Women on the "Green Island" - the Crisis in Poland from Gender Perspective

The article deals with gender equility policies introduced by the government in Poland in the crisis years 2008-2010. Key issues for gender equality - such as greater poverty rates among women or underrepresentation in the public sphere, are still absent from public discourse or the political agenda

Key information on EU or National policies/legislation on women's' representation on the Media:

1. Since 2007, when the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) by the UN formulated recommendations for the Polish government concerning the realisation of the policies, till date still far from the CEDAW standards, little has been done. The recommendations or the publication of the report was nor followed by a public debate, neither promoted the government to introduce anti-discrimination policies. 5. According to the author 2. Gender questions are absent from the official governmental strategy for Poland till 2030 published in 2009 ("Polska 2030. Wyzwania rozwojowe"). 3. The Act on Equal Treatment was finally passed [the EU required Poland to do it in 2004] by the Parliament. However, no funds were provisioned for any equality policies. (including the budget of the Government Plenipotentiary for Equal Treatment); The government do not initiate any gender mainstreaming policies; 4. The share of equality-oriented NGOs among the 3rd sector organizations financed from public funds fell significantly in 2010 (first year after the crisis 2009) to the advantage of Catholic Church NGOs. The author claims the reason for such a turn was the upcoming elections (Autumn 2010) - unlike NGOs fighting discrimination, church still could help win elections in Poland.

Key stakeholders mentioned:

Government, Government Plenipotentiary for Equal Treatment, UN, Gender Equality NGOs

Format: pdf

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