The approval of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy's 2008/2009 plan for the encouragement of equality of women and men on July 17 2008 would lead one to think that such topics are a priority of the Bulgarian Government.

And perhaps they are, with the ministry having a dedicated website, and the same ministry having been responsible for the topic in the country since 2000.

It leaves to say, though, whether in what Bulgarians themselves still call a "patriarchal society", and where, according to October 2007 statistics on the ministry's website, 34 per cent of Bulgarian women feel discriminated against at the workplace because of their sex, 44.1 per cent have been given trouble because they were pregnant, and 24.5 per cent of working Bulgarian women opine that there is a difference between their salaries and their co-workers', whether working to bring about gender equality has truly been a priority.

(In all fairness, though, 54.3 per cent of Bulgarian women are of the opinion that Bulgaria does, at least, have a transparent policy when it comes to salaries.)

Whatever the facts may be, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy's 2008/2009 plan for the encouragement of equality of women and men, as posted on government.bg, has the goal of uniting the efforts of institutions related to sexual equality policies in every sphere of the economic, political and societal life of the country.

This includes actions related to encouraging equality in access to healthcare, education, employment and professions, decision-making processes, raised awareness of society, and measures to overcome stereotypes about sex roles.

For some background to the current document, the first such plan was drafted in late 2004, and was to be put into effect as of January 1 2005; its goals were approximately the same as the 2008/2009 plan.

This year's plan include, however, research to be undertaken on a national level as regards the current situation of equality of men and women in every sphere of activity and updating the country's ministries' and governmental institutions' priorities, so as to greater further such equality.
Also, criteria - like those in use at Eurostat - will be set to help analyse the state of equality between men and women. A nation-wide informational campaign will be held to create conditions allowing the salary gap to be eliminated.

Making pretty words real, the ministry has realised that (re-)education for entrepreneurs and team managers in various economic fields could be necessary, and will take steps to make such possible. This encouragement to re-vamp knowledge is also to apply to women, who will be encouraged to participate in programmes for various qualifications and skills, including the starting of one's own business.

Skills for starting one's own business will be aimed particularly at the socially and economically disadvantaged, minorities, young people and female entrepreneurs.

Recognising that women are not the only ones to need encouragement to make their worlds a better place, through re-education of teachers/instructors, the ministry's plan aims to encourage both males and females to increase their educational qualifications, along with their levels of healthcare and general culture - and all this without discriminating against one or the other.

Gender education will be included in this process of teacher teaching.

Among other topics suggested in the plan were the inclusion of paid paternity leave from the time of the child's birth until 15 days later; fathers would also be allowed to use part of their paid leave to care for the child. The Government has, according to the document on government.bg, suggested that these changes be included in the Labour Code.

To stop sex-orientated violence and people trafficking, the plan addresses a joint initiative of the Interior Ministry and NGOs for the active prevention of domestic violence; this also includes education of Employment Agency, Unemployment Office, Agency for Social Support and Social Support Directive employees, courts and procurators in the sphere of preventing and helping victims of human trafficking and domestic violence.

And because nothing can be done without deciding, the plan aims to encourage equality between men and women in the decision-making process. To this effect, a nation-wide study will be undertaken. The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy will be responsible for the creation of an index of equality in decision-making and a national map showing the outcome of the study.

Upon calling the Equal Opportunities Directive at the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy on July 17, The Sofia Echo was told that the plan became applicable immediately after its approval.