Hungary
Legislative and policy framework
The concept of gender mainstreaming and the introduction of gender equality policies followed the process of accession to the European Union (EU) in 2004. In 2003, Hungary transposed the EU acquis communautaire through the adoption of Act CXXV on Equal Treatment and the Promotion of Equality of Opportunities.
There is no targeted law on gender equality in Hungary. Sex is listed as one of several grounds on which negative discrimination is prohibited by Act CXXV of 2003 on Equal Treatment and the Promotion of Equality of Opportunities, which establishes the principle of equal treatment[1].
The Fundamental Law of Hungary entered into force on 1 January 2012 which, under Article XV para (3), establishes that ‘Women and men shall have equal rights’, while para (5) establishes the protection of women through positive actions. Article L para (1) declares that the Hungarian state protects marriage as a ‘union of a man and a woman’ and ‘the family as the basis of survival of the nation’[2].
Gender mainstreaming efforts in Hungary are planned through the National Strategy for the Promotion of Gender Equality – Guidelines and Objectives 2010–2021 (Nők és Férfiak Társadalmi Egyenlőségét Elősegítő Nemzeti Stratégia - Irányok és Célok 2010-2021)[3] and the Action Plan ‘Empowering Women in the Family and Society Action Plan 2021-2030'[4].
The National Strategy for the Promotion of Gender Equality – Guidelines and Objectives 2010–2021 (Nők és Férfiak Társadalmi Egyenlőségét Elősegítő Nemzeti Stratégia - Irányok és Célok 2010-2021) was approved by the Hungarian government in 2010.[5] It aims to achieve its objectives by mainstreaming gender into the planning, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation phases of political processes. For the first two years (2010–2011), the strategy defined six objectives.
The 2020 Action Plan, titled ‘Empowering Women in the Family and Society Action Plan 2021-2030, prepared for the European Union' (Az Európai Unió számára készített “A nők szerepének erősítése a családban és a társadalomban” akcióterv (2021-2030))[6] identifies three general objectives.
Empowering Women in the Family and Society Action Plan 2021-2030 Objectives
- promoting work-life balance
- increasing women’s participation in areas where they are currently underrepresented
- ensuring equal social and economic protection to men and women
However, the strategy was not implemented and consequently, there have been no progress reports or evaluation of these objectives.
There is no publicly available information on the state of implementation of the strategy or action plan.
Structures
Governmental equality bodies
Responsibility for gender equality at the national level is held by the Minister Responsible for Family Affairs (a Minister without a portfolio) who directly reports to the Prime Minister. The Minister has a broad scope of responsibilities, including family affairs, children’s affairs, youth, and protection of the elderly.[7] Gender issues belong directly to the Women’s Policy Unit, which operates under the Department of Adoption and Women’s Policy (Örökbefogadási és Nőpolitikai Főosztály). The work of the department is directed by a Deputy State Secretary, responsible for Family Policies (Családpolitikáért Felelős Helyettes Államtitkár).
Responsibilities of the Department of Adoption and Women’s Policy include preparing legislative proposals in the areas related to women’s policy and monitoring their implementation. The Department also contributes to the coordination of governmental programs in the fields of women’s (and children’s) healthcare and mental wellbeing; family protection; pro-family policies; and reproductive health. The Department is further responsible for contributing to women’s policy-related tasks identified by the European Union and other international bodies.[8]
The Women’s Rights Thematic Working Group (Nők Jogaiért Felelős Munkacsoport ) within the Human Rights Roundtable (Emberi Jogi Kerekasztal) is a consulting body, comprising representatives of 26 NGOs who are permanent members and representatives of nine NGOs who are invited members. The Working Group is headed by the Minister Responsible for Family Affairs and is responsible for discussing issues arising related to women’s rights and making proposals to decision-makers.
The Women’s Rights Thematic Working Group (Nők Jogaiért Felelős Munkacsoport[9]) within the Human Rights Roundtable (Emberi Jogi Kerekasztal) in the Ministry of Justice is an ad hoc body for coordinating gender mainstreaming.
Independent equality body
Act CXXV of 2003 on Equal Treatment and the Promotion of Equality of Opportunities ensures compliance with equal treatment principles by state and non-state actors in Hungary. In the Act, the Equal Treatment Authority (Egyenlő Bánásmód Hatóság – EBH) was established and entrusted to deal with complaints related to a list of protected characteristics. The list of protected characteristics includes gender, as well as ethnic origin, race, skin colour, age, mother tongue, disability, state of health, motherhood (pregnancy) or fatherhood, family status, sexual orientation, gender identity, social origin, financial status, religious or ideological beliefs, political or other opinion, part-time or fixed-term employment status, and membership of a representative organisation. The EBH can initiate proceedings against an employer/public institution at the request of an individual.
In January 2021, the responsibilities of the Equal Treatment Authority were taken over by the General Directorate for Equal Treatment, under the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights[10]. The General Directorate continues acting under the Act CXXV of 2003 on Equal Treatment and the Promotion of Equality of Opportunities.
Parliamentary bodies
There are no representative elected bodies in Hungary nor is there any regular reporting to representative elected bodies on the progress of gender equality efforts. The Office of the Hungarian Parliament produces occasional briefs (i.e. provides fact-sheets) on gender-related topics such as work-life balance (in 2019[11]), the impact of COVID-19 on women (in 2021[12]).
Methods and tools
Gender impact assessment and gender budgeting
There is no regular monitoring or systematic analysis of the development of gender mainstreaming actions, gender equality mechanisms and policies. There is also no systematic gender mainstreaming or gender budgeting in the national public administration in Hungary.
Training and awareness-raising
According to information provided by the Ministry of Human Capacities, there is no gender equality training organised for governmental employees in Hungary – neither in a mandatory nor on a voluntary basis.
Gender statistics
In Hungary, there is no legal obligation or any other kind of agreement in place for the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (HCSO - Központi Statisztikai Hivatal) or other bodies to collect data disaggregated by sex or disseminate gender statistics.
While no dedicated section on gender-statistics is available, the HCSO website[13] provides freely accessible sex-disaggregated data on topics such as “Healthcare”, “Living conditions” and “Income and consumption”. Specific datasets and indicators that are sex-disaggregated include: quarterly employment data (from 2009 onwards); net income (from 2019); detailed time-use data disaggregated by gender (1986, 1999, 2009); and living with a physical restriction and occurrence of chronic illness, subjective health status (2010, with no end date).
Starting in 2001, the HCSO has published a series of reports titled ‘Women and Men in Hungary’ (Nők és férfiak Magyarországon). The report is published biannually, with the most recent report issued in 2020 and includes data for 2019[14]. The table of contents is available free-of-charge online together with some sample-pages. The full publication is available in print format, for a fee. The publication contains gender statistics on health and healthcare, education, research and innovation, social protection, employment, wages, consumption and pensions, crime, and tourism.
No other public institution actively produces sex-disaggregated data. The Centre for Economic and Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences issues a freely downloadable annual publication on ‘The Hungarian Labour Market’ (Munkaerőpiaci Tükör)[15], including employment-related longitudinal data, some of which are sex-disaggregated. Furthermore, the 2018 issue focused specifically on women in the labour market and provides more nuanced sex-disaggregated data on economic activity for the years 1980–2017.
Good practices
References
Endnotes
[1] Act CXXV of 2003 on Equal Treatment and Promotion of Equal Opportunities. Available from: https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/library-document/act-cxxv-2003-equal-treatment-and-promotion-equal-opportunities_en
[2] Alaptörvény - Magyarország Alaptörvénye (2011. április 25.). Available from: https://net.jogtar.hu/jogszabaly?docid=A1100425.ATV
[3] Government Resolution No.1004/I.21 on the National Strategy for the Promotion of Gender Equality – Guidelines and Objectives 2010-2021. Available from: https://docplayer.hu/1703788-A-nok-es-ferfiak-tarsadalmi-egyenloseget-elosegito-nemzeti-strategia-iranyok-es-celok-2010-2021.html
[4] Az Európai Unió számára készített “A nők szerepének erősítése a családban és a társadalomban Akcióterv (2021-2030). Available from: https://cdn.kormany.hu/uploads/sheets/5/52/527/527244615b5f9cd9e12ebdf761f1b36.pdf
[5] Government Resolution No.1004/I.21 on the National Strategy for the Promotion of Gender Equality – Guidelines and Objectives 2010-2021. Available from: https://docplayer.hu/1703788-A-nok-es-ferfiak-tarsadalmi-egyenloseget-elosegito-nemzeti-strategia-iranyok-es-celok-2010-2021.html
[6] Az Európai Unió számára készített “A nők szerepének erősítése a családban és a társadalomban Akcióterv (2021-2030)”. https://cdn.kormany.hu/uploads/sheets/5/52/527/527244615b5f9cd9e12ebdf761f1b36.pdf
[7] As explained in the following document: A Miniszterelnökséget vezető miniszter 5/2021. (III. 19.) MvM utasítása a Miniszterelnökség Szervezeti és Működési Szabályzatáról szóló 14/2018. (VII. 3.) MvM utasítás módosításáról. Available from: https://magyarkozlony.hu/dokumentumok/a55d738ead5e1082c8fee7cc6c31e17ddaa1702e/megtekintes#;=%22%C3%B6r%C3%B6kbefogad%C3%A1si%20%C3%A9s%20n%C5%91politikai%22
[8] A Miniszterelnökséget vezető miniszter 5/2021. (III. 19.) MvM utasítása a Miniszterelnökség Szervezeti és Működési Szabályzatáról szóló 14/2018. (VII. 3.) MvM utasítás módosításáról. Available from: https://magyarkozlony.hu/dokumentumok/a55d738ead5e1082c8fee7cc6c31e17ddaa1702e/megtekintes
[9] Nők Jogaiért Felelős Tematikus Munkacsoport. Available from: https://emberijogok.kormany.hu/nok-jogaiert-felelos-tematikus-munkacsoport
[10] EGYENLŐ BÁNÁSMÓDÉRT FELELŐS FŐIGAZGATÓSÁG. Available from: https://www.ajbh.hu/en/ebff
[11] A Munka és a magánélet egyensúlya. (Work-life balance). Available from: https://egeszsegvonal.gov.hu/maradj-egeszseges/munka-es-maganelet-egyensulya.html
[12] A COVID-19 járvány hatása a női munkavállalókra (The COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on female employees). Available from: https://www.parlament.hu/documents/10181/39233854/Infojegyzet_2021_13_COVID_noi_munkavallalok.pdf/11f71526-6ae0-e67d-25d6-fc3994dd5ec6?t=1618556805003
[13] Központi Statisztikai Hivatal, Homepage. Available from: - Központi Statisztikai Hivatal
[14] Nők és férfiak Magyarországon, 2019. Available from: https://www.ksh.hu/apps/shop.kiadvany?p_kiadvany_id=1058904&p_temakor_kod=KSH&p_lang=HU
[15] Munkaerőpiaci Tükör. Available from: https://kti.krtk.hu/kategoria/publikaciok/kti-kiadvany/munkaeropiaci-tukor/