The index looks at six areas: work, money, education, power, leisure and health. Credit: Freepik.
Prague, Oct 25 (CTK) – The Czech Republic remains below the EU average in ensuring equal opportunities and conditions for women and men, placing 25th out of the 27 member states in this year’s Gender Equality Index, published by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE). This represents a fall of two places in the last three years.
The index looks at six areas: work, money, education, power, leisure and health. The Czech Republic scored 57.9 out of 100 points, compared to an EU average of 70.2.
The government human rights commissioner Klara Simackova Laurencikova said the Czech Republic’s ranking is unflattering and gender inequality is a long-standing problem.
“[The Czech Republic] has been improving at a slower pace than other member states. Its Gender Equality Index score has improved, but remains consistently and significantly lower than the EU average. The gap between the country and the EU average has widened over time,” the EIGE said on its website.
Since 2010, the Czech Republic has improved its score by 2.3 points. Progress over the last three years since 2020 has been 0.7 points. The whole EU has moved up an average of 1.6 points since last year, the highest year-on-year improvement since 2013.
The Czech Republic is below average in all six categories, according to the Index, scoring worst in women’s power, with 30.2 points out of 100, thus placing 25th and remaining in the same position since 2020. In the category of economic decision-making, the Czech Republic placed 26th.
The most significant improvement was in the work category, where the Czech Republic improved by 1.8 points and placed 24th with 68.9 points. The highest score was for health, with 84.8 points. The Czech Republic’s best ranking was in the money category, placing 15th in the EU with 79.4 points. This position has not changed since 2020. The biggest drop in the last three years has been in the leisure ranking, where the Czech Republic dropped by nine places to 26th.
“The unflattering position of the Czech Republic in the gender equality index does not really surprise me,” said Simackova Laurencikova. “Gender inequality is a long-term problem in our society, and the solution is not a matter of just a few years.”
She referred to the measures taken so far to work towards gender equality, and noted that a new law against domestic violence and an amendment to the Labor Code with more transparent rules on pay were being prepared. “I expect that these measures will be reflected in the Czech Republic’s ranking in the gender equality index in the coming years,” she said.
Sweden topped the index with the best score of 82.2. Of the post-communist countries, Slovenia has the highest score, roughly at the EU average. Slovakia scored 59.2 points, ranking 23rd. The Czech Republic ranked ahead of only Hungary (57.3) and Romania (56.1). Greece and Portugal have made the biggest progress over the past three years, improving by 4.6 points each.
