The second monitoring report Equal opportunities for women and men: Monitoring law and practice in new member states and accession countries of the EU, 2005, was prepared in the framework of the Network Women's Program "Bringing the EU Home" Project. This is a three year project (2004-2006) which aims to promote awareness, advocacy and enforcement of equal opportunity legislation at the national level and to build the capacity of national actors in civil society to use EU-level mechanisms effectively. The findings and recommendations in Equal Opportunities for Women and Men are based on monitoring conducted by national gender equality experts and local NGO representatives in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Turkey.

The aim of the report is to cover all aspects and present the actual picture of the status of equal opportunities for women and men by comparing 2002 and 2005.

The report describes the changes in the existing legislation and national institutional mechanisms, policies, and programs on gender equality, and highlights several shortcomings. The research identifies a general lack of awareness among men and women about how gender inequality affects their daily lives as well as a lack of political will to enforce existing national and EU gender equality policies.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

Legislation

• A law on the equal treatment for women and men in addition to the Law on Protection against Discrimination to be adopted.

Institutional mechanisms

• Special sub-committee on equal treatment for women and men to be created within the Human Rights and Religious Affairs Committee of the National Assembly;
• Experts in gender issues to be appointed with each Ministry;
• Experts in gender issues to be appointed with each Municipality.
• To provide the necessary financial resources for the establishment of the relevant institutions.

Policies and Programs

• To be developed a National strategy on equal opportunities for women and men.

Research and Statistics

• Gender indicators should be prepared so that the National Statistical Institute and the executive can collect and process statistical data disaggregated by gender to monitor gender equality and develop policies.