Lithuania
Legislative and policy framework
In Lithuania, the general principle of equal opportunity and equal treatment is enshrined in Article 29 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania.
The adoption of the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action (BPfA) gave rise to the creation of gender equality institutional mechanisms in Lithuania. The first attempt to implement gender mainstreaming was the Lithuanian Women’s Advancement Programme, approved by the government in 1996. The process of accession to the European Union (EU) also played a crucial role in fostering gender equality and gender mainstreaming in Lithuania’s national policy and body of legislation.
Lithuania has two key laws that provide for the consistent and systematic implementation of programmes, measures, and projects to foster gender equality: the Law on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (1998)[1] and the Law on Equal Treatment (adopted in 2003 and entered into force in 2005)[2], covering fourteen grounds of discrimination including gender. Lithuania also has an action plan for gender equality policies: the ‘Action Plan for 2018-2021 on the National Programme on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men’.
The Law on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men forbids any discrimination – whether direct or indirect – on the ground of sex, including sexual harassment. The Law on Equal Treatment has been reformed several times[3] and is now fully in line with the EU acquis and other international instruments. As a result of recommendations from various professionals and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), several improvements were made to the Law on Equal Treatment and the Law on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men in 2016. The amendments to the Law on Equal Treatment (2005) include, firstly, a prohibition to give any priority to either gender (except in cases explicitly established 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 explicitly established 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 a prohibition on the less favourable treatment of women because of pregnancy, childbirth and nursing (except in cases explicitly established by law).
In addition to these central pieces of legislation, Lithuania has compiled several key strategic documents since 2012. The National Programme on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (the first version was in place from 2010–2014 and the second from 2015–2021)[4] aimed to ensure a consistent, sophisticated and systematic approach to gender equality issues in all fields. It also aimed to ensure 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: equal opportunities for women and men in the labour market; gender balance in decision-making; gender mainstreaming (especially in culture, education and science, national defence and international obligations), and increased management effectiveness. Gender equality activities are implemented 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. Every year, progress on the implementation of the National Programme is reported to the government, while an independent external comparative assessment of the overall impact of the National Programme is carried out every five years.
Lithuania has also put in place an accompanying Action Plan for the Implementation of the National Programme (the first version in place from 2015-2017 and the second from 2018-2021). The action plan set out concrete actions, implementation deadlines, responsible institutions, state budget allocations needed for each step, and evaluation criteria. It also set out twenty specific targets, including reducing the pay gap between women and men, encouraging girls and boys to choose “non-traditional professions or studies for women and men,” guaranteeing access to services and information to participate in the prevention of cervix, breast and prostate cancer, and encouraging women’s activity in the field of environmental protection.
Further, the National Progress Plan (an institutional plan that provides policy direction for the future)[5] includes equal opportunities for all as a horizontal principle. This principle covers the commitment to respect human rights regardless of any grounds of identity such as gender, age, race etc. It also covers the necessity to ensure equal access to any services and to implement strategic programmes by taking into consideration the specific needs of women and men, different age groups, ethnic minorities and other groups vulnerable to discrimination. At the ministerial level, each ministry has committed to implementing gender equality as a horizontal principle. However, no gender mainstreaming measures have been officially adopted.[6]
Structures
Governmental equality bodies
The Ministry of Social Security and Labour (Socialinės apsaugos ir darbo ministerija)[7] is responsible for gender equality policy and gender mainstreaming, as well as for implementation, monitoring and follow-up of the central strategies and measures. In 2021, the Ministry of Social Security and Labour became responsible for the coordination of the implementation of gender equality as a horizontal principle in the work of the central government. The Equal Opportunities and Equality between Women and Men Group is an internal structure within the Ministry of Social Security and Labour[8], which has dealt with gender equality issues since 2006. It is responsible for drafting, coordinating, implementing, and overseeing government policy on gender equality and anti-discrimination, as well as for EU and international cooperation on gender equality matters. The department also publishes and disseminates gender equality-related information and training material. The department is only occasionally consulted about new or existing policies, laws or programmes.
The Ministry of Social Security and Labour occasionally reports to the Human Rights Committee on an ad-hoc basis, when the committee calls the Minister to report on progress achieved or a certain urgent issue about gender equality or equal opportunities on other grounds comes to the fore.
The Department of Equal Opportunities and Equality between Women and Men has eight employees. Within this team, two staff members strictly work on gender equality.
In addition to the department, in 2000, the government established an Inter-Institutional Commission on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, which is responsible for coordinating the implementation of the National Programme on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men 2015–2021. The Commission is responsible for reviewing strategic planning documents and legal acts to assess the integration of the principle of equal opportunities for women and men into all areas of public policy. It also submits proposals to the Ministry of Social Security and Labour on the formulation of equal opportunities policies for women and men, monitors the implementation of these proposals, and disseminates information on equality between women and men. The activities of the commission are regulated by Resolution No 266 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania of 7 March 2000, ‘On the Establishment of a Commission for Equal Opportunities for Women and Men’.[9]
The commission is composed of: eight representatives from ministries and government offices (Ministry of Social Security and Labour, Ministry of Economy and Innovation, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Government); eight representatives from academia, NGOs and the Lithuanian Association of Municipalities. NGOs working on gender equality can delegate 4 representatives in total; and academia can delegate 3 representatives.[10] The newly established regulations on the composition of the commission set out that the ministries should nominate high political leaders, such as vice ministers, as representatives.
Independent equality body
The Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson is the independent gender equality body in Lithuania. The Law on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (1998) established the ombudsperson and deals with all grounds of discrimination, such as gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, race, ethnic origin, nationality, language, social status, belief or religion, convictions or views, and citizenship. The Ombudsperson is responsible for researching gender equality, as well as conducting a gender-sensitive analysis of policy. It oversees the publication and dissemination of gender equality-related information and training materials. The Ombudsperson also coordinates gender mainstreaming processes and methodologies. It also conducts independent surveys and provides recommendations and independent expert conclusions on policy documents or legal acts.
The Office of the Ombudsperson has twenty employees with 25 to 50% of the personnel's time being allocated to gender equality-related work.
Parliamentary body
In Lithuania, there is a Human Rights Committee within the Seimas (parliament).[11] The parliament’s Human Rights Committee prepares, and reviews draft laws and other legal acts primarily related to civil rights. These can include gender equality issues, and it presents recommendations to government institutions and other organisations concerning problems related to the protection of civil rights. It also receives reports from the Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsperson.
Regional structure
The Ministry of Social Security and Labour provides support and guidance to municipalities to integrate gender aspects into their programmes. The third goal of the National Programme for Equal Opportunities for Women and Men 2015-2021 - ‘Effectiveness of institutional mechanisms’ - includes assistance for municipalities regarding action taken to ensure equal opportunities for women and men. Relatedly, one of the specific targets of the Action Plan for the Implementation of the National Programme is to support municipalities to initiate measures that would guarantee equal opportunities for women and men. However, analysis of municipal strategic documents also has shown that mainstreaming gender equality in municipalities is extremely limited in practice.[12]
Consultation with civil society
Civil society organisations are consulted through the Commission of Equal Opportunities for Women and Men.[13] The main Lithuanian NGOs select four representatives for the commission. An advisory council of experts on equal opportunities is invited to give their opinion on policy documents or legal acts about issues regarding gender equality or equal opportunities for all. Other civil society organisations are regularly invited to take part in discussions, debates, and decisions about specific gender equality-related topics.
Women’s rights organisations, gender studies centres, social partners and other relevant bodies are encouraged to cooperate in the implementation of the National Programme on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men 2015-2021. The programme incorporates suggestions made by NGOs, social partners, and gender study centres to make sure that gender equality problems are tackled consistently and systematically and that gender gaps are reduced.
Methods and tools
The Lithuanian government is required by law to pay particular attention to gender equality in all policies. Article 4, part 2 of the Law on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (2017) states that ‘State and municipal institutions must ensure, within their competence, that all legal acts that they draft and adopt must ensure equal rights of women and men. They must also implement programmes and measures aimed at ensuring equal opportunities for women and men and, in the manner prescribed by laws, support the programmes of public establishments, associations and charitable foundations contributing to the implementation of equal opportunities for women and men.'[14]
Gender impact assessment and gender budgeting
Tools such as gender impact assessments and gender budgeting are not currently used to best implement this legal provision. That said, the government's Centre for Strategic Analysis[15] is currently conducting a feasibility study on gender budgeting in Lithuania on behalf of the Ministry of Social Security and Labour. Moreover, one of the specific targets of the Action Plan for the Implementation of the National Programme is to apply gender impact assessments during the process of drafting legal acts and other political documents. However, this is not supported by any legal provision.
Training and awareness-raising
To raise awareness among government staff, several meetings were held with the representatives of ministries to discuss issues related to gender equality in 2020-2021. Additionally, the Minister of Social Affairs and Labour met with ministers and other high-level officials and made a public speech on policies of equal opportunities and gender mainstreaming and called on the ministers to engage in promoting gender equality more actively within their areas of competence.
Government employees can get involved in gender equality training on an ad-hoc basis. The National Programme on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men 2015–2021 budgets for training sessions and awareness-raising campaigns. Within the framework of this programme, several institutions organised training modules for civil servants, diplomats, officers and judges to enhance their ability to work in the field of gender equality. Relatedly, one of the specific targets of the Action Plan for the Implementation of the National Programme is to improve the capacities of the state’s civil servants, employees in the justice system, journalists and others concerning mainstreaming gender.
Gender statistics
The Statistics Office collects gender statistics following the provisions in the National Programme on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, and the Action Plan for 2018-2021. Gender equality statistics are presented and disseminated through a specific section of the website of the Official Statistics Portal.[16] The webpage includes gender equality indicators, broken down by theme, in addition to several publications, which analyse the statistics. The Social and Demographic Statistics division used to produce an annual report on the situation of women and men (‘Women and Men in Lithuania’ (Moterys ir vyrai Lietuvoje) but this has since been discontinued, with the last version appearing in 2017.[17]
Monitoring progress
Indicators for monitoring progress on institutional mechanisms for the promotion of gender equality and gender mainstreaming in the EU, under Area H of the Beijing Platform for Action
This section analyses the scores achieved by Lithuania for data collection in 2021 for the four officially agreed-on indicators on institutional mechanisms for the promotion of gender equality and gender mainstreaming to monitor progress on Area H of the Beijing Platform for Action. It also analyses scores under an expanded measurement framework which includes the role of independent gender equality bodies and assesses the effectiveness of efforts to disseminate statistics disaggregated by sex. Institutional mechanisms refer to national machineries that implement, monitor, evaluate, and mobilise support for policies that promote gender equality and gender mainstreaming. All indicators and sub-indicators are available on the Gender Statistics Database here, including metadata about how the scores are calculated.
For Indicator H1 on the status of commitment to the promotion of gender equality, and taking into account only the governmental commitment in line with the officially adopted indicator, Lithuania scored 8.0 out of a possible 12, above the EU average of 7.2. It received a low score on sub-indicator H1d on the scope and functions of the governmental gender equality body where it scored 1.5 out of the maximum possible score of 3 because the mandate of the governmental equality body is gender equality combined with other equality-related functions, rather than exclusively gender equality.
Under an expanded measurement framework, which includes sub-indicator H1f on the mandate and functions of the independent gender equality body, Lithuania scored an additional 1.5 points, out of a possible 3. It lost 1.0 point because the mandate of the independent gender equality body is gender equality combined with other non-discrimination areas, rather than be exclusively focused on gender equality. The overall score for the expanded H1 indicator was 9.5 out of a possible 15, above the EU average of 9.1.
Indicator H2 analyses the personnel resources of the national gender equality bodies. For sub-indicator H2a, regarding the governmental body, Lithuania scored 0.0 out of the maximum possible score of 2, which was lower than the EU average of 1.0, because there were 0-5 or more employees in the governmental body working on gender equality. For sub-indicator H2b, regarding the independent body, Lithuania’s score was 1.0, just above the EU average of 0.8, because there were 10-25 or more employees working on gender equality in the independent body. For both sub-indicators, the maximum 2 points was awarded where the number of employees was over 100 as an indication of the body being sufficiently resourced.
Indicator H3 relates to gender mainstreaming. Here, Lithuania scored 2.5 points out of a maximum possible 12, which was below the EU average of 5.1. Lithuania lost 5.5 points, out of the maximum possible score of 6, on sub-indicator H3c on the commitment to and use of methods and tools for gender mainstreaming. However, it gained points, for example, for having all or most government employees involved in gender equality training on an ad-hoc basis.
Under an expanded measurement framework, which includes sub-indicator H3d on the consultation of the independent equality body, Lithuania scored 2.5 points out of a possible of 14, which was also below than the EU average which increased to 5.4. Under sub-indicator H3d, Lithuania lost both available points because the independent gender equality body is only consulted by departments or ministries on the gender impact of specific new or existing policies in some cases, and those consultations only lead to relevant adjustments in few cases.
For Indicator H4 on the production and dissemination of statistics disaggregated by sex, Lithuania scored 5.0 points, out of a possible 6, above the EU average of 3.4. It only lost 1.0 points because there is a policy agreement to collect data disaggregated by sex, rather than a stronger legal obligation.
References
Endnotes
[1] New revision No. XII-2767 (2016), https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/TAIS.69453/asr
[2] New edition No. XII-2768 (2016) https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/TAIS.222522/asr)
[3] It has been reformed in 2001 (twice), 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016.
[4] National Programme on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men 2015-2021 https://socmin.lrv.lt/uploads/socmin/documents/files/pdf/9091_vmvlg_programa-2015-2021-m.pdf
[5] National Progress Plan (n.d.) https://lrv.lt/lt/aktuali-informacija/xvii-vyriausybe/strateginis-valdymas/2021-2030-m-nacionalinis-pazangos-planas
[6] Ministry of Social Security and Labour (n.d.) Mainstreaming Gender Equality in Lithuania https://socmin.lrv.lt/lt/veiklos-sritys/moteru-ir-vyru-lygybe/lyciu-lygybes-integracija-visose-srityse-lietuvoje-ir-institucinis-mechanizmas
[7] Ministry of Social Security and Labour https://socmin.lrv.lt/
[8] Gender Equality in the Ministry of Social Security and Labour https://socmin.lrv.lt/en/activities/gender-equality
[9] Ministry of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania (n.d.) Commission on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men https://socmin.lrv.lt/lt/veiklossritys/moteru-ir-vyru-lygybe/moteru-ir-vyru-lygiu-galimybiu-komisija
[10] Ministry of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania (n.d.) Commission on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men https://socmin.lrv.lt/lt/veiklossritys/moteru-ir-vyru-lygybe/moteru-ir-vyru-lygiu-galimybiu-komisija
[11] Committee on Human Rights (n.d.) https://www.lrs.lt/sip/portal.show?p_r=38382&p_k=2&p_kade_id=9&p_pad_id=48
[12] Report on Strategic Municipalities’ analysis of documents (2018) https://www.lygybe.lt/data/public/uploads/2018/05/kok.-tyrimo-dokumentu-analizes-ataskaita.pdf
[13] Ministry of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania (n.d.) Commission for Equal Opportunities for Women and Men https://socmin.lrv.lt/lt/veiklos-sritys/moteru-ir-vyru-lygybe/moteru-ir-vyru-lygiu-galimybiu-komisija
[14] Republic of Lithuania Law on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (2017) https://www.e-tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/TAR.746227138BCB/asr
[15] Strata (2022). Discussions with schoolchildren and people from vulnerable groups on the future of Lithuania https://strata.gov.lt/images/tyrimai/2021-metai/20220120-lyciu-lygybes-principu-gristo-biudzeto-sudarymas.pdf
[16] Official Statistics Portal (n.d.) Gender equality https://osp.stat.gov.lt/lyciu-lygybe
[17] Report Women and Men in Lithuania 2017 https://osp.stat.gov.lt/statistikos-leidiniu-katalogas?publication=30580