Person responsible: Minister of Justice
Deadline: March 1999

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