7. Fostering accountability for gender equality policies in the Czech Republic
Robust, government-wide accountability and oversight mechanisms can play an important role in the achievement of a country’s gender equality goals. These mechanisms help identify needs, gaps and challenges around achievement of specific gender-related objectives, evaluate impacts, and provide redress and recourse options. As such, they can foster the implementation of gender equality and gender mainstreaming strategies and promote monitoring and reporting on progress and remaining gaps. This chapter assesses the mechanisms for public sector oversight and accountability that exist in the Czech Republic for the promotion of gender equality at the managerial and ministerial level as well as at the level of Parliament and independent institutions. It concludes with a series of action-oriented recommendations to further enhance the potential of these accountability and oversight mechanisms to support evidence-based, gender-sensitive policymaking and improved gender policy results in the Czech Republic.
Better outcomes for citizens have a greater chance of being achieved if they are supported by robust accountability mechanisms across the government (OECD, 2021[1]). They can serve as catalysts for achieving gender equality goals by helping to identify needs, gaps and challenges; evaluate the impact of efforts by different government actors; provide redress and recourse options. For the purposes of this chapter, accountability refers to the democratic responsibility and duty of the Czech government, and the overall state system, to inform citizens about the decisions they make regarding gender equality and to provide an account of their activities and performance related to the achievement of gender equality objectives. For accountability mechanisms to be robust, they need to exist government wide and at multiple levels, and this applies to accountability and oversight provided at senior managerial level within public administrations, at the ministerial level, and at the level of parliaments and other independent oversight institutions such as national audit institutions, ombudspersons and the judiciary.
This chapter looks at the established and potential scrutiny mechanisms in the Czech Republic related to the government’s actions and commitments around gender equality.
7.2.1. The Government Council for Gender Equality monitors the implementation of gender equality goals
As discussed in Chapter 4, the Gender Equality Department (the Department) is the main co-ordination body for gender equality at the government level. It reports to the chair of the Government Council for Gender Equality (Council) and its vice-chairs, especially to the Government Commissioner for Human Rights (the Commissioner). As the Department is located in the Office of the Government, its director reports to the head of the Office of the Government. In this regard, it should be noted that this is not the case for other departments, which report instead to the respective deputy ministers.
In parallel, the Council, together with its committees and working groups, monitors the implementation of the Gender Equality Strategy for 2021-2030 (Strategy 2021+) and fulfilment of the government’s international commitments in the area of gender equality. The Council and its bodies include both government and non-governmental representatives, which provides an additional layer of scrutiny to evaluate the efforts of the Czech government in promoting gender equality.
Notably, with regard to Strategy 2021+, the Department in co-operation with the Council annually prepares the Report on Gender Equality; and the Report on the Fulfilment of the Strategy 2021+ as its appendix (Box 7.1).
Strategy 2021+ has put in place an annual reporting on progress made in its implementation. The Gender Equality Department under the direction of the Government Commissioner for Human Rights gathers information from all ministries, the Office of the Public Defender of Rights, the Czech Statistical Office, non-profit organisations and other relevant stakeholders (including academia). The reporting adheres to a predefined structure (through an Excel sheet) that the Department provides to all stakeholders, who report progress on implementing all tasks they are responsible for and the standard pertaining to the gender focal point position, against its indicators. Annual reporting also tracks, on the implementation of the Action Plan on the Prevention of Domestic and Gender-Based Violence and Strategy 2021+, which focuses on increasing the number of women in leadership positions within the public administration and state-owned companies.
The Annual Report on Gender Equality and the Report on the Fulfilment of the Strategy 2021+ follows the structure of the chapters of the Strategy 2021+.
The Council (or its committees) discuss the findings and the subsequently drafted report. Once approved by the Council, the annual report goes through the standard inter-ministerial comment procedure via eKLEP and it is ultimately submitted to the government.
Source: Office of the Government of the Czech Republic (2021[2]), Gender Equality Strategy for 2021-2030, https://www.vlada.cz/assets/ppov/gcfge/Gender-Equality-Strategy-2021-2030.pdf.
Challenges around the decision-making power of the Government Council for Gender Equality limits accountability
As discussed in Chapter 4, there is scope to strengthen the Council’s mandate to follow-up on its recommendations to the government in the area of gender equality, to monitor their take-up and implementation. The lack of authority to follow-up poses an important limitation to the potential impact the Council can have in accelerating the implementation of the national gender equality objectives.
7.2.2. The Government Legislative Council and Regulatory Impact Assessment Board can potentially play key roles in overseeing gender-sensitive legislation
As noted in Chapter 4, the Government Legislative Council and the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) Board can potentially contribute to strengthening gender impact assessments (GIAs). The Government Legislative Council is an advisory body of the Czech government located in the Office of the Government, under the authority of the Minister for Legislation. Most members of the Council are lawyers and experts from outside the government; currently, only 5 of the 30 members are women. The Council chair is the Minister for Legislation, a member of the government and Cabinet member. The RIA Board, located under the Legislative Council, has 14 members including the chair; presently, only one of the members is a woman.
The two bodies assess legislative proposals, including regarding whether an assessment of the impacts of a regulation was carried out in accordance with the General Principles for Regulatory Impact Assessment. The Legislative Council also provides opinions on legislative proposals. As part of its assessment of the government’s proposed Legislative Work Plan for the following year, the RIA Board also suggests which legislative proposals should be accompanied by RIA. In addition, the RIA Board can provide consultations on RIA to the line ministries and other central organs of the public administration (Government of the Czech Republic, 2011[3]).
Currently, neither the Legislative Council nor the RIA Board evaluate whether the gender-related impacts of legislative drafts have been assessed. Given that a government resolution requires GIAs and that and Strategy 2021+ outlines the objective to develop gender-sensitive legislation, there is a significant potential for the two bodies, supported by the RIA Unit within the Office of Government, to play a more active role in reviewing legislative proposals from a gender perspective (Chapter 4). It is also recommended that the gender-balanced composition of these structures be pursued alongside a strengthening of their gender expertise, for example through training and capacity building of the members.
7.2.3. Establishing managerial accountability mechanisms can accelerate progress towards gender equality objectives
If achieving gender equality-related objectives is not part of the regular performance objectives of civil servants, including at the senior management level, there may be limited incentives for civil servants to consider these tasks as part of their daily work and the risk of further marginalisation of the gender equality agenda.
Under the Act no. 234/2014 Coll. on Civil Service of the Czech Republic, every civil servant is subject to regular service and performance evaluation, which is generally carried out once a year. The appraisal process includes evaluation of their knowledge and skills; their performance of the service in terms of correctness, speed and independence in accordance with the set individual goals; their behaviour; and attendance at and impact of trainings. At present, there are no requirements to consider gender-related performance goals, and most often, civil service performance is not assessed on this basis. However, in some ministries, internal directives and organisation rules provide a solid basis to gradually introduce a gender angle in performance appraisal systems. For example, within the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, the organisational rules state that each section of the ministry is responsible for a gender equality agenda within their section (Box 7.2).
The organisational Rules of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports specifies that “each section of the ministry is responsible for the gender equality agenda within the section and for fulfilling the ministerial and government commitments and priorities at the national and international level”. They further notes that the Human Resources Unit “covers the activity of gender focal points, serves as a consultation point for the gender equality agenda in relation to the ministry’s agenda and applying a gender perspective, especially in preparation of strategic documents, conceptions, subsidy or funding programmes and projects with impact on people; and assess impacts of legislative and non-legislative materials in internal and inter-ministerial standard comment procedures”.
Source: Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic (n.d.[4]), Organisational Rules of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Annex no. 1: The content of the activities of the ministry's organisational units. Retrieved from: https://www.msmt.cz/file/58107/.
Some OECD countries have introduced performance reviews of managers and senior leaders as a line of managerial accountability that builds gender equality or diversity targets directly into the performance agreements for top managers (Box 7.3). In this regard, gender equality-related performance targets could be introduced for managers in the Czech administration as a part of the revised Strategy 2021+. For instance, there is scope to include such targets as a part of the annual public service assessment exercise for civil servants, including managers.
Canada
The Public Service Commission (PSC) in Canada, along with the Treasury Board, has broad accountability for overseeing equity in all appointments under the Public Service Employment Act. The Employment Equity Act requires the PSC to identify and eliminate barriers and to institute positive policies and practices in the public service appointment system to achieve a representative workforce, focusing on four designated categories: women, Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities and visible minorities. The PSC oversees the gender equality commitments through the Management Accountability Framework and Performance Management Agreements of managers in departments and agencies and holds them accountable for maintaining their departments in a state of audit readiness.
Furthermore, the prime minister of Canada issues mandate letters to outline the policy priorities for ministers to accomplish as well as the pressing challenges they will address in their role, thereby creating a ministerial accountability mechanism. In recent years, the government has publicly released ministerial mandate letters as part of its plan for open and transparent government for Canadians. In January 2021 and later in December of that year, the letters included commitments for all ministers to apply Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+) in their decisions and consider public policies through an intersectional lens to address systemic inequities.
Australia
The Australian Public Service Commission oversees the progress and reporting of the Australian Public Service Gender Equality Strategies. The 2021-26 Gender Strategy by the Public Service Commission in Australia also includes leadership and managerial accountability for the pursuit of gender equality in public institutions among its six priority actions and suggests specific key performance indicators for senior leader performance agreements.
Source: Information provided by the government of Canada and government of Australia to the OECD in 2022; (OECD, 2014[5]); (Government of Australia, 2021[6]); 2021 OECD Survey on Gender Mainstreaming and Governance (2021 GMG Survey).
7.3.1. Greater capacity can help the Office of the Public Defender of Rights to more effectively fulfil its mandate
The Office of the Public Defender of Human Rights (the Ombudsperson’s Office) is the national equality body responsible for equal treatment and protection against discrimination in the Czech Republic since 20091 (Chapter 2). The Ombudsperson’s Office is further mandated to protect people against misconduct by public authorities or institutions. Among others, the Ombudsperson’s role is to protect people from discrimination, provide victims of discrimination with methodological assistance, conduct research on discrimination and issue recommendations to promote equal treatment. Upon receiving a complaint from a citizen, the Ombudsperson’s Office can initiate an assessment if it is deemed to be within the office’s jurisdiction. Based on the assessment, the Ombudsperson’s Office prepares a report that is sent to the concerned public authority. In case the Ombudsperson’s Office finds the behaviour of the public authority as discriminatory, they demand its rectification. While the Ombudsperson does not have the power to enforce such a demand, it can bring it to the attention of the superiors of the concerned authority if the authority does not apply relevant measures to correct its behaviour. The Ombudsperson’s Office also lacks the power to litigate or turn to the Constitutional Court with a proposal for constitutional review of allegedly discriminatory statutory laws. In this regard, there is scope to strengthen the powers of the Ombudsperson to enforce corrective measures.
The Ombudsperson’s Office is limited in its ability to fulfil its mandate in a number of ways. One is the low rate of discrimination-related reporting. Stakeholders consulted for this report suggest that only about 11% of discrimination cases are being reported. Noting this, the Ombudsperson’s Strategic Plan outlines helping citizens to report cases of discrimination as one of its goals (Public Defender of Rights, 2016[7]). In 2020, the Ombudsperson’s Office dealt with 51 complaints alleging discrimination on the grounds of gender, of which 37 were new complaints received in 2020. The most common forms of gender-based discrimination reported in recent years are in the field of work and employment especially related to hiring, working conditions, unequal pay, and bullying, harassment, and sexual harassment in the workplace (Government of the Czech Republic, 2021[8]).
Its limited staff capacity is a further challenge to the office in effectively carrying out its mandate: only 3 of the 16 personnel work on gender equality. Strategy 2021+ highlights limited competencies as an additional constraint on the ability of the Ombudsperson’s Office to adequately perform its role related to gender equality (Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, 2021[2]).
The 2018 Recommendation on the Standards for Equality Bodies adopted by the European Commission (EC) lays out a set of guidelines for Member States’ equality bodies, e.g. the need for adequate resources (human, financial and technical) especially a sufficiently large and adequately qualified staff. The guidelines also include indicators to evaluate the degree of fulfilment of these standards. In accordance with the EC recommendation, Strategy 2021+ includes as one of its objectives to maximise the effectiveness of the organisational structure of the Ombudsperson’s office, including finding ways to ensure sufficient capacities to carry out its mandate (Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, 2021[2]). Strategy 2021+ foresees an evaluation of the competencies, functioning and staffing capacity of the Ombudsperson's Office. In December 2022, the EC also introduced a new legislative initiative to set minimum standards for the functioning of equality bodies, which could pave the way for reinforcing the Ombudsperson’s Office (European Commission, n.d.[9]). Box 7.4 describes the mandates and functioning of ombudsperson offices in Norway and Spain.
Norway
Norway’s Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud (Likestillings- og diskrimineringsombudet) in 2006 to represent the interests of those who are discriminated against. Its main task is to promote equality and fight discrimination based on "gender, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and age”. This independent agency, with tribunal, promotional and litigation faculties, actively engages in public hearings, provides comments on laws and public plans, engages in public debates, and provides information to the media. The Ombud is free from instructions from the government, as it is obliged to monitor Norway's human rights fulfilment and offer guidance to individuals, employers and organisations – all in accord with the vision of contributing to the creation of a society where "power and influence are equally distributed, freedom is available to all, and dignity is inherent to each individual”.
The Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud was established in January 2006 by an act of Parliament and is a result of the merger of the former Gender Equality Ombud, the Gender Equality Centre, and the Centre for combating ethnic discrimination. The Ombud's mandate has been broadened throughout the years to include a wider range of discrimination grounds such as sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.
Spain
Spain’s ombudsperson (Defensor del Pueblo) is the high commissioner of the parliament and is responsible for defending citizens’ fundamental rights and civil liberties by monitoring the activity of the administration and public authorities. The office is an independent institution that performs its duties with independence and impartiality, does not receive orders or instructions from any authority, and performs its duties with discretion. It reports to the parliament and is included in the general state budget within the parliament’s budget.
Citizens can request the intervention of the ombudsperson free of charge to investigate claims of irregular action. By virtue of the office, the ombudsperson also is able to intervene in cases that come to its attention despite the lack of a formal complaint. In the area of equal treatment, it carries out actions “in relation to any type of discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, religious affiliation, disability or any other personal or social condition or circumstance”. In its 2021 annual report, the ombudsperson strongly highlighted failures and shortcomings related to the attention given to the issue of violence against women.
Source: (The Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud, 2022[10]; El defensor del Pueblo, 2022[11]; El defensor del Pueblo, 2022[12]).
7.3.2. The role of the Parliament and parliamentary committees could be strengthened
As the gatekeepers of the legislative agenda and oversight institutions for the work of governments, parliaments (and parliamentary committees) can play an important role in the gender equality agenda. By reviewing existing and draft legislations and monitoring the activities of government through reviews and inquiries, parliaments can strengthen the overall commitment to gender equality and gender mainstreaming (OECD, 2019[13]).
The Parliament of the Czech Republic can further contribute to the oversight of the government’s gender equality policy
The Standing Committee for Family, Equal Opportunities of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic (Standing Committee) is the working group of the Parliament that is responsible for the gender equality agenda. It monitors the fulfilment of the Czech Republic's international obligations in the field of gender equality and national minorities, in particular the obligations arising from the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. It also analyses the current situation of families and seniors in the Czech Republic and deals with specific measures to improve this. In addition, the Standing Committee analyses current societal issues, including those related to families, and monitors the preparation and implementation of family policies, strategic documents related to gender equality and legal instruments for the protection of national minorities. In particular, since 2021, it has focused on the work related to relevant EU directives, including the implementation of the work-life balance directive (European Union, 2019[14]) and the position of the Czech Republic to the pay transparency directive (European Union, 2022[15]). The Standing Committee has 16 self-nominated members, on the basis of self-nomination by the members of the Chamber of Deputies. Representatives from the Department, the Ombudsperson and non-governmental organisations are regularly invited as guest participants. Another mechanism is the Subcommittee on Domestic and Sexual Violence of the Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs, which focuses on legislation on this issue, also in relation to the Directive of the European Parliament and of the European Council on combating violence against women and domestic violence (European Union, 2022[15]).
Relative to the general OECD practice, there is room to consider further strengthening the role of the Czech parliament and its Standing Committee with regard to gender equality scrutiny and oversight. For instance, the Standing Committee does not have any specific role related to the requirements to identify potential impacts of draft or existing legislation on women and men from diverse backgrounds. Nor are there mechanisms for ministerial accountability to the Parliament in matters of gender equality, particularly those related to the government resolution approving Strategy 2021+ and the responsibility of ministers to enforce it. the government also is not required to report to the parliament on gender equality goals, including the submission of the Annual Report on Gender Equality that is prepared by the Department to the Parliament. In this regard, parliamentary scrutiny of gender equality commitments and goals can be formalised through the work of the Standing Committee by considering a systematic review of GIA requirements as well as putting in place annual reporting mechanisms whereby the Standing Committee could consult and discuss the Annual Report of Gender Equality or the implementation of Strategy 2021+.
There is also room to gradually consider a gender perspective in the work of other standing committees and commissions of the Parliament as a cross-cutting matter. Box 7.5 provides a few examples from OECD countries in this regard. The oversight role of parliamentary committees can also be strengthened by adopting inclusive approaches when collecting evidence, calling in witnesses from diverse backgrounds and undertaking committee hearings on a variety of policy matters.
Austria
As gender equality is a cross-cutting policy field various mechanisms have been established to co-ordinate the dialogue among ministries, supreme organs, agencies, and subnational governments. One important mechanism is the inter-ministerial co-ordination for gender-related performance budgeting by the Federal Performance Management Office in the Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, Civil Service and Sport, in which all ministries and supreme organs participate in. The efforts undertaken and the progress made due to this co-ordination are reported to the Parliament and the public in the Annual Report on Outcome Orientation.
Additionally, the Austrian Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) was established in 2012 to support the Austrian Parliament in the budgetary process and in consulting and enacting budget laws. Key tasks of the PBO are supporting the Budget Committee in form of written expertise, analysis and short studies on budgetary documents published by the government according to the Federal Organic Budget Act; preparing information briefs upon request of members of the Budget Committee; supporting other parliamentary committees regarding impact assessment of new legislation; and consulting the Parliament on performance budgeting concerning equality of women and men (gender budgeting). PBO studies address the progress towards gender equality in the framework of performance budgeting; the PBO also publishes recommendations for enhancement of the framework itself.
Ireland
In December 2021, the Irish Parliament (Oireachtas) established a Joint Committee on Gender Equality consisting of members from both Houses of Parliament. The Joint Committee is tasked with considering the recommendations in the Report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality and is to report to the Parliament within nine months of its first public meeting. The key functions of the committee are related to reviewing draft legislation, monitoring the work of government departments and advising on policy issues related to gender equality. Among its powers is the power to invite submissions, hold hearings with the Minister for Justice; Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation, and Science; Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth; and Minister of Health. It is also empowered to hold hearings with diverse stakeholders and publish reports.
Sweden
The Swedish Parliament (Riksdag) introduced gender mainstreaming in 1994. This means that the Riksdag and its committees should consider gender equality in all scrutiny of the executive branch. All new legislation should be accompanied by an analysis of the impact it will have on men and women. Thus, when parliament committees are examining legislation, they are able to take into account its impact on men and women and use this information to make a more informed decision when they vote on the proposal. Gender has also been mainstreamed into budget scrutiny, with the Committee for Finance examining the annual budget for gender equality aspects as a matter of course.
Source: Information provided by the government of Austria to the OECD in 2022; (OECD, 2018[16]; OECD, 2022[17]).
The Budget Committee could play a critical role to implement gender budgeting
In countries where gender budgeting is practised, parliamentary budget committees can fulfil the key function related to accountability. As discussed in Chapter 6, gender budgeting is not currently implemented in the Czech Republic. However, during the OECD interviews, the Budget Committee of the Parliament of the Czech Republic has shown interest in engaging with any gender information presented by the government alongside the budget. Taking account of this interest, a dedicated role for gender budgeting accountability can be considered for this committee.
The Senate could take on a more active role in providing oversight for gender equality
While the Czech Senate does not have any dedicated responsibilities related to monitoring progress on gender equality in the Czech Republic, its proactive involvement can provide essential scrutiny. For example, recently, the Senate of Canada, more specifically its Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, which convened a series of meetings inviting ministers, experts, representatives from various sectors to discuss the role of Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) in the policy process (Senate of Canada, 2022[18]).
7.3.3. The Supreme Audit Office can help accelerate the implementation of the gender policy through formal oversight
Supreme audit institutions and offices can help identify needs, gaps and challenges in fulfilling a country’s gender equality goals as they evaluate the impact of efforts taken by various government actors and foster greater accountability. Across the OECD, supreme audit institutions are playing an increasingly active role in monitoring the fulfilment of gender equality objectives. In the past five years, these institutions in at least ten OECD member countries have conducted an audit of gender-related initiatives, compared to only three in 2017. Box 7.6 provides an example from the European Court of Auditor’s recent audit of gender mainstreaming in the EU budget.
In 2021, the European Court of Auditors published an audit that assessed whether the European Commission has made use of gender mainstreaming in the EU budget to promote equality between women and men. More specifically it assessed the extent to which:
gender mainstreaming had been applied in the EU budget to promote equality between women and men from 2014 onward
the Commission’s framework for supporting gender mainstreaming was appropriate
gender equality had been incorporated into five selected EU funding programmes.
Source: European Court of Auditors (2020[19]), Audit Preview: Gender Mainstreaming in the EU Budget, https://www.eca.europa.eu/fr/Pages/DocItem.aspx?did=53149.
Currently, Czech Republic’s Supreme Audit Office (SAO) does not play any explicit oversight role related to gender equality and gender mainstreaming. This is to be expected as its mandate mostly relates to auditing the financial management and resources (including auditing the use of subsidies earmarked for projects related to gender equality) and not the implementation of government policies and how these progress on strategic priorities. However, going forward and noting recent practices across OECD, such an engagement could be envisaged, as appropriate and with adequate gender expertise within the SAO.
7.4.1. Strengthen oversight and accountability mechanisms for gender equality within the executive branch
The Government Council for Gender Equality monitors the implementation of gender equality goals through regular reporting by the Gender Equality Department. It also makes recommendations to the Cabinet in the area of gender equality, though the Council has a limited mandate to follow up on its recommendations. As an important first step to strengthen executive accountability, the government could consider having a member of the government responsible for the gender equality policy (e.g. either a standalone minister or the Government Commissioner for Human Rights) systematically participate in the Cabinet to facilitate the implementation of the Council recommendations (Chapter 4).
Considering the gender impact assessment requirement via the government resolution and the objectives of Strategy 2021 + to develop gender-sensitive legislation, there is a strong potential for the Legislative Council and the Regulatory Impact Assessment Board to play a more active challenge and oversight role in reviewing legislative proposals from a gender perspective (Chapter 4). Strengthening the gender expertise within the composition of these structures and pursuing a more gender-diverse composition of their members can help underpin these efforts.
Establishing managerial accountability mechanisms within line ministries can help making progress on gender equality objectives. For example, gender equality-related performance targets could be introduced for managers in the Czech administration in line with the Civil Servants Act.
7.4.2. Accountability for gender equality through the parliament and independent institutions
The Office of the Public Defender of Rights can benefit from greater capacities to promote reporting of discrimination and to effectively fulfil its mandate to protect people from discrimination. In particular, there is scope to strengthen the powers of the office to enforce its corrective measures as well as to conduct strategic litigation and abstract constitutional review.
As the gatekeepers of the legislative agenda and oversight institutions for the work of the government, the Parliament can play an important role in the gender equality agenda. In this regard, parliamentary scrutiny for gender equality commitments and goals can be formalised through the work of the Standing Committee by considering a systematic review of GIA requirements and introducing mechanisms for the government to report annually to the Committee. There is also room to gradually consider gender perspective in the work of other Standing Committees and commissions of the Parliament as a cross-cutting matter.
The Parliamentary Budget Committee is well-positioned to play a leading role in advancing gender budgeting in the Czech Republic.
In the medium term and noting the trend across OECD members, the Supreme Audit Office in the Czech Republic can help accelerate the implementation of the gender policy through formal oversight and audits, as appropriate.
References
[12] El defensor del Pueblo (2022), Igualdad De Trato, https://www.defensordelpueblo.es/area-de-gualdad-de-trato/ (accessed on February 2023).
[11] El defensor del Pueblo (2022), Qué Es El Defensor, https://www.defensordelpueblo.es/el-defensor/que-es-el-defensor/ (accessed on February 2023).
[9] European Commission (n.d.), Equality Bodies, https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/combatting-discrimination/tackling-discrimination/equality-bodies_en#:~:text=Equality bodies promote equal treatment,2000%2F43%2FEC (accessed on April 2023).
[19] European Court of Auditors (2020), Audit preview: Gender Mainstreaming in the EU Budget, European Union, Brussels, https://www.eca.europa.eu/fr/Pages/DocItem.aspx?did=53149.
[15] European Union (2022), Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on combating violence against women and domestic violence, COM(2022) 105 final, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52022PC0105&from=CS.
[14] European Union (2019), Directive (EU) 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on work-life balance for parents and carers and repealing Council Directive 2010/18/EU, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32019L1158.
[6] Government of Australia (2021), Australian Public Service Gender Equality Strategy 2021–26, https://www.apsc.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-12/APSC%20-%20Gender%20Equality%20Strategy.pdf.
[8] Government of the Czech Republic (2021), Zpráva za rok 2020 o rovnosti žen a mužů (2020 Gender Equality Report), https://www.vlada.cz/assets/ppov/rovne-prilezitosti-zen-a-muzu/dokumenty/Zpravaorovnostizarok2020.pdf.
[3] Government of the Czech Republic (2011), Statut Legislativní rady vlády (Statute of the Legislative Council of the Government), https://www.vlada.cz/assets/ppov/lrv/statut_lrv_20111031_111822.pdf.
[4] Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic (n.d.), Organiszational Rules of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Annex no. 1: The content of the activities of the ministry’s organisationalzational units, https://www.msmt.cz/file/58107/ (accessed on February 2023).
[17] OECD (2022), “C/MIN(2022)7”, in Report on the Implementation of the OECD Gender Recommendations: Meeting of the Council at Ministerial Level, 9-10 June 2022, https://one.oecd.org/document/C/MIN(2022)7/en/pdf.
[1] 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.
[13] OECD (2019), Fast Forward to Gender Equality: Mainstreaming, Implementation and Leadership, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/g2g9faa5-en.
[16] OECD (2018), Gender Equality in Canada: Mainstreaming, Governance and Budgeting, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264301108-en.
[5] OECD (2014), Women, Government and Policy Making in OECD Countries: Fostering Diversity for Inclusive Growth, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264210745-en.
[2] 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.
[7] Public Defender of Rights (2016), Strategie rozvoje Kanceláře veřejného ochránce práv na roky 2016–2021, https://www.ochrance.cz/provoz/strategie/strategie_KVOP_2016-2021.pdf.
[18] Senate of Canada (2022), Committee Hearing of the Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology on the Role of Gender-based Analysis Plus in the Policy Process, https://sencanada.ca/content/sen/committee/441/SOCI/Reports/COM_SOCI_GBA-Plus_Report_E.pdf.
[10] The Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud (2022), The Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud website, https://www.ldo.no/en/ldo-english-page/ (accessed on February 2023).
Note
← 1. The scope of the office’s duties was broadened in an amendment to the Public Defender of Rights law (Act No. 198/2009 Coll.) in 2009.