Maty, your treasured auto mechanic

(16. 7. 2010) - Czech labor market suffers from a strong horizontal segregation caused by persisting gender stereotypes. We all know that if things are to change, children and youth have to start being brought up in a gender sensitive way.
Why could a boy not work as a kindergarten teacher and why could a girl not become an IT expert? Wishing to influence the young generation, Gender Studies, in cooperation with the Czech artist Dora Dutková, brought into life an entertaining video cartoon featuring Maty – a fantastic female auto mechanic.

Shortcomings in Rape Survivor Care – Quality of Services for Rape Survivors in the Czech Republic

(24. 6. 2010) - In order to set the terms for a professional discussion on the critical issues, representatives of Persefona, Jitka Čechová and Hana Jandová have carried out a basic assessment of the state of services and aid currently available to rape survivors in the Czech Republic. The main focus was to identify situations in which rape survivors do not receive appropriate care or in which their human rights are infringed upon. An essential part of the study was also to compile a list of service providers that serve survivors of rape. The sources of the analysis were public documents, studies, case studies, publications, methodologies, internal documents, the law and the practical experience of the staff at the Persefona NGO. In addition, in the course of our research, there were conducted interviews with experts from the police force, government offices, the courts, the medical field and the staff of social services NGOs. The text Shortcomings in Rape Survivor Care – Quality of Services for Rape Survivors in the Czech Republic summarizes the main findings focusing on the areas that beg the interest of the relevant professionals and their close cooperation so that the human rights of rape survivors are fully protected.

A Few Reflections on the Legal Provisions on Rape

(22. 6. 2010) - The following text focuses on legal issues from the perspective of the rape survivor. It examines the way the law deals with interpersonal violence and its adequacy, and outlines potential changes that might lead to improving the current state of affairs. With this goal in mind, this text first discusses substantive and procedural criminal law and then briefly refers to the developments in international law. The main theoretical positions analyzing the wrongs caused by sexual violence are presented in the conclusion.

EQ-TRAIN newsletter no. 3: Gender Pay Gap in Europe

(10. 5. 2010) - Welcome to the third EQ-Train newsletter. Gender Studies is taking part in an international project that focuses on Equal Pay, the equality of income between women and men. In this newsletter EQ-Train partners from the Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, Spain, and Slovakia describe ways how to tackle unequal pay.

COMPANY OF THE YEAR: Equal Opportunities 2009

(4. 1. 2010) - Company of the Year The winners of Equal Opportunities 2009 have been announced: The companies that support equal opportunities for women and men and life-work balance of their employees most effectively are Česká Spořitelna (Czech Savings Bank), IBM CR, and Unicredit Bank CR. In the 6th annual competition held by NGO Gender Studies, the winners placed on the following order: Česká Spořitelna (Czech Savings Bank) first, IBM CR second, and Unicredit Bank CR third. OLHO-Technik Czech won a special prize titled the Gender Studies Social Award for supporting life-work balance. The results of the competition were announced at the conference Cracks in the Glass Ceiling: Women in Management and Untraditional Occupations held by Gender Studies on November 11, 2009.

EQ-TRAIN newsletter no. 2: Gender Pay Gap in Europe

(29. 12. 2009) - Welcome to the second EQ-Train newsletter. In the course of this international project we would like to inform you about new angles and emphases in the area of gender-sensitive vocational orientation. Our central focus is on Equal Pay, the equality of income between women and men. In this newsletter EQ-Train partners from the Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, Spain, and Slovakia describe five of the main obstacles on the way to Equal Pay.

EQ-TRAIN: international project

(27. 12. 2009) - In the course of this international project we would like to add new angles and emphases to the area of gender-sensitive vocational orientation. The focus will be on Equal Pay: (Un)Fairness in income between women and men is one of the central issues of equality politics today. Inequality on the labour market has one of its roots in the choice of profession. The reasons why people choose a certain profession or type of education or training have a lot to do with traditional gender roles: Professions in the technical sector are still seen as "the man's domain", whereas "supporting" professions in the area of education or health care are still "the woman's domain". Very often women do not take into account the financial effects of their decision. Because, despite legal regulations designed to assure equal opportunities and equal payment for work of equal value, it still goes today: Professions normally exercised by men are considerably better paid. For this reason, one of the concerns of EQ-Train is to contribute to a raising of awareness on a broad scale and to connect all the main actors in the areas of education and training, labour market and equal treatment, in order to foster cooperation.

Women in Times of Change, 1989-2009 (Publication by Heinrich Böll Stiftung)

(15. 12. 2009) - The twentieth anniversary of the 1989 breakthrough is an occasion for summaries. In spite of the twenty years of democratic transformation, women did not manage to reduce their distance from men enough for their voice to be clearly heard in public debate. Furthermore, the account of the past two decades, as seen from the women's perspective, is not exactly in tune with the celebratory anniversary atmosphere. It is a paradox that for women in the former Eastern Bloc the freedom regained in 1989 was often combined with significant limitations of economic, social and reproductive rights. Publication is available in pdf.

Gender Issues 2007: Violence against Women, Gender Pay Gap, Access to Childcare Facilities, Implementing Gender Policies (Publication by Heinrich Böll Stiftung)

(23. 11. 2009) - The publication contains summaries of national reports devoted to the mentioned issues in particular countries. Along with the analysis of existing laws and case studies each report includes recommendations addressed to state governments. Publication is supposed to reach political decision makers at different levels, including public administration in charge of implementation of the gender equality and anti-discriminatory policies; women’s and feminist organizations, including informal groups and human rights, as well as minorities’ rights organizations; experts in gender equality and human rights framework; media.

Gender Issues 2008: Gender-Sensitive Education (Publication by Heinrich Böll Stiftung)

(23. 11. 2009) - The objective of the reports prepared by Gender Studies from the Czech Republic, the Feminoteka Foundation from Poland, Aspekt from Slovakia and the Liberal Society Institute from Ukraine was to examine to what extent gender equality issues are represented in schools, teaching programmes, handbooks and during lessons conducted by teachers. Furthermore, the authors of the reports analysed the extent to which the state actively included those issues in the system of education, according to the principle of gender mainstreaming, which is one of the pillars of the EU’s equality policy.