Cyprus is ranked 22nd out of the 27 EU Member States in terms of gender equality, according to the European Institute for Gender Equality's Indicators, said Commissioner for Gender Equality, Josie Christodoulou. Speaking on Wednesday at a training meeting on gender equality issues for the Network for Supporting the Implementation of Anti-Racist Policy at the Pedagogical Institute, the Commissioner said the government's aim is to launch a different approach to fighting discrimination and promoting gender equality. More specifically and in this direction, she noted, the first objective is the establishment of the Office of the Equality Commissioner to guide policy production, have a coordinating role and monitor the horizontal implementation of equality policies across all Ministries and Deputy Ministries. She said that it has already been decided by the Cabinet that all Ministries and Deputy Ministries should appoint a person to work towards this end in coordination with the Office of the Commissioner. Christodoulou noted that the National Strategic Plan for Gender Equality will be prepared in collaboration with all Ministries and Deputy Ministries, following consultations with the National Women's Rights Mechanism and civil society. Subsequently, Ministries and Deputy Ministries will develop their own internal action plan to implement the National Equality Strategy. Regarding the Government's priorities in the area of gender equality as they relate to education, the Commissioner said that these include enriching the content of educational programmes with actions that promote empathy, gender equality, the prevention of violence against women, consensus and respect so that schools respond to the realities of the modern world and promote healthy relationships. She added that the government will be expanding the institution of STEAM schools in all cities and promoting this approach in the general curriculum, while combating gender stereotypes. "Through the effective enhancement of career guidance, we are guiding students on the basis of their abilities and skills. The aim is to encourage girls to pursue the professions of the future and traditional 'male professions' as well as to allow boys, if they wish and have the skills, to pursue traditional 'female professions'," she said. For this to be possible, she continued, teachers and career guidance counsellors should be systematically trained on issues related to deconstructing gender stereotypes and should consciously operate in an inclusive manner. In her speech, the Commissioner said that there is a large gap in personal time since the participation of women and men in the care and education of their children or grandchildren, the elderly and disabled, as well as in domestic work, the so-called care economy, is clearly much greater for women. As a result, she noted, women participate less, due to lack of time, in social, cultural, sporting and recreational activities. Equally important, she continued, is the fact that as a result of the above there is a negative impact in areas of 'power' where men are over-represented: politics, the economy, as well as on the boards of research organisations and the media. At the same time, she said that the gender pay gap in Cyprus reaches 9.9 per cent and has a long-term impact on pensions, as the gap there reaches 37.2 per cent, with women being close to the poverty line. On a positive note, Christodoulou pointed out that women and girls in Cyprus are performing very well in terms of education and academic qualifications. According to data derived from the Labour Force Survey, conducted by the Statistical Service on an annual basis, the percentage of female and male higher education graduates in 2014 stood at 35.1% and 30.1% respectively and in 2022 the percentage of female graduates is 41.1% and male graduates 36.7%. We observe the disparities in numbers and comparing them with the performance of girls in academia one could say that suddenly women are disappearing from the social and political sphere since stereotypes and prejudices combined with the lack of care structures keep women at home, push them into part-time work or pay them less than men, since consciously or subconsciously, they are considered inferior, noted the Commissioner.
Source: Cyprus News Agency