Gender Equality in the Czech Republic

1. The need for gender-sensitive and inclusive policymaking in the Czech Republic

Abstract

This chapter discusses the relevance of gender-sensitive policymaking as one of the key elements to build the Czech Republic’s resilience to current and future shocks and promote economic growth. It reviews how a gender-sensitive approach can support responsible and evidence-based decisions, particularly in a context of fiscal tightening, while strengthening democratic processes and boosting citizens’ trust in public institutions. It highlights the importance of strengthening the government’s strategic, legal and institutional capacities for gender-sensitive policymaking and previews steps that the Czech Republic could take to further its progress towards its gender equality objectives.

1.1. Gender-sensitive policymaking can help promote growth and strengthen the resilience of the Czech Republic to current and future crises

1.1.1. The Czech Republic’s inclusive recovery is challenged as further economic and humanitarian crises unfold

COVID-19 has had different impacts on men, women and diverse groups in OECD countries and beyond primarily because the pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing structural inequalities and gender norms. The Czech Republic was not immune to this differential impact. Since 2016, the European Union (EU) European Semester country-specific recommendations have regularly cited a number of structural gender inequalities in the country. For example, the 2020 country report for the Czech Republic stated that the gender gap in employment and pay is among the highest in the EU (European Commission, 2020[1]). The pandemic worsened the situation, with Czech women more affected by the crisis than men in several areas, due in part to women’s higher rate of employment in commercial services and in part to the traditional division of household and childcare responsibilities (Chapter 2).

Over the course of 2020 and 2021, there was growing recognition across both the OECD and the EU of the importance of supporting an inclusive approach to exit the crisis and promote recovery. During preparation of national recovery and resilience plans, the European Commission called on EU member states to take a two-pronged approach to reflect gender equality considerations in their national plans, including both gender-specific measures and gender mainstreaming throughout the national plans (European Commission, 2022[2]). This two-pronged approach has been highlighted in the OECD Recommendation on Gender Equality in Public Life (OECD, 2016[3]) and the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025 (European Commission, 2020[4]). The Czech Republic took steps in this regard, as discussed in detail in Chapter 3.

However, the window of opportunity for an inclusive recovery faces threats due to mounting economic and humanitarian crises stemming from Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the soaring energy prices, and the Czech Republic’s heavy reliance on energy imports from Russia. These challenges pose a risk that gender policy may become less of a priority. In this context, there is a need to better understand the potential gender-differentiated impacts of rising inflation and how to account for these differences going forward.

1.1.2. Gender-sensitive policymaking can support responsible and evidence-informed policy and spending decisions in a tightening fiscal context

Responsible budgetary policy and efficient public spending, coupled with evidence-informed policymaking, are high priorities for the Czech government. It has set out to tighten its fiscal policy over the medium term, with fiscal consolidation planned for 2023 (OECD, 2022[5]). In this context, there are difficult tax and spending choices to be made that will determine how the cost of fiscal consolidation will be distributed across society. Fiscal consolidation can undermine progress made in improving female employment and closing the gender gap, as shown by evidence on the effect of the austerity measures adopted by most OECD countries in response to the post-2008 recession. Measures to lower wages and decrease labour market incentives often target second earners and groups with lower expected productivity, among whom women continue to be over-represented. Another frequently used austerity measure, cuts to care services, increases the burden of unpaid care and family work, which often becomes the responsibility of women (Vladisavljević, Jelena and Perugini, 2019[6]). According to OECD evidence, commonly used fiscal consolidation tools, such as across-the-board expenditure cuts that affect women disproportionately, are inefficient and are not likely to deliver a long-term consolidation. Instead, reforms focusing on sophisticated workforce planning in the public sector, with flexibility given to managers across the portfolio, can help ensure an equal distribution of the burden of costs (OECD, 2011[7]). An evidence-based decision-making process and whole-of-government approach that include key actors in gender equality, paired with stakeholder engagement, can help identify both risks and opportunities in how fiscal policies impact women.

Unless carefully considered, the very policies aimed at improving people’s lives and well-being in the Czech Republic could inadvertently further deepen inequalities in the economy, in the workplace, at home and in society. Evidence from across the OECD shows that the laws, regulations, policies and budgets designed by governments often affect prevalent gender norms and gender gaps in society. For example, seemingly gender-neutral tax policies may have implicit biases that disadvantage women due to existing socioeconomic factors such as differences in income levels of women and men from diverse backgrounds (OECD, 2022[8]). Box 1.1 offers an example from Canada on how laws can inadvertently deepen gender gaps if not analysed for their gender impacts.

Gender-sensitive policymaking is a form of evidence-informed policymaking as it can provide decision makers with useful information about the anticipated impact of proposed policy and budget measures on different groups in the society. It aims to improve the quality, responsiveness and accessibility of public services. Gender-sensitive policymaking goes beyond implementing targeted policy actions to address specific forms of gender-based discrimination such as pay gaps, gender-based violence and unpaid care responsibilities. It also entails integrating a gender equality perspective across all government actions (OECD, 2021[9]). This approach helps decision makers collect, use and analyse the best available evidence regarding gender as a social construct and employ multiple sources of information including statistics, data and research to inform their decisions. Key tools of gender-sensitive policymaking include gender impact assessments and gender budgeting, which are explored in greater detail in subsequent chapters of this report.

While such an approach requires allocating sufficient capacities, capabilities, skills and resources across the public administration to achieve full impact (Chapter 4), closing gender gaps can in turn provide a boost to a country’s economy and public finances (Nicol, 2022[10]). On the other hand, a failure to invest in gender-sensitive policymaking processes can mean higher societal and human costs.

Box ‎1.1. Limited gender-sensitive decision making risks inadvertently widening gender gaps

In 2016, as part of a ministerial mandate commitment, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) developed a proposal to remove a regulatory requirement that sponsored spouses and partners of Canadian citizens and permanent residents must live with their sponsor for two years as a condition for maintaining their permanent resident status. In the process, IRCC applied gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) that acknowledged a sponsored spouse or partner may be vulnerable for many reasons, among them gender, age, official language proficiency, isolation and financial dependence, and that these factors can create an imbalance between the sponsor and the sponsor’s spouse or partner. It was further assessed that the two-year co-habitation requirement for conditional permanent residence could compound these vulnerabilities in situations of domestic abuse. Given that a majority (70%) of affected individuals who asked the IRCC for an exception to this requirement based on abuse or neglect were women, the IRCC assessed that this regulatory requirement may potentially result in vulnerable spouses and partners remaining in abusive relationships out of fear of losing their permanent resident status in Canada. The conditional permanent residence requirement was repealed on 18 April 2017.

Source: OECD (2019[11]), Fast Forward to Gender Equality: Mainstreaming, Implementation and Leadership, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/g2g9faa5-en.

1.1.3. Gender-sensitive policymaking can support economic resilience and growth by increasing women’s participation in the workforce

Policy action to increase women’s employment and thus boost domestic labour supply is key to developing a more productive and skilled labour force in the Czech Republic and to expanding its currently tight labour market (Chapter 2). As stressed in the OECD Employment Outlook (OECD, 2022[5]), the Czech Republic’s recovery from the COVID-19 crisis is facing difficulties deriving from supply disruptions, rising prices and overall uncertainty related to the war in Ukraine. High gender employment gaps and childcare costs in the Czech Republic, alongside a decline in its economically active population, have created a labour shortage that could negatively impact the national economy.

Reducing the gender employment gap is one way to help mitigate this imbalance. Recent OECD analysis suggests that by addressing gaps in labour force participation and working hours, OECD countries may see an average increase of 9.2% to GDP across the OECD by 2060 (OECD, 2023[12]). In its Policy Statement and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, the Czech government has already taken important steps in this regard by committing to make childcare facilities more accessible, which is expected to drive increased women’s labour force participation (Government of the Czech Republic, 2022[13]; Government of the Czech Republic, 2022[14]). These steps build on the national-level operational programmes adopted in the context of the European Social Fund and European Regional Development Fund that have provided crucial support for the expansion of childcare services in the Czech Republic, especially for the creation of children’s groups.

Relatedly, gender-sensitive policymaking can also help the energy transition and green recovery agenda consider gender impacts as well as ensure that women are not left out of both of these. An example from Germany in Box 1.2 shows tools that can help inform climate policies from a gender lens.

Box ‎1.2. Germany has developed a tool to assess the gender impact of its climate policies

Conducting regulatory impact assessments of climate policies, including with a gender perspective, has the potential to allow lawmakers to assess gender effects of such policies and to take gender equality goals into account in the development and implementation of climate policies.

A climate gender impact assessment tool developed by Umweltbundesamt, the German Environment Agency, uses the common two-step methodology of impact assessments – i.e. a relevance test and a main assessment. But it also builds on six gender-related dimensions that reflect diverse areas of life where gender inequality is (re)produced such as in care work, the labour economy and public resources.

These gender dimensions draw upon empirical evidence from research on climate and gender equality, and help identify and analyse gender-unequal effects of climate policies. The tool also incorporates an intersectional approach to take into account the interplay between gender or sex and other factors of inequality and marginalisation.

Source: (Sauer, 2018[15]; OECD, 2021[16]).

1.1.4. Gender-sensitive policymaking can underpin gender equality as a democratic value and a driver of trust in government

Greater gender equality can help support democracies and trust in the government. Ensuring gender-balanced and inclusive representation in public life and leadership and promoting gender-sensitive public institutions and policymaking processes can contribute to strengthening democracies. As forthcoming OECD research suggests, gender-balanced representation in parliaments is associated with increased satisfaction with democracies and citizens’ trust in government decision making (OECD, 2023[12]).

Promoting gender balance and diversity in public life is particularly important in the Czech Republic given that gender imbalances and stereotypes persist across society and trust in government institutions is low. As elaborated in Chapter 2, while 70% of adult respondents to a 2018 survey said they believe that violence against women is a problem in the Czech Republic, 58% indicated they believe there are cases in which a woman is partially to blame for being raped. In addition, only 30% of citizens report trusting the national government and 26% report trusting the national parliament (Amnesty International, 2018[17]). As also discussed in Chapter 2, despite improvements over time, important steps are still needed in the Czech Republic to promote women’s participation in public life, which remains below the OECD average in the areas of women’s representation in the parliament (26%), ministerial positions (31%) and the Supreme Court (23%).

In line with the relevant objectives of the national Gender Equality Strategy for 2021-2030 (Strategie rovnosti žen a mužů na léta 2021-2030) (Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, 2021[18]), (hereafter, Strategy 2021+), gender-sensitive policymaking can help in prioritising the necessary steps to close gender gaps. Such an approach can also help policymakers anticipate and address emerging challenges and new barriers to women’s participation and representation in public life. These include, for example, cyberviolence, misinformation and disinformation that are increasingly targeting female politicians (Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2018[19]). These threats are major impediments to equal participation as they can drive women to step aside from leadership roles.

1.2. Additional efforts are needed to embed gender-sensitive policymaking as the way of doing business in the Czech public administration

In recent years, the Czech Republic has taken policy steps towards greater progress in gender equality, evidenced by the launch of the government’s first gender equality strategy in 2014 and the subsequent Strategy 2021+ currently in force. Gender focal points (GFPs) are in place to support the integration of gender considerations in the work of line ministries. In addition, a government resolution requires all submissions to the Cabinet to include a gender impact assessment (GIA), a process supported by an implementation Handbook provided by the Gender Equality Department. All of these efforts are aligned with the provisions of the 2015 OECD Recommendation on Gender Equality in Public Life. While the economic and social benefits of gender-sensitive policymaking are clear, additional efforts are needed to institutionalise this approach as intrinsic to the way of doing business across the Czech public administration.

Several factors have hindered the government’s ability to fully realise the expected impacts of these steps. Among others, these factors include the marginalisation of the gender equality objectives by key stakeholders, varying levels of political support, the limited sustainability of government initiatives due to its reliance on external funding, limited resourcing capacity and inconsistent implementation as a result of due to changing responsibilities among different Cabinet members. Analyses undertaken by the Gender Equality Department have found, for example, that GIAs are insufficiently utilised in government materials and that GFPs, while responsible for implementing gender mainstreaming, usually fill the position on a part-time basis and often face limited competencies. Lessons from COVID-19 have highlighted the importance of having building blocks in the form of formalised institutional structures, capacities and processes to effectively mobilise the state apparatus for gender-sensitive emergency management and recovery.

This report assesses the Czech Republic’s gender equality efforts and outcomes in accordance with the standards set forth in the OECD Gender Recommendations1 and in view of well-tested good practices across the OECD aimed at strengthening government capacity for gender-sensitive policymaking and inclusive recovery. The Review consists of seven chapters (including this introductory chapter) that cover the following issues:

• Chapter 2 provides a brief overview of how the Czech Republic ranks in various established gender equality indices relative to other countries in the OECD and the EU in terms of key gender indicators in the areas of labour force participation, wage gaps, time spent in paid and unpaid work, parental leave and childcare policies, and women’s participation in public and private sector leadership and in public employment. It also considers, to the extent possible, the specific impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on these areas.

• Chapter 3 assesses the legal and strategic frameworks for gender equality and gender mainstreaming in the Czech Republic, how they have evolved, and key success factors and lessons learned. 

• Chapter 4 reviews the institutional set-up for gender equality in the Czech government including the roles, responsibilities, capacities and capabilities of various public institutions engaged in advancing the country’s gender equality agenda. It further assesses whole-of-government co-ordination structures for the promotion of the gender equality agenda.

• Chapter 5 examines the extent to which GIAs are employed in the Czech Republic and ways to strengthen their use and enhance citizen participation in policymaking to achieve greater gender equality. It also discusses the availability and use of gender-disaggregated data and evidence to support gender-sensitive policymaking.

• Chapter 6 discusses recent efforts in relation to gender budgeting in the Czech Republic and how gender equality considerations might be incorporated in a more explicit and effective way throughout the budget cycle to build an effective gender budgeting framework.

• Chapter 7 reviews accountability and transparency mechanisms for gender equality policies, in particular, the roles played by the Office of Government of the Czech Republic in co-ordinating gender equality policies; the Ombudsperson in handling gender-related complaints; the parliament in ensuring the government is effectively implementing gender mainstreaming in line with the legal, policy and strategic frameworks; and the public administration as a whole in ensuring senior leadership and managers are adhering to gender equality and anti-discrimination policies and principles (e.g. through performance appraisals).

References

[17] Amnesty International (2018), Problematika násilí na ženách optikou české populace (The Issue of Violence Against Women from the Perspective of the Czech Population), PowerPoint presentation, https://www.amnesty.cz/data/file/4254-vvm_problematika-nasili-na-zenach-optikou-ceske-populace.pptx?version=1541109702.

[2] European Commission (2022), “COM(2022)383 final”, in Review Report on the Implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2022-07/com_2022_383_1_en.pdf.

[1] European Commission (2020), 2020 European Semester: Country Report - Czechia, https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/2020-european_semester_country-report-czech-republic_en.pdf.

[4] European Commission (2020), A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2020%3A152%3AFIN (accessed on  April 2023).

[14] Government of the Czech Republic (2022), Národní plán obnovy (National Recovery Plan), https://www.planobnovycr.cz/ (accessed on  April 2023).

[13] Government of the Czech Republic (2022), Programové prohlášení vlády České republiky (Policy statement of the Government of the Czech Republic), https://www.vlada.cz/assets/jednani-vlady/programove-prohlaseni/programove-prohlaseni-vlady-Petra-Fialy.pdf.

[19] Inter-Parliamentary Union (2018), Sexism, harassment and violence against women in parliaments in Europe, https://www.ipu.org/resources/publications/issue-briefs/2018-10/sexism-harassment-and-violence-against-women-in-parliaments-in-europe.

[10] Nicol, S. (2022), “Gender budgeting: The economic and fiscal rationale”, OECD Journal on Budgeting, Vol. 22/3, https://doi.org/10.1787/9ca9b221-en.

[12] OECD (2023), Joining Forces for Gender Equality: What is Holding us Back?, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/67d48024-en.

[5] OECD (2022), OECD Economic Outlook, Volume 2022 Issue 1, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/62d0ca31-en.

[8] OECD (2022), Tax Policy and Gender Equality: A Stocktake of Country Approaches, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/b8177aea-en.

[16] OECD (2021), Gender and the Environment: Building Evidence and Policies to Achieve the SDGs, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/3d32ca39-en.

[9] OECD (2021), Policy Framework on Gender-sensitive Public Governance, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://www.oecd.org/mcm/Policy-Framework-for-Gender-Sensitive-Public-Governance.pdf.

[11] OECD (2019), Fast Forward to Gender Equality: Mainstreaming, Implementation and Leadership, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/g2g9faa5-en.

[3] OECD (2016), “Recommendation of the Council on Gender Equality in Public Life”, OECD Legal Instruments, OECD/LEGAL/0418, OECD, Paris, https://legalinstruments.oecd.org/en/instruments/OECD-LEGAL-0418.

[7] OECD (2011), Government at a Glance 2011, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/gov_glance-2011-en.

[18] Office of the Government of the Czech Republic (2021), Gender Equality Strategy for 2021-2030, https://www.vlada.cz/assets/ppov/gcfge/Gender-Equality-Strategy-2021-2030.pdf.

[15] Sauer, A. (2018), Equality Governance via Policy Analysis?: The Implementation of Gender Impact Assessment in the European Union and Gender-based Analysis in Canada, Bielefeld: transcript Verlag, https://doi.org/10.14361/9783839443767.

[6] Vladisavljević, M., Ž. Jelena and C. Perugini (2019), “Austerity and gender inequalities in Europe in times of crisis”, Cambridge Journal of Economics, Vol. 43/3, pp. 733-767, https://doi.org/10.1093/cje/bey044.

Note

← 1.  The OECD Recommendation on Gender Equality in Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship [OECD/LEGAL/0398] and the OECD Recommendation on Gender Equality in Public Life [OECD/LEGAL/0418] are together referred to as the OECD Gender Recommendations.