Czech Republic ranks 21st of 28 in EU in gender equality, says new EIGE Index

Prague, Oct 15 (CTK) – In its ability to secure equal opportunities for men and women, the Czech Republic is below the European Union’s average, ending up 21st out of the 28 member countries, according to the Gender Equality Index released by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) today.

The Index assesses a country’s performance in six areas for 2017 – employment, finances, education, participation in power, leisure time and health.

The Index states that the Czech Republic saw almost no progress since 2005 and has even fallen by four positions.

The Czech Republic is losing points mainly in the area of women’s participation in decision-making, but also because of job market segregation and in the area of education.

The country gained points in the area of employment. Otherwise, its performance is sub-par in all areas. In the 12 years since 2005, the Czech Republic improved its standing by a mere 2.1 points, gaining 55.7 points out of the maximum of 100.

The first place in the Index is held by Sweden with 83.6 points, followed by other Nordic countries, France, UK and the Netherlands. The lowest number of points, 51.2, was assigned to Greece.

On average, the EU reached 67.4 points, an increase of 5.4 points compared to 2005.

“Improvements in the Czech Republic is slower than in other member countries,” EIGE wrote in the Index documentation.

According to the Index, equality improvements in some EU countries started slowing down and as a whole, the EU is progressing at “a snail’s pace.”

The data show that the Czech Republic’s improvement in some areas is due to the current economic boom rather than any direct measures.

Although the Czech educational and healthcare sectors are dominated by women, the number of women in scientific and technical professions is very low. The Index states that among all EU countries, this contrast is largest in the Czech Republic.

The country also suffers one of the widest gender pay gaps and Czech women face a much higher threat of poverty than men.

In the area of education, the Czech Republic reached an average evaluation, gaining points for a high number of female university graduates but losing them for segregating men’s and women’s academic disciplines.

In the areas of leisure time and health, the Czech Republic reached 18th place.

bas/dr/hol