Presidential Palace
It is very important for me, for our governance, not for symbolic purposes, but primarily for reasons of substantive importance, that the first event organised at the Presidential Palace after my assumption of office as President of the Republic of Cyprus concerns women's rights on the occasion of Women's Day.
It is therefore very important to hold this event today and I am particularly honoured by the presence of all of you because gender equality, far from communication approaches, and I often say this because it has recently become fashionable without looking at the substance, is a key priority of our governance. That is why the implementation of specific policies, with targeted measures, in order to reduce gender inequalities in our country, across the whole spectrum of our daily lives, is one of our key priorities.
Gender equality is an issue that requires a holistic approach based on a specific strategy and prioritisation in order to move from words to actions that will be evaluated daily by all of you, by civil society.
Women's Day is a day of remembrance of the timeless struggles of women to claim their rights. We commemorate the sacrifices and battles that women around the world have made to win the right to vote and be elected, to work on equal terms, to join trade unions, to participate in public life and so many other things that should have been self-evident and yet were not, and unfortunately many of them are still not self-evident today.
Despite important steps, we have to admit that we have not yet achieved full and effective equality. One of the main reasons, possibly the most basic reason why I believe that full and substantive equality has not been achieved is because equality between women and men is still today seen by some people as a social phenomenon and not as a political phenomenon, which I believe it primarily is.
Because equality is not only about women's representation and their participation in decision-making centres or their involvement in public life. On the contrary, it is an issue that touches all aspects of our everyday life: from education, to health, to the economy, to research and innovation, to the environment, to all sectors in general.
According to the indicators of the European Institute for Gender Equality, Cyprus is ranked 22nd out of the 27 EU Member States in terms of gender equality. More specifically, in Cyprus, firstly, there is a large gap in available personal time since the participation of women and men in the care and education of their children or grandchildren, elderly and disabled people, as well as in domestic work, what we call the care economy, is clearly higher for women than for men. Due to a lack of time, which is mainly devoted to caring for the extended family, women are clearly less involved in political, social, cultural, sporting and recreational activities.
Consequently, in the area of 'power', men are over-represented compared to women in all areas: politics, the economy, as well as on the boards of directors of research organisations and the media. It is precisely because of this state of affairs that the gender pay gap in Cyprus is as high as 9.9%, which has a long-term impact on pensions as well, where the gap stands at 37.2%, with some women currently close to the poverty line.
Having come to this conclusion, and having talked to hundreds of women of all social, educational and economic strata in the cities and in the countryside during our election campaign, I decided that the gender dimension should definitely be integrated into our governance programme - and I was blessed, as Foreign Minister, to do so with Josie - and that it should be horizontally integrated into all the pillars and all our political priorities, with a number of concrete, feasible and measurable actions.
When we refer to the gender dimension and the framework in which any relevant policies should be developed, we should in fact bear in mind, as our first and fundamental priority, that a state will not be able to take decisions unless it first ensures that these policies, measures and their impact will have a positive and equal impact on 50% of its population. In other words, when you adopt a policy, you must ensure that the conditions are in place that will allow it to have an equal impact on its entire population, regardless of gender, and that everyone benefits equally from the decisions taken.
Taking this basic premise into account, our governance programme includes specific horizontal actions. In the Government's first appointments, for example, and despite the always welcome criticism I have received and which I take into account - I am here to receive criticism on a daily basis and through criticism to improve - we have reached for the first time in the history of our country almost 45% participation of women. And I have done so consciously, taking into account what I have just said and the different experiences, opinions, characteristics and abilities that women bring with them to the decision-making process. In addition, as regards the process of promoting bills, we have decided that before their adoption, in cooperation with the Office of the Gender Equality Commissioner, we will carry out a relevant screening that will specifically address the gender dimension and the need to ensure their equal impact and effect on the entire population, regardless of gender. In other words, it will be examined that the legislation takes into account and has an equal impact on women and men.
Within the same framework, we have already taken specific steps towards the institutionalisation and upgrading of the institution of the Gender Equality Commissioner. The institution, which has a coordinating, executive role in the formulation and implementation of government policies and strategies, will implement actions aimed at promoting equality between women and men horizontally in relation to all government policies, always in cooperation with all Ministries and Deputy Ministries and civil society - you are our partners in this effort. In practice, this means upgrading the institution, by strengthening it, among other things, with personnel, so that the direct implementation of our actions, all those included in our pre-election programme, can proceed unhindered. At the same time, and within the framework of our political approach to the issue, one of the first decisions of the Council of Ministers was for each Ministry and Deputy Ministry to designate a specific official who will assume responsibility for implementing this aspect, gender equality, of my governance programme, always in cooperation and coordination with the Commissioner.
A European democratic country in 2023 cannot ignore the different needs and experiences of women and men, but also the complementary characteristics of women and men. It is, unfortunately, an unpleasant reality that our country, as I have already mentioned, is in 22nd place among the EU Member States in terms of promoting gender equality.
The lack of time that women have for themselves as opposed to men is, to a huge extent, due to the absence of women from key positions in all sectors. That is why we must focus on creating the conditions to make it possible for women to take an interest in participating in public life.
We have seen that in countries that have achieved equal representation and the promotion of women to decision-making centres in companies, in the public and private sectors, they have achieved this not only through quotas, which is only a temporary vehicle, a transitional stage, but mainly because they have created the conditions for this to happen. In other words, they have created structures, infrastructures and services in their countries that have made a substantial contribution to ensuring that women, who objectively have many roles: mother, working wife, daughter, grandmother, have data that have freed them and left them time to do everything they want to do without any guilt. How specifically did they achieve this? By creating family support services, by implementing flexible working hours for parents, more leave for multiparents, single parents and parents of the disabled, through the operation of crèches in workplaces, with recreational and activity areas for children where they can be safely located, with elderly care structures, public transport, and other relevant and targeted actions.
I am consciously referring, if you have noticed, not only to mothers, but to parents, since men must also be involved in this dialogue, in this effort. Without negating or ignoring biological factors, but balancing social roles, the cooperation of men in achieving the goal of gender equality is crucial. I am all too aware of the role played by stereotypes and prejudices, whether conscious or unconscious. It is for this reason that one of our key conditions to achieve what we want is also to deconstruct all these prejudices, that is where we should focus, creating a culture of gender equality starting with education, which has a very important role to play in achieving this goal.
The short-term goal of our governance is for all women to finally have the choice: To make informed decisions about their own lives, whether it is about family planning, whether they want to study, what to study, to work in so-called "non-traditional female" occupations, to participate equally, so that they can live autonomously but also be paid equally. I want to make it clear and repeat - I said it several times during the campaign - that I am fully aware that we have to work hard to deconstruct any prejudices and stereotypes in order to remove barriers, gender stereotypes and achieve a fairer society. To allow our children, boys and girls, women and men, to reach their full potential and to optimistically pursue their future and their dreams, whatever they may be based on their own free choices. It is our duty to create the conditions so that each and every person can enjoy the full range of their rights. And I know, because I have studied it thoroughly, always with the help of Joyce, that there are ways, there are good practices of other countries, that by following them we can improve the standard of living of the woman, the worker, the partner, the mother, the professional, the daughter, and through this improvement we can achieve a better standard of living and therefore a better representation of the deserving women of Cyprus in whatever they choose.
And I am convinced that this equal representation will have multiple benefits in terms of effectiveness in decision making if everyone is aware of the female characteristics of perseverance, methodicalness, practical mind, empathy, a very strong sense of justice. All this will contribute in all areas, I am absolutely sure of it, and for me the achievement of the goal of gender equality is a one-way street.
This year's World Day for Women's Rights is dedicated to innovation and technology. In this context, and as a small first indication of the importance that we as a Government attach to substance rather than symbolism, I would like to announce tonight that in cooperation with the Cyprus State Scholarship Foundation, we are instituting on an annual basis the provision of scholarships per year to 10 women, aged 25 and over, who for various reasons have not been able to study after high school and would now like to study, at a more mature age, in the fields of innovation and technology.
The establishment of the scholarships is in memory and in honour of Dr. Christiana Kouta, as a minimal recognition of what she has contributed to academia and more specifically for her action in promoting women's rights.
Before I close, let me wish all women a Happy Birthday and reiterate that, in the context of our governance, the goal is to see, to see, you, the civil society, feel the difference. And this requires hard work in all policy areas, more women in all decision-making centres, better quality structures and services across the board and, of course, breaking anachronistic stereotypes. We have already started work.
(PM/EP)
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