Electronic newsletter Equal Opportunities - first issue in English available

(5. 12. 2011) - Gender Studies o.p.s. publishes the electronic newsletter Equal Opportunities 01/2011 as a part of its project "Reconciliation of Private and Family Life in the International Context: Transfer of Know-How and Development of a Thematic Network." The project is financed by the European Social Fund and the state budget of the Czech Republic. The goal of the newsletter is to inform you about various techniques aimed at achieving gender equality and work/life balance. We will provide you with best practices from the Czech Republic and abroad and, through interviews, will acquaint you with interesting personalities active in the area of gender activism with a focus on the labor market problematic.

International seminar in Prague: Employers and Age Discrimination

(21. 3. 2011) - Gender Studies invites you for the international seminar in Prague "Employers and Age Discrimination". Make your reservations by Monday, April 4, 2011 by email to linda.sokacova@genderstudies.cz. Space is limited.

COMPANY OF THE YEAR in the Czech Republic: Equal Opportunities 2010: ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE AWARD

(5. 1. 2011) - COMPANY OF THE YEAR: EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES has been awarded by Czech non-governmental organization Gender Studies since 2004. Its purpose is to motivate companies to see equal opportunities for women and men as one of the cornerstones of their own development and the development of their employees. And of course, it also endeavours to make the companies to implement these principles in their policies. Gender Studies offers qualified consultancy and experience in this field.

Family Policy: Parental and Maternity Leave in the Context of Work-Life Balance and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men.

(12. 9. 2010) - The texts discuss three essential conditions of a system of maternity and parental leave that observes the principles of equal opportunities and work-life balance. They include: an effective concept of maternity and family care, a well-functioning network of child care services and positive flexibility in the job market. Policy recommendations to improve the position of parents in the society and for a more efficient child care network are included.

Love is all that matters. Or is it?

(4. 8. 2010) - Short, animated movie "Love is all that matters. Or is it?" was made during a project "Diversity against Bullying". This project (coordinated by Poradna pro obcanstvi, obcanska a lidska prava and Gender Studies) aims to strengthen the position of individual members of the communities of sexual minorities, by promoting their rights to equal treatment and by strengthening a diverse, pluralistic and tolerant society. The movie was used as an integral part of lectures/discussions held at various high schools; the lectures/discussions focused on dealing with homophobia and enabled missing discussion on a topic of sexual diversity.

Maty, your treasured auto mechanic

(16. 7. 2010) - Czech labor market suffers from a strong horizontal segregation caused by persisting gender stereotypes. We all know that if things are to change, children and youth have to start being brought up in a gender sensitive way.
Why could a boy not work as a kindergarten teacher and why could a girl not become an IT expert? Wishing to influence the young generation, Gender Studies, in cooperation with the Czech artist Dora Dutková, brought into life an entertaining video cartoon featuring Maty – a fantastic female auto mechanic.

Shortcomings in Rape Survivor Care – Quality of Services for Rape Survivors in the Czech Republic

(24. 6. 2010) - In order to set the terms for a professional discussion on the critical issues, representatives of Persefona, Jitka Čechová and Hana Jandová have carried out a basic assessment of the state of services and aid currently available to rape survivors in the Czech Republic. The main focus was to identify situations in which rape survivors do not receive appropriate care or in which their human rights are infringed upon. An essential part of the study was also to compile a list of service providers that serve survivors of rape. The sources of the analysis were public documents, studies, case studies, publications, methodologies, internal documents, the law and the practical experience of the staff at the Persefona NGO. In addition, in the course of our research, there were conducted interviews with experts from the police force, government offices, the courts, the medical field and the staff of social services NGOs. The text Shortcomings in Rape Survivor Care – Quality of Services for Rape Survivors in the Czech Republic summarizes the main findings focusing on the areas that beg the interest of the relevant professionals and their close cooperation so that the human rights of rape survivors are fully protected.

A Few Reflections on the Legal Provisions on Rape

(22. 6. 2010) - The following text focuses on legal issues from the perspective of the rape survivor. It examines the way the law deals with interpersonal violence and its adequacy, and outlines potential changes that might lead to improving the current state of affairs. With this goal in mind, this text first discusses substantive and procedural criminal law and then briefly refers to the developments in international law. The main theoretical positions analyzing the wrongs caused by sexual violence are presented in the conclusion.

EQ-TRAIN newsletter no. 3: Gender Pay Gap in Europe

(10. 5. 2010) - Welcome to the third EQ-Train newsletter. Gender Studies is taking part in an international project that focuses on Equal Pay, the equality of income between women and men. In this newsletter EQ-Train partners from the Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, Spain, and Slovakia describe ways how to tackle unequal pay.

COMPANY OF THE YEAR: Equal Opportunities 2009

(4. 1. 2010) - Company of the Year The winners of Equal Opportunities 2009 have been announced: The companies that support equal opportunities for women and men and life-work balance of their employees most effectively are Česká Spořitelna (Czech Savings Bank), IBM CR, and Unicredit Bank CR. In the 6th annual competition held by NGO Gender Studies, the winners placed on the following order: Česká Spořitelna (Czech Savings Bank) first, IBM CR second, and Unicredit Bank CR third. OLHO-Technik Czech won a special prize titled the Gender Studies Social Award for supporting life-work balance. The results of the competition were announced at the conference Cracks in the Glass Ceiling: Women in Management and Untraditional Occupations held by Gender Studies on November 11, 2009.