EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES AND TREATMENT.
Guide on a standard action plan
The elimination of all forms of gender discrimination is a responsibility undertaken by Romania since 2002 by adopting Law no. 202, which regulated specific measures intended to ensure equal opportunities and treatment between women and men in all domains of public life in Romania. In 2019, the Methodological Rules implementing Law no. 202/2002 were also adopted, which described the steps that should be taken in order to ensure and maintain equal opportunities and treatment between women and men in any organization.
One of the mandatory measures for any public or private entity is to prepare an action plan for implementing the principle of equal opportunities between women and men, which should include at least: active measures for promoting equal opportunities and treatment between women and men and the elimination of direct and indirect discrimination based on gender, measures for preventing and combating harassment in the workplace or in public institutions, measures for eliminating remuneration
inequalities, promotion to positions and holding decisional positions based on non-discriminatory criteria.
At the beginning of this month, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection launched the public debate on a draft order approving the methodological guide for standard Action Plans, which helps those that are obliged to prepare them by outlining certain general guidelines relating to the manner in which they should be designed and implemented, including a template for such Action Plan. According to this guide, the Action Plans should take into consideration the following areas of intervention:
a) Access to employment;
b) Classification of occupations;
c) Professional promotion and training;
d) Working time in orderto promote the balance between professional life and private or family life;
e) Issues relating to prevention of sexual harassment and gender harassment.
The draft defines the following phases of the action plan:
1. Initiative and commitment
The first steps for launching the action plan will be taken by the management of the public or private entity and will be communicated at the level of the entire entity and undertaken by written commitment.
2. Diagnosis
The diagnosis mainly refers to the identification/diagnosis of the goals which should be accomplished for the purposes of improving the integration into the labor market and the training and promotion of women and men, so as to ensure continuous training and career development for the entire staff. To such end, an in-depth analysis of the current situation of the entity will be conducted, in order to identify the requirements and potential of the staff, who can be involved in the preparation of the plan.
3. Design of the policies on equal opportunities and treatment between women and men
Each entity shall design its own policies, depending on the information obtained during the previous diagnosis process, priority being granted to the steps directed towards areas where forms of gender discrimination have been identified. The action plan including these policies should be communicated to the entire staff, either by means of information sessions or by posting on the company’s website, or any other means of communication.
4. Implementation
The implementation phase begins after completion of the design and communication phases. The monitoring mechanisms which will help to assess the progress recorded in the implementation of the plan will also be established in this phase.
5. Monitoring and assessment
The action plan should be assessed periodically by an employee or a team appointed to such end.
Instruments such as questionnaires, written interviews or discussions may be used in order to assess the results of the implementation of the plan.
The need to implement an Action Plan that would ensure equal opportunities, which should be measurable, either on the short term or on the long term, is emphasized. The above-mentioned diagnosis process, which identifies the areas likely to result in gender discrimination cases, and the prioritization of the steps taken in such areas, play a major role in this respect.
The proposals, suggestions and opinions on this draft legislative act, may be delivered to the e-mail address: dezbateri@mmuncii.gov.ro , within 10 calendar days as of publication on the website, namely 6 May 2021
