The European Union (EU) gender-equality acquis has been transposed into Croatian laws as part of the accession process to the EU. In anticipation of its becoming an EU member, the Republic of Croatia invested significant efforts in the promotion of gender equality through national policies aimed at improving the position of women, such as the creation of a Gender-Equality Commission as a government advisory body (1996–2004). The commission produced the first National Policy for the Promotion of Gender Equality by taking the Beijing Platform for Action as a starting point.
About
Stuctures
- Commissions for gender equality in the counties, towns and municipalities
The Government Office for Gender Equality was created in 2004 and its role was defined in the Gender Equality Act. It is a non-ministerial government agency that serves as an advisory body to the government and to those who execute specific tasks. Other departments or ministries consult the Government Office for Gender Equality when making new policy plans and evaluating policies (in policy fields other than gender equality).
Laws and Policies
In 1997, the government’s first National Policy for the Promotion of Gender Equality was adopted, taking the Beijing Platform for Action as a starting point. After several intervening policies, the current policy, the Fourth National Policy for Gender Equality (2011–2015), was adopted. It defines new national priorities and modes of implementation, taking into account progress achieved in terms of accomplishing gender equality and the challenges that remain.
Methods & Tools
Clear gender-mainstreaming guidelines are still lacking and gender-mainstreaming methods are not systematically deployed, given that the Government Office for Gender Equality is understaffed and limited in its implementation of the tasks listed in the Gender Equality Act. However, since 2008, Office for Gender Equality holds training seminars on gender equality regularly three to four times a year for civil servants in public administration. Nearly 10% of all employed have been trained so far.
