GENDER EQUALITY:

ESTONIA

Presentation by Liina Käär

Project manager at NGO Tõstamaa Manor

STATISTICS

•Average equality index is 50 – Europe average is 54 (equality – 100, inequality 0)

•Most problematic areas:

•Power 27,5

•Money 49,1

(estonian women get approx. 30% less money than men for same job on same position)

•Most advanced areas:

•Health 83,8

•Work 64,4Source: eige.europe.eu

IMPROVEMENTS ON LEGAL LEVEL

• From 2005–2012, a dual approach was used for

promoting gender equality in Estonia, undertaking both

specific actions and promoting the implementation of a

gender mainstreaming strategy.

• Although there has been no general gender equality

action plan, gender equality issues and/or problems have

been considered in different policy documents, e.g., the

National Health Plan 2009–2020,the Development Plan

for Reducing Violence for the years 2010–2014 and the

Development Plan of Children and Families 2012–2020.

IMPROVEMENTS ON LEGAL LEVEL 2

• January 2009, the areas of responsibility of the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Gender Equality Commissioner, and independent and impartial experts were respectively widened-Equal Treatment Act

• Several activities to promote gender equality in working life have been carried out under the Estonian European Social Fund programmes Promoting Gender Equality 2008– 2010 and Promoting Gender Equality 2011–2013.

• In December 2011, the Government of the Republic adopted new Rules for Good Legislative Drafting and Technical Rules for Drafts of Legislative Acts which foresees an obligation of impact analysis of draft legislation.

• In June 2012, the new Public Service Act was adopted and entered into force on 1 April 2013. The remaining reference to equal treatment in the new act states that public offices have to ensure the protection of public servants against discrimination, follow the principle of equal treatment and promote equality.

Non-profit feminine cultural festival:

• Workshops (e.g. Comic book workshop "Stories of

Women" )

• Movie programme

• Different cultural events (e.g. Poetry roundtable at Kapsad

Library. The roundtable will focus on both published and

new poetry. We will deform masculine poetry from a

feminist perspective by using the cut-up technique.)