This year, the Czech Republic is below the European Union’s (EU) average results in terms of equality between women and men, according to the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE).
The representation in decision-making positions is low. According to Daniela Němcová, director of the Business for Society platform, the problem is, among other things, the lack of childcare facilities.
The EIGE index is supposed to tell how far the EU countries went with gender equality based on six areas: work, money, education, time, decision-making positions, and health. Czechs performed their best result in the last category with 86.3 out of a maximum of 100 points. However, compared to other countries, it is one of the lowest scores in this category.
The Czech Republic ranked 23rd with 56.2 points, leaving Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia behind. The best results belong to Sweden, Denmark, and France who shared the first three places. The lowest score was in the decision-making category (27.7 points), which Němcová described as disturbing:
“In practice, this means that Czech women are not represented in almost any decision-making positions in politics, economics, science, media, or sports.”
Němcová explained that qualified women face many problems with equality at the working place after the birth of children. “This is due to the lack of childcare facilities for children under three years of age, children’s groups and nurseries, as well as the lack of flexible working hours,” she added.
As for salary equality, women still earn significantly less than men in the Czech Republic on average, based on this year’s data from the European Statistical Office (Eurostat). The average gross hourly payment for women is 20.1 percent lower.
Next year, the government will discuss the new strategy of equality between women and men for the years 2021-2030. The Department of Gender Equality worked on a list of measures, which include the promotion of diversity in public administration or the development of guidelines for large companies to promote participation of women in their structures.
