National Strategic Documents towards Promoting Equality between Women and Men

The policy on equality between women and men in the Republic of Bulgaria is a horizontal policy whose implementation involves a number of institutions and organisations in line with their expertise. The country follows a consistent policy on equality between women and men that takes into account national specifics and commitments under international treaties to which it is a party, including as a EU member state. The legal guarantees for equality and equal treatment of women and men are incorporated in the current Bulgarian legislation - the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Labour Code, the Protection against Discrimination Act, the Equality of Women and Men Act, and a number of other special and sectoral laws.
According to the provisions of the Equality between Women and Men Act adopted in 2016, the Council of Ministers (CoM) defines the state policy on equality between women and men, and also adopts a national strategy on equality between women and men and plans for its implementation. The Minister of Labour and Social Policy leads, coordinates and controls the implementation of the state policy on equality between women and men. The Minister is also the Chairman of the National Council for Equality between Women and Men operating under the Council of Ministers (National Council), which is the authority for consultations, collaboration and coordination between the central and territorial authorities of the executive authority and civil society structures. The Council consists of representatives of all ministries (including the Ministry of Culture), various state and executive agencies and other bodies established by law (Electronic Media Council, Commission for Protection against Discrimination (CPC), National Agency for Child Protection, State Agency for Refugees, National Social Security Institute, National Statistical Institute, the Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria, National Commission for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, and Bulgarian Academy of Sciences); representative organisations of employers and employees at national level; the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria; and non-profit legal entities whose subject corresponds to the state policy priorities on equality between women and men. The National Council provides opinions on draft strategy documents and legislation containing provisions relating to equality between women and men prior to their submission to the CoM; it also partakes in the development of
According to the provisions of the Equality between Women and Men Act, the National Strategy for Equality of Women and Men is a key programme containing the objectives for achieving equality between women and men and priority areas for achieving these objectives, etc. The National Strategy for the Equality of Women and Men suggests measures to promote the state policy in this area; and participates in the development of quantitative and qualitative indicators necessary for the monitoring system for equality between women and men.
The National Strategy for Promoting Equality between Women and Men 2016-2020 identifies the following as priority areas: increasing women's participation in the labour market and their equal economic independence level; reducing the gender-biased pay and income gap; promoting equality between women and men in decision-making processes; combating gender-based violence, and protecting and supporting its victims; and changing existing gender stereotypes in society in different areas of public life. The strategy is available at the following website: https://www.mlsp.government.bg/ckfinder/userfiles/files/Strategy_Gender%...(2).pdf.
The strategy is implemented through plans which include activities, responsible authorities, financial means, etc. In the National Action Plan for the Promotion of Equality between Women and Men for 2018 and the National Action Plan for the Promotion of Equality between Women and Men 2019-2020, the competent authority, the Ministry of Culture (MC), has stipulated the following measures in the "Changing gender stereotypes currently existing in society in different areas of public life" priority area:
* Promoting talented children of both sexes in the fields of arts, science and sport through the Programme of Measures for Protection of Children with Evident Talents from State, Municipal and Private Schools;
* Support for creative projects related to expression, creative development and participation in cultural life, while respecting the principle of equality between women and men - creative potential development in the field of performing arts via creative projects that respect the principle of equality between women and men and non-discrimination on grounds of gender; developing the creative potential of women and men in the field of non-professional artworks, which is implemented by supporting projects which respect the principle of gender equality; and support for projects and initiatives related to the preservation and presentation of cultural heritage and for the presentation of Bulgarian literary culture and development of libraries.

The current Bulgarian legislation contains provisions prohibiting discrimination on a number of grounds, including by gender (Art. 6 of the Constitution, Art. 8, para. 3 of the Labour Code and Art. 4, para. 1 of the Protection against Discrimination Act), as well as requiring equal remuneration for equal or equivalent work (Art. 243 of the Labour Code and Art. 14, para. 1 of the Protection against Discrimination Act).
The national action plans to promote equality between women and men adopted over the last four years include a number of measures in priority areas "Reducing Gender-biased Pay and Income Gap" and "Promoting Equality between Women and Men in Decision-making".
According to information supplied by the National Statistical Institute in Bulgaria the gender pay gap in economic activities "Culture, Sports and Entertainment" marks a steady decrease - from 8.4% in 2016 to 4.6% in 2018.