ZAGREB, March 7 (Hina) - Women in Croatian society are discriminated against in relation to men, therefore one must adopt laws which will eliminate that inequality and change the general social conscience, it was said at a round
table, entitled 'Gender Equality As A Legal and Social Norm', organised by the German foundation Heinrich Boell Stiftung in Zagreb on Wednesday. Changes brought by transition have negatively affected the position of women in Croatia, said a member of the Women's Section of the Alliance of Independent Trade Unions of Croatia, Jagoda Milidrag Smid. "Union surveys show that women in our society have poorer education and have more difficulty finding a job, that they have jobs that are less responsible and less paid," said Milidrag Smid, adding that due to discrimination, women receive 22 percent lower pensions than men. Today's round table heard two proposals regarding the lega
ZAGREB, March 7 (Hina) - Women in Croatian society are
discriminated against in relation to men, therefore one must adopt
laws which will eliminate that inequality and change the general
social conscience, it was said at a round table, entitled 'Gender
Equality As A Legal and Social Norm', organised by the German
foundation Heinrich Boell Stiftung in Zagreb on Wednesday.
Changes brought by transition have negatively affected the
position of women in Croatia, said a member of the Women's Section
of the Alliance of Independent Trade Unions of Croatia, Jagoda
Milidrag Smid.
"Union surveys show that women in our society have poorer education
and have more difficulty finding a job, that they have jobs that are
less responsible and less paid," said Milidrag Smid, adding that
due to discrimination, women receive 22 percent lower pensions than
men.
Today's round table heard two proposals regarding the legal
regulation of gender equality - a constitutional bill on gender
equality, which has been drawn up by a working group from Zagreb's
Faculty of Law, and a bill on gender equality, drawn up by a group
for women's rights called B.a.B.e.
The constitutional bill on gender equality includes regulations on
the equality of women and men in the area of employment and social
insurance, equal salaries for the same type of work and the
punishment of sexual harassment at work.
The bill also guarantees freedom of sexual orientation and
envisages court protection in case that freedom is infringed.
Similar regulations are envisaged by the B.a.B.e. bill.
The sponsors will see that the bills are forwarded into
parliamentary procedure through a recently established Committee
for Gender Equality.
(hina) sb rml