Labor Ministry seeks sex discrimination regulations in conformity with EU

Labor Ministry wants to change the labor code so that women will have greater protection against discrimination. Deputy labor minister Irena Boruta emphasizes that although Polish law prohibits sex discrimination, in reality the situation is quite different. Women account for 57% of those unemployed nationwide. Women who are better educated often receive a lower salary than men in the same position. The proposed regulations will forbid employers to consider gender when hiring or dismissing employees. Similarly, jobs advertised in newspapers would be forbidden to specify a gender required for the position. In related news, Poland for the second time has not supported the EU’s stand on the equality of the sexes, the only EU-allied member having failed to do so.(Gazeta Wyborcza, p.13; Zycie p.3)