Description
Surveys confirm that in Poland the roles of women and men are still perceived traditionally, and the perception has its consequences in many areas of social life, resulting in discrimination of women on the job market and in public space. The situation has its source and is reflected in the existing law. The main objective of the project is to identify legal gaps leading to gender discrimination and to review the existing regulations as to equal treatment of women and men. As a result of the monitoring, a Green Book will be prepared containing recommendations for legal amendments in the fields of healthcare and job market, leading to possible elimination of discriminatory legal provisions. An important element of the project will be to inform on the problem of inequality the lawyers specialising in the job market and healthcare, as well as practitioners and theorists of law interested in the issue of gender discrimination and people with legal education who care about gender equality.
Summary of project results
"Gender-based discrimination remains a huge issue in Poland. In 2013, over 1/4 of women experienced manifestations of discrimination because of gender, and 40% of all persons surveyed said that life in Poland is better for men than for women [CBOS BS/31/2013]. More and more organisations and activists unertake activities intended to level off chances of women and men. But the activities cannot be effective unless the existing legal frameworks in Poland include principles of equal treatment of both sexes. The Constitution of the Republic of Poland says that ""women and men have in the Republic of Poland equal rights in family, political, social and economic life"", and Poland signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, but legal provisions and legal notions can be encountered that have discriminatory nature. The aim of the project was to identify legal loopholes leading to discrimination because of gender, in order to amend the deficient legal regulations. As a result of the implementation of the project, the existing legal regulations were reviewed as to their conformity with the principle of equal treatment of women and men, and the knowledge on the problem of discriminating legal regulations was disseminated. Under the project, the Green Book of (In)equality of sexes in law was prepared, describing 15 cases of regulations in the fields of healthcare, employment market and situation of LGBT persons. The publication indicates discriminatory legal notions and institutional addressees of the needed changes. Also the report ""(In)equality of sexes in law - practical effects of impractical regulations?"" was published, analysing social effects of discussed legal inequalities, as well as an expert opinion ""Situation of women in the pension system"". An important part of the project was to inform on the problem of legal inequalities through five lectures for law students in different cities, attended by over 100 persons, as well as a disseminating seminar for experts on the pension gap - the difference in pensions between women and men. The project benefited 150 persons participating in the events concerning problems of gender-related discriminatory legal regulations."
Summary of bilateral results