Equality Today: January 2023

Date of article: 03/02/2023

Daily News of: 03/02/2023

Country: EUROPE

Author: European network of equality bodies - EQUINET

Article language: en

#EquinetNews

Happy new year from Equinet!
Equinet wishes you a happy and fulfilling 2023, with plenty of opportunities to work together to improve equality in Europe. Throughout the year, we will be actively advocating for the adoption of EU legislation on Standards for Equality Bodies – see our page on Standards for Equality Bodies for updates.
For the latest on Equinet events, some of which are also open to external participation, see our new Events page .

New observer status before the Council of Europe Committee on Artificial Intelligence
As of this January, Equinet has been granted observer status before the Council of Europe Committee on Artificial Intelligence, which has been tasked with drafting the future CoE Framework Convention on AI and human rights. This means that our network will have access to the draft text of the Convention and will be able to submit feedback at different stages in the development of the Convention. The next plenary meeting will take place on 1-3 February.

#EUFunds

Equinet perspective on Equality Bodies and the Structural and Investment Funds Realising a Potential for Change
In Autumn 2022, Equinet held a series of workshops to help Equality Bodies build their capacity on engaging with EU funds. Participants learned more on how to unlock the great potential of these funds for equality in Europe.

As a culmination of this work, Equinet has recently published a new Perspective aimed at supporting Equality Bodies in effectively engaging with the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the European Structural Investment Funds.

#Communication

Training materials: Inclusive design in communication – Improving the accessibility of Equality Bodies’ outputs
On 17 and 19 January, Equinet held a training aimed at supporting Equality Bodies in making their digital outputs accessible and easy-to-read, so that information on equality is available and accessible to everyone. The training presentations are now available for download. The learnings from the training will be included in a Checklist for producing accessible materials. Stay tuned!

#MembersNews

Belgium: 20-year anniversary of the Institute for Equality between wome n and men
The Institute for Equality between Men and Women celebrates its twenty years working on gender equality in Belgium. Read more on the Institute's work on the website, and watch a video about the long road to gender equality!

Germany: Minimal standards for improving national complaints data collection
In October 2022, the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency (FADA) published the results of the research project “Minimum standards for the documentation of anti-discrimination counselling”. Developed by the German Centre for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM Institute) in cooperation with various German public anti-discrimination counselling agencies, the minimum standards can support establishing and developing standardized documentation procedures for the provision of non-discrimination legal advice, but also serve as a basis for pooling data from different anti-discrimination counselling agencies across Germany.

Malta: The “Empowerment for Diversity (E4D)” project
This project was carried out by the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality in Malta (NCPE), in collaboration with Allied Rainbow Communities, to address the recent progress on LGBTQI+ rights in the country. The project included an awareness-raising campaign, a number of events, the production of a qualitative research study on LGBTQI+ discrimination, the creation of a sexual harassment policy template and an equality policy template to help organisations define their values and mode of conduct.

#CallForInputs

The 4^th Council of Europe Summit
The 4^th Summit of the Council of Europe heads of state and government will take place in Reykjavik on 16 and 17 May. This summit is of great importance for the future of the organisation and its role in promoting human rights, democracy and the rule of law. You have time until 20 February 2023 to give your input on the Council of Europe’s vision, its organisation and its role in tackling present and future challenges.

#Race&EthnicOrigin

Assessment report of the Member States’ national Roma strategic frameworks
The European Commission has recently published a report assessing the Member States’ progress on national Roma strategic frameworks and providing guidance on necessary improvements.

#Gender

Call for applications: Seconded National Expert – Stakeholder Relations
The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) has opened a call for applications for a Seconded National Expert supporting the Institute’s stakeholder engagement and outreach activities. The application deadline is on 15 February 2023.

Gender-responsive evaluation
The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) has launched the gender-responsive evaluation, a gender mainstreaming tool that assesses a project, a program or a policy, based on how it contributes to progress towards gender equality. Read more on gender-responsive evaluation and download EIGE’s related publication!

Tools and guidelines for gender equality in employment and pay transparency
The Institute of Women in Spain, together with the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy and social partners, prepared a series of tools and guides aiming to serve as a reference for companies and individuals involved in the negotiation of gender equality plans and measures. You can find guides on the implementation of Remuneration Audits Gender-sensitive, on the Remuneration Registration Tool and on the Job Evaluation Tool in English on the Institute’s website.
The Institute of Women also published a reference manual to support companies in implementing a procedure for the prevention of and action against sexual harassment and harassment based on sex. The Manual can be found in English on the Institute’s website.

#VictimsRights

EU Victims’ Rights Campaign
The European Commission has launched a campaign aimed at ensuring that victims of crime and those around them understand their rights and that they feel empowered to use them. The campaign particularly focuses five types of crime: gender-based violence, anti-LGBTIQ hate crime, xenophobic hate crime, violence against children, and violence against a person.

#SocialRights

Book: The Revised European Social Charter – An article-by-article commentary
This recently published book is now available online free of charge. It is authored by Karin Lukas, former President of the European Committee of Social Rights and discusses social rights at the European level through an analysis of the Revised European Social Charter.

Fighting racism and the health inequity gap: join new network by the EU Health Policy Platform
The Thematic Network DisQo, led by the European Public Health Alliance, brings together stakeholders, including Equinet, across policy domains (employment, education, health, housing, poverty, justice and fundamental rights), facilitates dialogue and best practice sharing among them, and provides support and incentives to the European Commission and national policymakers to advance the work on anti-racism and anti-discrimination to reduce the health inequity gap.

In a series of three webinars, DisQo will discuss and delve deeper into key topics including the importance of clear language and definitions, the evidence-based and disaggregated equality data, and the need to break down silos between sectors. Register now in the EU Health Policy Platform and join the Thematic Network on DisQo: anti-discrimination & health equity!

#Diversity&Inclusion

2023 European Capitals of Inclusion & Diversity Award
The European Commission has announced the launch of the 2023 European Capitals of Inclusion & Diversity Award, which recognises the work of local authorities to promote diversity, increase equality and challenge intolerance across the European Union. Would you like to encourage towns and cities from your region to apply? Please forward this announcement to anyone who may be interested and ask them to subscribe!