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On the Road to the EU: Monitoring Equal Opportunities for Women and Men in South Eastern Europe
Monday, June 19, 2006 10:30 AM
The Open Society Institute Network Women’s Program has released a report entitled "On the Road to the EU: Monitoring Equal Opportunities for Women and Men in South Eastern Europe." It addresses the situation of gender equality in Eastern European states preparing for EU accession, specifically Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Serbia and Montenegro. The study monitored and analyzed current national legislation, institutions, and practices regarding gender equality in order to gauge how well the countries in question are complying with EU standards. In particular, the report focuses on the principle of equal pay for equal work, employment discrimination, protection of pregnant women and new mothers, and self-employed women. Although progress has been made in recent years in South Eastern Europe to bring national policies on gender equality in line with EU standards, the report indicates that significant work remains. Notably, more than half the women in the region are unemployed. Women who do have jobs receive considerably less pay than their male counterparts. The absence of laws protecting pregnant women and new mothers is a further hindrance to gender equality in the workplace. The report provides specific recommendations for each country on how to enhance and modify their national policies on gender equality for better compliance with EU standards. Compiled from: "On the Road to the EU: Monitoring Equal Opportunities for Women and Men in South Eastern Europe," Open Society Institute Network Women’s Program, 2006. (PDF, 89 pages).
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