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In seeking access to the labor market or at the job, women may face multiple forms of discrimination, sexual or psychological harassment, says gender equality expert Elena Samoila, adding that in such cases women can turn to the National Council for Combating Discrimination or even to the criminal court.
"Discrimination in access to the labor market or at the workplace is direct and indirect. If at an interview you are asked whether you intend to have a baby in the next five years, this is a form of direct discrimination, because the employer may think that the woman will have children, go on child-rearing leave and it's therefore not OK to invest in her, she is a lost resource. In indirect discrimination, for instance, there may be an in-company policy stating that people can be promoted, who are willing to go on secondment for a six-month period. This is indirect discrimination, it disadvantages women, because, statistically speaking, they are the ones who mostly take parental leave, this is rather infrequent among men. Apparently it's a neutral practice, but in fact it disadvantages women," gender equality expert Elena Samoila, who attended a meeting on women's discrimination organized by the Filia Center, told AGERPRES.
Samoila explained that psychological harassment is a more subtle type of abuse that can start with little jokes on someone, and end up with the person's marginalisation.
"If repeated, these things can have quite serious effects, they erode self-confidence and the person can even get depressed," Elena Samoila warns.
Discriminated or harassed women can turn to the National Council for Combating Discrimination, the complaint may be filed up to one year after the act is committed and audio, video content, messages and texts are admitted as evidence, she said.
Women can also go to the civil court that can rule compensation in their favor, and in the case of sexual harassment they can take their case to the criminal court. At the same time, they can also refer the case to the Labor Inspectorate, which can investigate.
Elena Samoila added that the meeting on Wednesday was intended to convey information to help women recognize the forms of discrimination, as "some forms of discrimination are more veiled and women may not be able to figure out that they are victims of such abuse."
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According to the Gender Inequality Index, Romania ranks last but one in the European Union. The ranking is the result of a composite assessment of six aspects: the labor market, economic status, education and training, leisure time and domestic work, political, social and economic representation, health, the Filia Center said in a release.
The Filia Center is an organization that supports respect for women's rights, representation of the women's various interests and the combat of all forms of violence against women and girls through research and advocacy.
AGERPRES .
