Lithuania

The Law on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (1998) [2] and the Law on Equal Treatment (2005) [3] provide for consistent and systematic implementation of programmes, measures and projects and are aimed at fostering de facto gender equality.

The Law on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men forbids any discrimination – whether direct or indirect – on the ground of sex, including sexual harassment. An independent Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson was appointed and its Office was established in 1999. The Law on Equal Treatment (2005)[4] has been reformed several times (2001 (twice), 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016) and is now fully in line with the EU acquis and other international instruments. The Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson is responsible for the supervision and implementation of the Law on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (1998) and the Law on Equal Treatment (2005) [5].

As a result of recommendations from various professionals and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), several improvements were made to the Law on Equal Treatment [6] (2005) and the Law on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (1998) [7] in 2016. The amendments to the Law on Equal Treatment [8] (2005) include, firstly, a prohibition to give any priority to either gender (except in cases foreseen by the law) in job advertisements for civil service recruitment. Secondly, potential employers are forbidden to ask jobseekers for any information on their family status, age (except in cases foreseen by law), private life, family formation and attitudes towards family planning. Thirdly, equal opportunities must be ensured for women and men in purchasing goods and services, including less favourable treatment of women because of pregnancy, childbirth and nursing (except in cases foreseen by law).

Since 2012, Lithuania has compiled several key strategic documents: the National Programme on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men 2010–2014 (adopted in 2014); the National Programme on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men 2015–2021 (approved in 2015); and the National Programme Implementation Plans for 2015-2017 and 2018-2021 (approved in 2018), respectively, which set out concrete actions, implementation deadlines, responsible institutions, state budget allocations needed for each step, and evaluation criteria.

The purpose of the National Programme on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men 2015–2021 (Valstybinė moterų ir vyrų lygių galimybių programa 2015–2021) is to ensure a consistent, sophisticated and systematic approach to gender equality issues in all fields, as well as the implementation of the Law on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (1998), in compliance with EU and international obligations in the field of gender equality. The National Programme pursues four main priorities:

1. Equal opportunities for women and men in the labour market;
2. Gender balance in decision-making;
3. Gender mainstreaming (especially in culture, education and science, national defence and international obligations); 
4. Increased management effectiveness.

Gender equality activities are in the priority areas of employment, science and education, healthcare, environmental protection, national defence, decision-making, EU and international cooperation and the development of mechanisms and methods to implement equal opportunities for women and men. The National Programme on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men 2015–2021 aims to promote the integration of the gender equality principle in the following fields: education and science, healthcare, culture, national defence and international cooperation.

In 2014, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, in its concluding observations on the fifth periodic report of Lithuania on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), in particular on the institutional mechanisms on gender mainstreaming, expressed concerns ‘at the limited effectiveness and lack of visibility of the Office of the Ombudsman for Equal Opportunities, the low number of complaints of sex- and gender-based discrimination dealt with (only 14 % of all complaints) and the absence of disaggregated data on the regional distribution and outcome of such complaints’ [9].

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