Gender equality legislated in Bucharest

The Bucharest Parliament has passed a bill on gender equality.

Roxana Vasile, 10.09.2015, 14:31

At the beginning of summer, five Romanian senators proposed, in a draft law, that November 19 should become Men’s Day, given that International Women’s Day had been celebrated ever since 1977 on March 8, following a UN resolution. The aim of this resolution was to celebrate women and their achievements in all fields of life and to denounce discrimination and violence against them, which continues to be a problem in many parts of the world.

However, the Romanian senators’ proposal to also have a Men’s Day should, in their opinion, help reach a balance in terms of gender equality. This does not mean that women have had the upper hand over men in the Romanian society. On the contrary, it’s been repeatedly proven that men are better paid than women, in spite of having the same education, that the number of women appointed in leading positions is way below that of men, that the issue of equality of chances between men and women is almost always disregarded by policymakers.

Moreover, there are many people who don’t hesitate to say that a woman’s place is in the kitchen, that her duty is to raise the kids and clean the house and that after work it’s her moral obligation to devote herself to household chores. Against this background, changing mentalities appears to be a must. Consequently, the Romanian Parliament has recently passed a bill on gender equality.

Liberal MP Cristina Pocora tells us her opinion on what this equality is: “One can speak about equality between women and men when both genders are able to equally share power and influence, to have equal opportunities to gain financial independence achieved through work and by setting up their own business, to have equal access to education and the chance to develop their skills and talents, share the responsibility for their children and household maintenance and to be free of any type of constraints, intimidation and violence both at home and at work.”

The bill passed by Parliament also stipulates the reopening of the Agency for Equality of Chances. The Social Democratic MP Ana Birchall, one of the bill’s initiators, has pointed out that the enforcement of the “equal work, equal pay” principle has also been regulated.

Ana Birchall: “Under this bill, employers have the obligation to ensure equality of chances for all employees, irrespective of gender, and are not allowed to ask for personal information such as marital status and plans to start a family.”

In the opinion of the prime minister Victor Ponta, this bill, which is based on the European principle “equal pay for work of equal value” will improve the lives of Romanian women.