Legislative and policy framework

The Slovenian Constitution guarantees equal human rights and fundamental freedoms, prohibits discrimination based on any personal circumstances, including sex (Article 14), and guarantees the right to equal employment opportunities (Article 49).[1]

Gender mainstreaming was introduced into Slovenian national legislation through the 2002 Equal Opportunities for Women and Men Act, which remains the key legal instrument for gender equality and gender mainstreaming.[2] According to Article 11, the government and all ministries are obliged to consider gender equality when planning, designing and implementing policy measures. All ministers must appoint coordinators for equal opportunities for women and men, who are then responsible for the implementation of actions within the competence of the ministry. Alongside this, the 2006 Equal Treatment Act was succeeded by the Protection against Discrimination Act (PADA) in May 2016.[3]

In 1997, the then Women’s Policy Office carried out a pilot project on gender mainstreaming focused on providing capacity building for policymakers and decision-makers and developing guidelines for gender mainstreaming. Slovenia’s pre-accession processes and the EU legislative and policy framework on gender equality were important influences on the establishment of structures and policies during Slovenia’s 1996–2004 EU accession candidacy.

The first national programme on gender equality, based on the Equal Opportunities for Women and Men Act, was adopted in 2005. Since then, gender mainstreaming has been a cross-cutting strategy covering all policy areas. According to Article 16 of the act, a two-year action plan is required to implement a national programme, with Article 17 stating that the government must report to the Slovenian National Assembly (Državni zbor Republike Slovenije) on this implementation every two years. The objectives and measures defined in the national programme provide guidelines for the ministries and other governmental authorities when planning and implementing their policies and programmes as regards gender equality. The latest strategy is the resolution on the national programme for equal opportunities for women and men for 2023–2030,[4] which includes gender mainstreaming measures for all ministries.

Goals of the resolution on the national programme for equal opportunities for women and men for 2023–2030

  • Reducing the gender gap in all areas of social life, especially in employment, education, health and social status.
  • Achieving a more equal division of care work between parents or partners.
  • Overcoming stereotypes and sexist and discriminatory practices that deepen gender inequality.
  • Balancing gender representation in decision-making positions.
  • Adopting an approach of zero tolerance of violence against women and girls or gender-based violence, alongside effective legal aid and the sanctioning of perpetrators.
  • Empowering women and girls and reinforcing gender equality in international development cooperation, humanitarian aid, international operations and missions, other efforts for peace and other international activities.

In 2015, the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (MLFSA) adopted a set of guidelines for gender mainstreaming in the work of ministries for 2016–2020, acknowledging the need to strengthen gender equality policy, including in terms of the gender mainstreaming work of ministries and coordinators. In 2023, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, the MLFSA launched guidelines for the mainstreaming of gender equality in cooperation and humanitarian aid. The new guidelines contain the target of 85 % of development projects including activities that support gender equality as a principle and significant objective by 2030.[5]

Structures

Governmental gender equality body

In Slovenia, the responsibility for promoting gender equality is set at the ministerial level. The MLSFA is responsible for the promotion of gender equality and the minister is vested with the same power and authority as other ministries with regard to autonomous policymaking initiatives. Ministerial responsibility is established by law and encompasses gender equality, along with labour relations, labour rights, social and family policy and disability policy.

The Equal Opportunities Division (Sektor za enake možnosti) of the MLFSA is responsible for gender equality. It was established in 2012 to replace the Governmental Office for Equal Opportunities (formerly the Women’s Policy Office) that had been in place since 1992. The division is established as a unit and thus exists at the intermediate level within the ministry. The Head of the Equal Opportunities Division reports directly to the minister.

Functions of the Equal Opportunities Division

  • Providing expert support to ministries and municipalities in implementing gender mainstreaming.
  • Drafting gender equality policies for the government.
  • Coordinating and implementing government decisions on gender equality.
  • Monitoring progress towards achieving gender equality.
  • Conducting analyses and producing reports.
  • Carrying out awareness-raising campaigns.
  • Cooperating with EU, international and civil-society organisations.

In the 2023 financial year, the Equal Opportunities Division had a total annual expenditure of EUR 400 000, with approximately EUR 30 000 allocated to the promotion of gender equality policies. The Equal Opportunities Division has seven employees. The division is rarely consulted about government policies, programmes and measures in fields other than gender equality. However, the division is sometimes consulted during the interministerial coordination phase of adopting new policies and legislative proposals.

In accordance with the Equal Opportunities for Women and Men Act (Article 13), gender mainstreaming is managed through officials appointed within each of the 19 ministries, who perform the duties of a coordinator for equal opportunities for women and men. Each coordinator is responsible for the implementation of tasks within the competence of the ministry based on this act, and they must cooperate with the gender equality body to this end. Coordinators for equal opportunities for women and men perform their tasks alongside their regular work.

Independent gender equality body

In 2012, Slovenia dissolved its independent gender equality body and re-established it as an equality body covering all grounds of discrimination, initially operating under the MLFSA. In October 2016, a new independent body for the promotion of equal treatment – the Advocate of the Principle of Equality (Zagovornik načela enakosti) – was established under PADA. It covers all grounds of discrimination, as set out in PADA guidelines. It was established in response to formal notice by the European Commission concerning the implementation of several directives (Directives 2000/43/EC, 2004/113/EC and 2006/54/EC). The new body is vested with greater autonomy than its predecessor.

The mandate of the Advocate of the Principle of Equality covers the promotion of equality and the prevention of discrimination on the grounds of sex, nationality, racial or ethnic origin, language, religion or belief, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, social status, property status, education or any other personal circumstance in various fields of social life.

Functions of the Advocate of the Principle of Equality[6]

  • Conducting and disseminating independent research on the position of people with regard to certain personal characteristics, including gender.
  • Publishing independent reports and making recommendations to state authorities, local communities, employers and other entities.
  • Providing independent assistance and legal support to people subject to discrimination.
  • Deciding the outcomes of complaints through formal decisions or recommendations.
  • Raising public awareness of discrimination and prevention measures.
  • Monitoring the general situation in Slovenia in the field of protection against discrimination and the situation of people in certain personal circumstances.
  • Participating in judicial proceedings by representing a victim or by instituting a judicial review of the legislation involving discrimination.
  • Exchanging available information on discrimination with bodies of the EU.

The Advocate of the Principle of Equality had a total annual expenditure in the 2022 financial year of EUR 1 462 709, with approximately 68 % allocated to administrative costs.

The advocate has 27 employees and, as it does not have separate departments for gender equality or any other ground, up to a quarter of all personnel time is dedicated to gender equality issues.

The advocate is consulted regarding new or existing policies on an ad hoc basis; such consultations rarely lead to related adjustments. Even when not consulted, it can still give recommendations, such as introducing a policy, at any time.

Parliamentary body

The Commission for Petitions, Human Rights and Equal Opportunities (Komisija za peticije, človekove pravice in enake možnosti) is located within the Slovenian National Assembly and addresses gender equality as a specific part of its brief. The role of the commission is legally based on the 2014 ordinance regarding the establishment and tasks of working bodies in the Slovenian National Assembly. Its tasks encompass the broader scope of petitioning as a democratic and public mechanism for exposing various potential inequalities and discrimination in the actions of the Slovenian National Assembly and also monitoring, analysing and promoting human rights and liberties, including equal opportunities policies (specifically mentioning gender equality).

Regional structure

Local administrations must promote equal opportunities within their jurisdictions and consider gender perspectives in their actions (Article 30, Equal Opportunities for Women and Men Act). They can establish a local coordinator for equal opportunities for women and men to help plan and implement gender equality policies at the local level. By 2020, around 20 % of municipalities had appointed coordinators and 5 % had adopted specific gender equality action plans.[7] The MLFSA has developed guidelines for the preparation of these plans, alongside the 2016 guidelines for the elimination of stereotypes and the strengthening of gender equality. These guidelines present case studies of gender-blind local policy, together with advice on how to better incorporate a gender perspective into the work of local institutions.

Consultation with civil society

Article 3 of the Equal Opportunities for Women and Men Act requires the government and ministries to collaborate with social partners and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in the field of equal opportunities to develop solutions and proposals for achieving the act’s goals.[8]

The Expert Council for Gender Equality is an advisory body attached to the MLFSA and is composed of professionals from academia, trade unions, NGOs and the Advocate of the Principle of Equality. The council’s primary role is to provide expert advice and recommendations on policies and measures to promote gender equality, working on issues such as implementing gender mainstreaming, combating gender-based violence and ensuring equal opportunities for women and men in all areas of life.

Functions of the Expert Council for Gender Equality

  • Monitoring the implementation of the provisions of the Equal Opportunities for Women and Men Act and the objectives and measures of the national programme.
  • Monitoring and evaluating the situation and progress regarding achieving equality between women and men in various areas of social life.
  • Undertaking initiatives and making proposals and recommendations for the adoption or amendment of legislation and measures to implement equality between women and men.
  • Undertaking initiatives to promote education, awareness raising and research in the field of gender equality.
  • Consulting on cooperation with the EU institutions, in particular EIGE.

Civil-society organisations are often partners of the MLFSA in EU-funded projects that promote gender equality. They are also consulted when gender equality strategies or laws are being implemented. Additionally, when the ministry organises conferences or seminars on gender equality, it invites civil society to take part.

Once a year, the Equal Opportunities Division publishes a call for funding to NGOs that can be used to co-finance projects on the promotion of equal opportunities between women and men, up to the amount of EUR 50 000.

Methods and tools

Note: the methods and tools listed in this section were the focus of EIGE’s 2024 assessment. If certain methods and tools are not mentioned in this section, this does not necessarily mean that they are not used by Slovenia.

Gender impact assessment

In Slovenia, there is no legal obligation to undertake ex ante gender impact assessments; therefore, this practice remains in its foundational stage.

Gender budgeting

Gender budgeting is in its foundational stage, as ministries approach budgets in gender-neutral terms. However, some ministries plan their budgets by allocating certain funds to the implementation of projects aimed at gender equality.

Training and awareness raising

The MLFSA published comprehensive guidelines on gender-sensitive language in 2018, with the guiding principle being that gender-sensitive language use must be fair and socially responsible.[9] There have been no central initiatives to raise awareness of the importance of gender-sensitive language since.

In 2022, a training session was organised targeting coordinators for equal opportunities for women and men at the ministries. The aim was to present methods and key tools for the effective integration of gender mainstreaming, taking into account the latest EU findings and the analyses of its agencies. In 2024, within the framework of the EU’s empowering women in active society project,[10] an online training tool on gender equality for civil servants was developed, although this training is not compulsory.

Gender statistics

There is no overarching legal requirement for the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (Statistični urad Republike Slovenije (SURS)) to collect data disaggregated by sex. However, the annual programmes for statistical surveys provide the legal framework for conducting such surveys. Each programme details the regular and developmental tasks for all authorised national statistics producers and may define sex as a dimension to be considered.

Despite the lack of legal obligation, SURS has an interdepartmental cooperation group, housed within the Demography and Social Statistics Division, that produces sex-disaggregated statistics on demography, living standards, the labour market and education. Based on these statistics, SURS publishes sex-disaggregated data and successfully disaggregates data for more than 75 % of variables. On the current SURS website, approximately 760 tables can be found in the SiStat database that include ‘sex’ in the title of the table.[11]

The legal basis for gathering and analysing national-level data, disaggregated by sex, sets out an obligation only for ministries and other governmental services/institutions under the Equal Opportunities of Women and Men Act in reference to the national resolution programme (Article 15, paragraph 2). This task has been integrated into the measures of the resolution on the national programme for equal opportunities for women and men for 2023–2030.

The dissemination of data is affected by the lack of a web page dedicated to gender statistics. Gender statistics are analysed and disseminated regularly through press releases on International Women’s Day and International Men’s Day, which provide a short overview of the position of women and men in Slovenia.

Monitoring progress

Slovenia’s institutional mechanisms for gender equality and gender mainstreaming stand below the EU average and show a decline compared with 2021.

Explore Slovenia’s scores on the four key indicators on institutional mechanisms for the promotion of gender equality and gender mainstreaming developed to monitor progress on Area H of the Beijing Platform for Action.

Slovenia: Institutional mechanisms for gender equality and gender mainstreaming

References