Prague, March 17 (CTK) – Czech Human Rights, Equal Opportunities and Legislation Minister Jiri Dienstbier (Social Democrats, CSSD) wants at least 40 percent of managerial posts to be occupied by women by 2020, daily Hospodarske noviny (HN) writes yesterday.
Dienstbier also pushes for a higher number of women on the lists of election candidates.
Though 61 percent of university graduates in the Czech Republic are women, they do not occupy many decisive posts in firms and state offices. Only less than one-fifth of the members of the government and the lower house of Czech parliament are women. Women make up 27 percent of representatives in municipal assemblies.
Only 13 percent of women sit on the supervisory boards of the 250 biggest firms in the Czech Republic, according to an analysis of the Business for Society organisation.
To redress the situation, Dienstbier’s office has worked out an action plan with 38 tasks for ministers in the next two years that he has sent to them for comments, HN writes.
The aim of the action plan is to get more women to managerial posts.
Dienstbier argues that a higher number of female managers will have a positive economic effect. Varied teams with an equal representation of women and men are more efficient, he says.
Along with at least 40 percent of women in decisive positions by 2020, his action plans is to support girls’ studies of technical fields both at secondary schools and universities and introduce subsidies for an equal share of men and women in high media posts.
Lucie Zachariasova, head of the government section for gender equality, says exactly the 40 percent level is ideal for women to have a stronger influence on decision-making.
At present, women face various disadvantaged positions, the “glass ceiling” or an unseen, yet unbreakable barrier that keeps them from rising to upper posts, one of the action plan’s authors told HN.
If the ministers do not raise serious objections to the plan and the government approves it, she lists of candidates for general, regional and EP elections will also change and they will have to include at least 40 percent of women.
Moreover, Dienstbier’s office will monitor the use of possible gender stereotypes during elections campaigns.
The Czech Statistical Office (CSU) will be collecting information about women’s representation in high posts in the education and research sectors as well as in the media and sports organisations and differences in salaries between men and women, HN says.
Dienstbier plans to apply various strategies to bring more women to the management of firms or offices, for instance, transparent selection rules for decisive posts, mainly in the business companies with a state share and fully state firms, HN writes.
However, the state companies, addressed by HN, say they have taken equal opportunities into consideration.
“We prefer neither men nor women in competitions for any posts and want to keep this stance,” Lesy CR state forestry company spokeswoman Eva Jouklova told HN.
Though the company employs 90 percent of men as forestry experts, women prevail in the posts of lawyers, accountants and personnel managers, she added.
Besides, the action plan orders the Finance Ministry to prepare tax reliefs for the firms that see to the equal representation of women and men and offer flexible working hours to parents looking after small children. Dienstbier is also considering introducing paternity leave and support for parents of children under two years who want to return to the labour market, HN writes.
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