Apr 23

Governmental annual report on gender equality

Economic and Social Council discussed at its meeting on 22.4.2013 the draft of the Summary report on the state of gender equality in Slovakia in 2012 and recommended its approval to the Government. The Government of SR approoved the Report on its session on 24th April. The Report will be presented to the National Parliament of SR.

In the fifth gender equality report Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and the Family presented focus on the gender impact  of the economic crisis on the lives of women and men in Slovakia, as well as on gender relations in work and private life. Structure of the report therefore does not reflect the traditional themes of gender equality as in previous reports, but rather follows the analytical purpose in terms of the gender speciffic impact of the crisis.

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Apr 23

Women earn 20 percent less than men in Slovakia

The gap between the average salaries received by men and women in Slovakia has narrowed over the past decade by 7 percent, but women are still being paid 20.5 percent less on average than men, Oľga Pietruchová of the Labour, Social Affairs and Family Ministry’s gender equality department said at a press conference on Thursday, April 4.

This means that women in Slovakia need to work more than two months more on average to receive the same annual salary as their male counterparts. Pietruchová said, as quoted by the TASR newswire, that the recent reduction in the salary gap is a consequence of the economic crisis and a general drop in salaries. She added that the smallest difference is between men and women who have lower salaries. “The greatest gap [between women and men] is among university graduates with top senior posts.” While the salary gap between men and women in Slovakia is roughly 20 percent, women in the European Union earn 16.2 percent less than men on average.

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Mar 23

Gender dependent insurance prices to end in April

Differing prices of insurance policies for men and women, for example, for road accident car insurance, are set to become history in Slovakia starting in April 2013. This comes as a result of the amendment to the anti-discrimination law elaborated by the Justice Ministry and green-lighted by parliament on Tuesday, February 5.

Until now, in Slovakia it was not deemed discrimination if an insurer issued different, gender-based insurance prices, and gender was often the decisive factor. The respective provision will now be omitted from the law. Slovakia must change the current rules according to a verdict of the European Court of Justice, which cancels the last exception for the use of the gender factor in setting insurance premiums or bonuses in the respective EU directive.

(Source: SITA)

Dec 04

Slovak NGOs join anti-violence push

BEATING, rape, verbal threats: none of these acts are imagined to be part of an intimate relationship, yet they are among the common forms of gender-based violence occurring mostly behind the closed doors of people’s homes. Domestic violence might seem to be a rare problem, as it is seldom discussed in public. In reality, however, statistics show that it is not an infrequent occurrence. In Slovakia, NGOs dealing with the rights of women claim half a million women suffer from violence from their intimate partners.

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Aug 01

LGBT community will have representation from Government Council

 

(Slovak Spectator) The LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender) community in Slovakia will see its dream of having a committee at the Government Council for Human Rights, Minorities, and Gender Equality come true. Members of the council voted to establish the committee for the LGBT community at their first meeting, presided over by the new head of the current government consulting body, Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák. None of the members voted against the proposal while nobody abstained from voting, either.

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Jul 02

Gay rights groups lobby for their own committee

Slovak Spectator / Michaela Terenzani – Stanková /

THE PREVIOUS post of a deputy prime minister for human rights is now history after the government of Prime Minister Robert Fico eliminated the position within the Government Office. Nevertheless an advisory body that has responsibility for overseeing human rights in Slovakia is still functioning and that has been welcomed by representatives of NGOs who were concerned that the council might be eliminated as well. But since the council has no specific committee that monitors the protection of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) residents in Slovakia, that community is calling for a new committee to be formed within the council. Read more

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Jun 28

Labour ministry says gender pay gap narrows significantly

Slovak Spectator / Although a gender salary gap persists in Slovakia at about 20 percent, the gap has decreased by one-fifth in the past five years, states a document drafted by the Labour Ministry and approved by the government on June 27, the TASR newswire reported. The document states that even though women have very good educational levels that are often higher than those of men, women earn less because education in certain fields typical for women is less valued. Read more

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Jun 19

It’s time to go from legislation to good practice

Interview with Slovak MEP MMrs. Edit Bauer: Gender pay gap: “It’s time to go from legislation to good practice” avaiable here

Jun 18

Pride march passes off peacefully

THE ORGANISERS of Slovakia’s third Rainbow Pride march, held on June 9, advised those who planned to turn up and show their support for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) citizens to be careful and take precautions with their personal safety. They recommended that attendees leave the event in groups, even if this meant teaming up with strangers, and that before doing so they remove rainbow insignia from their faces with a damp napkin, peel off stickers and pack away banners. The advice was mainly in response to the violence witnessed during the first-ever Rainbow Pride march in May 2010, when around 100 anti-gay protesters, including dozens of supporters of an extremist political movement, attacked the parade, hurling stones and tear gas canisters. Read more

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May 21

Earnings gap for women is 20.7 pct

Slovak Spectator / SLOVAK women must work three months longer in a year to make the same pay as men. Oľga Pietruchová of the gender equality office of the Labour Ministry told the TASR newswire that the average difference in the hourly pay of men and women in Slovakia is 20.7 percent as compared to 16.4 percent for all of Europe. Slovakia marks Pay Equality Day on March 30 while the EU does so on March 5.

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