Helping women to help themselves
Ensuring equal opportunities between men and women needs more than just legislation. Cyprus has legislation in place but the gender gap remains.
What really makes the difference is when women themselves have the resources, the information and the skills to turn that legal equality into a reality, and when employers and employees are persuaded that it is in everybody’s interests for that to happen.
The European challenge
European countries face the same challenges: the likelihood of a shrinking workforce (and therefore shrinking tax base) as the population ages, and the need to shift to higher-skilled work in order to offset the low-cost, low-skilled competition from Asia.
Encouraging women to remain in or re-enter the workforce and helping to plug the skills gap of those who have stopped work has been identified by the European Union as an important part of this process.
Helping Cyprus to meet these challenges is the Cyprus Gender Equality Observatory (CGEO), founded in September 2003, aiming to “remove all discrimination against women in economic and social life, in the labour market, in education, in the family, etc”.
In an interview with the Financial Mirror, Anna Pilavaki described the very wide remit of the CGEO. It includes local and international research on women’s role in the labour market and society, disseminating information to employers and employees, implementing tested solutions for equalising opportunities, monitoring instances of discrimination, chasing up employers who advertise for only a male or female, training police in how to deal with domestic abuse, informing foreign workers about their rights, keeping a shelter for vulnerable women and the list goes on.
Changing attitudes
Cyprus still has some way to go in terms of gender equality. Two years ago CGEO published research showing that in Cyprus women are paid on average 25% less than men.
The Statistical Service’s Labour Statistics for 2003 show that in some instances, the difference in average pay in each profession is more than 50%.
“We know the reasons. The traditional culture that men are those who bring the money in the house and women must look after the children,” said Pilavaki.
“The second reason is that women are concentrated in low-paid jobs and men without skills are paid more than women without skills.”
Statistics released by the Statistical Service in September show that only 17.5% of women hold decision-making posts at administrative and managerial level and only 23% hold senior level civil servant posts.
Reconciliation strategy
In order to help change traditional attiutudes, much of CGEO’s time is spent informing the various actors involved: women, men, employers, unions and so on.
On September 28, CGEO launched the “ELANI Open Doors” project, with a “reconciliation strategy” to reconcile work and family life and to educate men and women about the issues.
The ELANI Project covers everything from encouraging flexible working hours–and persuading employers that this is good for business–to giving women in villages the skills to find paid work.
Flexibility more important than part-time
While Pilavaki is in favour of flexible working, she does not see part-time work as the only answer.
“I don’t like to see these forms of jobs applying only to the women,” she said.
“Just 20 or more women in the labour market for 3 or 4 hours is not enough.” Flexibility is more important, she added.
Keeping women informed
As part of the information programme, members of the Cyprus Gender Equality Observatory have been visiting workplaces in collaboration with unions to inform employees about legislation on gender equality.
However, Pilavaki notes that even when women know their rights, they are often afraid to exercise them.
Interestingly, all the charges of discrimination against employers collected by the CGEO have been made by women in the public and semi-government sector, where the fear of being sacked for making a complaint is considerably less than in the private sector.
The CGEO is therefore also working closely with the employers’ federation OEV, the trade unions, the Ombudsman and various ministries in order to try to alter attitudes and work out suitable ways forward.
Out in the villages
Another task of the CGEO is to go out to areas where women have traditionally had poor access to information.
A mobile unit visits villages, teaching computer skills, giving advice on how to prepare CVs and identifying skills which many of the women do not even know that they have.
Lace-making is one skill which on hopes and Italian designer will spot one day, but there are other organisational, communcation, financial and administrative skills which women may not be aware are an asset in today’s organisations.
Implementing best practice
Collaboration with the EU is also allowing the CGEO to look at lessons learned elsewhere, so that good practice in areas such as reconciling work and family commitments can be implemented in Cyprus.
The CGEO is co-operating with counter-parts in Spain and Greece to test ideas and share best practices.
Fiona Mullen
