ILGA-Europe Conference Paris

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ILGA-Europe Conference Paris
TRACE TRANSNATIONAL COOPERATION FOR
EQUALITY Open and Safe at work.lt (Lithuania),
Beneath the Surface (Sweden), Partnership for
Equality (Slovenia) www.atviri.lt www.ytan.se www
.ljudmila.org/lesbo
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CONTENT OF THE WORKSHOP

• Transnational cooperation TRACE
• National contexts and projects
• 3 Pillars of TRACE
• Research
• Communication and policymaking
• Experience exchange
• Discussion

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TRACE TRANSNATIONAL COOPERATION FOR EQUALITY

• The common objectives of the
  cooperating DPs are to raise awareness among
  stakeholders and key actors in working life on
  national and EU level, in order to
• create an inclusive environment
• to collect and disseminate good practice
• to carry out research
• to foster partnership and develop sustainable
  networks on all levels.

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TRACE TRANSNATIONAL COOPERATION FOR EQUALITY

• 3 Pillars of TRACE
• Research
• Communication and policymaking
• Experience exchange

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The Swedish project BENEATH THE SURFACE

• The project will focus on working life in a
• school environment. We will address teacher
• students and teachers as well as other staff
• (employees and employers) within the Swedish
• school system.

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WHAT?

• Raise awareness on lgbt issues and visualising
  the heterosexual norm in school
• Increase knowledge, and by the improve attitudes
• Develop methods on how to work with lgbt issues
  within a school environment

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WHY?

• The legislation is of satisfactory,
• but still, there is a lack of openness and
• visibility
• There is a common political correctness
• but still, negative attitudes and prejudice
• exists beneath the surface
• Trade unions are aware of their responsibility
• - but still, there is a lack of knowledege and
  methods

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HOW?

• Different organisations from different sectors
• Develop training tools
• Train teacher students, teachers and other staff
  in schools
• Raise awareness and disseminate experiences in
  different forums

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The Slovenian project PARTNERSHIP FOR EQUALITY

• 3 national partners in DP
• Trade Union Association (ZSSS)
• Employers association (ZDS)
• ŠKUC (NGO, co-ordinator)

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SITUATION IN SLOVENIA

• Discrimination of sexual minorities in employment
  is still a taboo, one of most invisible forms of
  discrimination and hard to prove
• The research into sexual orientation
  discrimination conducted in 2001 among lgbt in
  Slovenia showed that 49.4 of respondents had
  experienced violence and harassment because of
  their sexual orientation
• Public opinion on homosexuality is negative
• LGBT people are often excluded from the equal
  opportunities system within employment
• Only 24 of interviewed lesbians were permanently
  or temporarily employed. Due to this fear,
  lesbians and bisexual women, after finding
  employment, usually do not risk homosexual
  socialising and stop attending clubs and other
  openly lgbt places
• The new government (right oriented) opened the
  questions of the abortus, single parents
  situation, special tax for unmarried citizens and
  couples without children
• The new government confirmed the same-sex
  partnership bill (which do not provide basic
  social and some other rights) without civil
  dialogue with lgbt NGOs.

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THE AIM OF THE PROJECT
The aim of DP is awareness raising,
training and education of social partners (trade
unions, employers) for sustainable development of
anti-discrimination policy within employment and
work market, with the goal to prevent
discrimination and to stimulate the inclusion of
social categories, de-privileged because of their
sexual orientation.
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GOALS

• to increase the level of participation in labour
  market of people, discriminated on the ground of
  sexual orientation
• to enable the conditions for stable integration
  of de-privileged group into the labour market
• to raise awareness and educational level of
  employers and trade unions about the role of
  inclusive employment policy
• to produce a code of conduct (rules,
  instructions) for implementation of
  anti-discrimination policy for employers and
  trade unions
• to stimulate the implementation of
  anti-discrimination policy (on the basis of
  elaborated code of conduct)
• to tackle, document and prevent the violations of
  human rights on the ground of sexual orientation
• to stimulate organized actions of deprivileged
  groups within trade unions and companies.

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INNOVATION

• The partnership is aiming to find solutions for
  sustainable implementation of anti-discrimination
  policy in employment in the way, that was not
  used in Slovenia before. It is innovative in
  various aspects
• by putting sexual orientation-discrimination in
  the front line, because this form of
  discrimination was so far completely ignored in
  employment
• by using standards of national and EU legislation
  in the struggle against all kinds of
  discrimination in employment and labour market
• it will try to tackle, document and monitor
  discrimination on the ground of sexual
  orientation in employment this area still
  remains due to the silence of victims and social
  homophobia invisible and hidden
• by using combined education and training of both
  employers and trade unions at the same time
• by putting the target group in the role of the
  partner (employers, trade unions), which enables
  better cooperation and higher motivation of the
  DP as a whole

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INNOVATION

• by addressing the target group (employers, trade
  unions) indirectly. In the case that we would
  address the victims of discrimination (same-sex
  oriented people) directly , this would mean that
  they are far less accessible, because most of the
  workers hide their sexual orientation at work
• the program is applicable for different branches
  of employment
• the program is applicable for different aspects
  of discrimination (sex, age, disability, race,
  ethnical background, etc.)
• it enables the NGOs from the field of human
  rights promotion to cooperate and to network with
  social partners, with the benefit for both
• it contributes to compatibility of social and
  civil dialogue.

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EMPOWERMENT
The principle of empowerment of
vulnerable groups and individuals (sexual
minorities) will be realized indirectly, through
awareness raising, training and education of
social partners for introduction of
anti-discrimination policy. With good practice of
social partners the conditions for equal
opportunities, better inclusion and maintaining
of discriminated categories in the labour market
will be created. This will bring the changes of
attitudes toward minority rights within trade
unions and employers, and develop positive values
and everyday practice. The final aim is to create
such environment of employment, where every form
of discrimination is declaratively unacceptable.
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The Lithuanian projectOPEN AND SAFE AT
WORK. LT

• Lithuanian project is tackling discrimination
  based on sexual orientation in working life by
  building the right attitude towards minority
  workers identities and decreasing homophobia of
  the general public.
• Representative research shows that 43 percent of
  respondents do not object to employers decision
  not to recruit a homosexual worker.
• Every third citizen of Lithuania says that only a
  total absence of lgbt people will not cause any
  problems in the society.

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GOALS

• to research the situation of sexual minorities in
  working life and on the labour market for the
  first time in Lithuania
• to create and test an open and safe e-learning
  and working laboratory for LGBT and provide IT
  training as the main means for building self
  motivation and self-esteem
• to help workplace communities to understand the
  diversity of staff and to tolerate sexual
  minority employees to the extent that
  discrimination does not prevent people to seek
  employment in more open and safe environments.

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ACTIVITIES

• Along with information distribution, the project
  places special emphasis on changing the ethos in
  workplaces so as to make sexual minorities feel
  better included in their work communities. One
  means to this end is a pilot equal opportunities
  toolkit which will be based on research data and
  co-operation on both national and transnational
  levels
• Spreading our knowledge and know-how,
  dissemination and influencing individuals,
  organizations and society in both a national and
  an international perspective.

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CHALLENGES

• A homophobic reaction from the press and society
  toward the project
• Promoting the issue of non-discrimination on the
  grounds of sexual orientation is too specific and
  is met with reluctance. Therefore we have adopted
  a strategy to raise the issue of diversity and
  equal.

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OPPORTUNITIES

• The lack of prominent research data on
  discrimination on the grounds of sexual
  orientation leads to undermining of the problem
• The low self esteem and motivation of lgbt
  workers to come out in the workplace also keeps
  the problem deep under surface.

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TRACE TRANSNATIONAL COOPERATION FOR EQUALITY

• 3 Pillars of TRACE
• Research
• Communication and policymaking
• Experience exchange

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TRACE TRANSNATIONAL COOPERATION FOR
EQUALITY1 - Research

• How heteronormativity is constructed at work?
• How to find, produce and analyse data for studies
  of heteronormativity in school and working life?

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TRACE TRANSNATIONAL COOPERATION FOR
EQUALITY1 - Research

• Joined reasearch activities
• Research design
• Preparation of the report (good practice of
  non-discriminatory policy at work)

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TRACE TRANSNATIONAL COOPERATION FOR
EQUALITY1 - Research

• Research group
• Experience exchange from different studies
• Developing concepts, theory and strategies
• Mutual discussion
• Transnational researchers conference (one
  session focused on heteronormativity in working
  life).

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TRACE TRANSNATIONAL COOPERATION FOR
EQUALITY2 Communication policymaking
Main objective is raise awereness
and make sustainable changes in the
discriminatory structures in society and among
social partners.
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TRACE TRANSNATIONAL COOPERATION FOR
EQUALITY2 Communication policymaking

• Communication policymaking group
• Information leaflet
• Other communication tools (radio programmes,
  newspaper articles, letters to stakeholders, the
  participation in conferences, the production of
  comic strips).

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TRACE TRANSNATIONAL COOPERATION FOR
EQUALITY2 Communication policymaking

• Influences
• Social dialogue (Communicating with trade unions
  and employers)
• Civil dialogue (Communicating for example with
  the EU Parliament, the EU Commission and
  Pan-European networks and NGOs).

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TRACE TRANSNATIONAL COOPERATION FOR
EQUALITY2 Communication policymaking

• What target groups are most important (and
  possible) to adress?
• How can we reach them?
• What result/impact can be achieved (on EU-level
  and on national level)?
• How should TRACE work with communication and
  policymaking?

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TRACE TRANSNATIONAL COOPERATION FOR
EQUALITY3 Experience exchange
Main objective is sustainable
communication between similar organisations and
institutions in the participating countries, in
order to make sure that key actors can benefit
from good practice, methods and policies
developed and used in other countries.
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TRACE TRANSNATIONAL COOPERATION FOR
EQUALITY3 Experience exchange

• Linking relevant organisations and authorities
  together, in different countries, in order to
  exchange experiences on successful structures and
  methods
• Strengthening and supporting organisations/institu
  tions that are new and inexperienced in the field
  of non-discrimination work
• Fact Finding Missions (key actors will be able to
  meet, discuss, exchange experiences and establish
  ways of communicating in the future).