More needs to be done to combat discrimination

THE CHAIRWOMAN of the House Gender Equality Committee yesterday called on the Labour Ministry to set out a clear policy to combat sexual discrimination in the Cyprus workforce, centring on specific campaigns and public education.

The committee, chaired by Sotiroulla Charalambous of AKEL, had invited the ministry along with the Ombudswoman and several trade unions to discuss ways of eliminating the problem in Cyprus.

All parties involved agreed that there were distinctive shortcomings in legislation when it came to dealing with incidents and referred to the mentality of Cypriots as a key reason behind the existing inequalities in workplaces.

Ombudswoman Eliana Nicolaou informed the Committee that her office was currently evaluating 174 complaints concerning discriminations in the workforce, some involving sexual harassment and unequal treatment towards women, but also others involving employees’ age and ethnicity.

Trade union SEK’s spokeswoman, Despo Isaia, suggested the appointment of a team of inspectors to traipse businesses – something deputies and other trade unions agreed with – and ensure there were no discriminations, whilst adding the need for better public information on the matter.

“The public does not know where to go to complain about unequal treatment in the workforce. There was one incident where a woman asked me what she should do because her employer was sexually harassing her.”

DEOK’s Anna Pilavaki added that she was aware of an incident where a woman complained to her boss about being sexually harassed by a colleague, only to be asked to prove the harassment had taken place.

A spokeswoman for OEV rightly pointed out that gender discrimination is just as harmful for employers as it is for employees.

“If an employer has his mind set on not employing a woman in a certain position, then automatically, 40 per cent of candidates are rejected, making it harder for him to employ someone capable”.

The committee will soon reconvene to discuss measures in detail, with Charalambous’ issuing the ministry a stern request to return with a clearer action plan.
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The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.