Promoting Gender Equality in the Republic of Belarus

Gender equality (also called gender parity) is a concept implying the achievement of equal rights between men and women.

Gender equality is associated with human rights, especially women's rights, as well as economic development.

In the modern world, sustainable societal development is impossible without achieving gender equality. Gender equality is one of the indicators of a society's level of democratization and civilization.

The Republic of Belarus has signed and ratified a number of basic UN documents aimed at protecting women's interests and achieving gender equality. At the international level, Belarus has assumed specific obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), signed its Optional Protocol; the Declaration of the IV World Conference on the Status of Women (Beijing, 1995), the Millennium Declaration, and other UN documents have been signed. Belarus's international commitments imply that the state must define gender equality as one of its priorities and formulate a national gender policy.

In our country, the National Action Plan for Ensuring Gender Equality for 2011–2015 was developed and approved by the Decree of the Council of Ministers No. 1101 dated August 16, 2011.

The goal of the national plan is to coordinate the actions of republican state administration bodies, local executive and administrative bodies, and public organizations aimed at preventing manifestations of discrimination based on sex and creating conditions that ensure the fullest realization of the personal potential of women and men in all spheres of life.

Among the tasks of this document are promoting parity representation of men and women at all levels of government; introducing gender knowledge into the education system, and forming in public consciousness the need for social equality between men and women in all spheres of social life. It also concerns preserving and strengthening the reproductive health of men, women, and adolescents to ensure normal population reproduction and improve quality of life. Special attention is paid to strengthening the institution of family and marital relations, promoting the values of marriage and family, achieving gender equality in family relationships, including involving men in domestic labor and child-rearing processes. Important is facilitating gender equality in the economic sphere, further developing entrepreneurship among women, and increasing the competitiveness of women in the labor market. The emphasis is placed on transforming public consciousness and eradicating gender stereotypes associated with the idea of superiority and dominance of one sex over another.

The Public Association "Club of Business Women" takes a gender approach into account in its activities when writing projects and planning its work. Why do we do this? In order for discrimination based on sex to cease to exist in society and for gender equality to be achieved, which is a basic condition for democratic development and the guarantee of society reaching a new qualitative level.

We also engage in gender education, conducting trainings, events, and information meetings in schools, colleges, and universities to promote gender equality and form a gender culture among young people.