118.Regarding university-level education, using different indicators, we see below the percentage of women in various courses (the data refers to 1994/1995):

Fields of education	Percentage of women
Educational sciences/teachers training	83.2
Humanities	79.1
Medical sciences, health and hygiene	77.1
Exact and natural sciences	58.7
Engineering sciences	27.9
Mathematics and computer science	49.9

A progressive diversification of superior university courses as options for young women has been witnessed. In 1994/1995, young women predominated in all of them, with the exception of architecture and urbanism, mathematics and computer and engineering science, religion and theology. In the same academic year, women represented 56.6 per cent of the enrolled students and 62.9 per cent of those who graduated in University courses. These results, however, find no corresponding female representation in employment, in particular in decision-making positions.

119.The proportion of females with no continuous instruction is still higher than that for males, reflecting the situation of elderly women, who present even higher rates of illiteracy. Nevertheless, women represent more than half of the population having accomplished secondary, medium polytechnic and even university studies. Part of the responsibility for the uneven process falls on the educational system itself, especially because of the persistence of stereotyped models that persist in the “occult curriculum”, of educational practices and materials.

120.At this level, it is clear that the Commission for Equality and the Rights of Women has been implementing a set of initiatives ever since the end of the 1970s. Particularly, in recent years, the Commission has collaborated with superior schools of education, universities and centres for the education and training of teachers, aiming at combating these obstacles and including the issue of equal opportunity in the basic education of teachers.

121.We would like to note, however, that in the Ministry of Education, as well as in all other ministries, there is a Conselheira para a Igualdade de Oportunidades (counsel for equal opportunity). This individual, created by law decree number 166/91 of 1 May, establishes the objectives and competencies of the Commission for Equality and the Rights of Women, and has the task of promoting and putting into practice the integration of equality in all policies, programmes and measures of her/his Ministry. The measures for Counsellors for Equality constitute the Secção Interministerial do Conselho Consultivo, the Inter-ministerial session of the Consulting Council of the Commission, whose president is also the President of the Commission.

2.Political measures

122.There is an entire set of measures to promote equality between women and men in terms of education which has been adopted by different entities.

123.The subject of personal and social development was created (Law Decree number 286/89 on 29 August), for basic and secondary education, and puts into practice, in a specific way, the subjects listed in paragraph 2 of article 47 of the Lei de Bases do Sistema Educativo (law of the basis of the educational system), which stipulates: The curricular plans of basic education will include in every cycle and in an adequate manner an area of personal and social training, that can consist of ecological education, consumer education, family education, sexual education, accident prevention, health education, education for the participation in institutions, civic services and other services in this ambit. The type of training for teachers of this subject was approved by dispatch 25/ME/95 of 4 April.

124.The Conselho Nacional de Educação (national education council) started including a delegate representing non-governmental organizations of women, in compliance with law number 241/96 of 17 December.

125.Continuous training of teachers: a new area and domain was introduced in November 1997, by the Conselho Cientifico — Pedagógico da Formação Continua (science — pedagogic council for continuous training), for the register of Docents, Igualdades de Opportunidade para raparigas e rapazes (equal opportunities for young women and young men), in the ambit of the competencies attributed by the Juridical Regime of Continuous Training for Teachers annexed to law decree number 207/96 of 2 November.

126.Some universities and schools for education have introduced into their basic initial education for teachers subjects on equal opportunities between men and women (e.g. Superior School of Education of Setúbal, University of Coimbra and the Faculty of Psychology and Sciences of Education of the University of Oporto) or modules on the same subject (e.g. Superior Schools of Education in Coimbra, Oporto, Beja and University of Evora).

127.Among the various measures and initiatives implemented by the Commission for Equality and the Rights of Women, we list the following:

(a)The Commission for Equality and the Rights of Women has been offering a course of continuous training for teachers, with the duration of 50 hours, in Centres for Continuous Training for Teachers;

(b)Since 1993, nine courses involving 250 teachers of both sexes have taken place;

(c)The course is credited by the Scientific and Pedagogical Council for the Continuous Training of Teachers.

128.Various other projects have also taken place, among which we list the most recent ones:

(a)A transnational pilot project, Em Busca de uma Pedagogia da Igualdade (1993-1995) (searching for teaching of equality) coordinated by the Commission for Equality and the Rights of Women and by the University of Valladoid (Spain) and financed by the European Union;

In the ambit of the project, two Summer Universities took place (Lisbon, 1994, Palência, 1995), a set of activities were developed between teachers and students in primary and secondary schools; and a project of investigation action was carried out, the results and conclusions of which were made public during the second Summer University;

The project produced various publications in Portuguese;

(b)A transnational pilot project, Equality of Opportunities and Initial Training of Teachers (1995-1997), was coordinated by the Universidade Aberta (open university), with the cooperation of the Commission and financed by the European Union;

Participation in the project came from the Universidade Aberta and the University of Coimbra and the University of Evora in Portugal; the University of Valladolid, in Spain, the Academy of Lyon in France and the Centro per l’Innovazionne e per la Sperimentazione Educativa , in Italy; curricular modules were produced, aiming at the introduction of issues of equal opportunity between men and women in the initial training for teachers;

(c)A transnational pilot project Coeducação : do Principio ao Desenvolvimento da uma Prática(1998-2000) (coeducation: from the principle to the development of a practice), coordinated by the Commission, was initiated in the end of 1998. The Portuguese participants in the project were the Portuguese Association of Studies on Women, the University of Evora, the University of Oporto and the University of Coimbra, the Superior Schools of Education of Beja, Santarém and Setubal. The University of Valladoid, Spain, the Academy of Lyon, France and the Centro per l’Innovazionne e per la Sperimentazione Educativa, Italy, also participated;

129.In addition, the Commission:

(a)Issued official considerations on issues of equal opportunities for the Ministry of Education, specifically, concerning projects supported in the ambit of the Sistema de Incentivos para a Qualidade de Educação(system of incentives for the quality of education), on the inclusion of equal opportunity as an evaluation criteria for school books (1997) and concerning the profile of teachers Competencies on basic primary and secondary education (1998);

(b)Elaborated a protocol on the collaboration between the Ministry of Education and the Commission for Equality and the Rights of Women is about to be signed, concerning the integration of issues of equal opportunity between men and women in training activities organized by the Ministry for its employees;

(c)Signed a protocol for cooperation between the Centre’s Regional Education Direction and the CERW (in the ambit of the competencies and the geographical area of that Regional Education Direction) for the promotion of a sensitization for the issue of gender and the equality of opportunity close to the schools, of the counsellors and the regional and local heads of the Ministry of Education;

(d)Collaborated a protocol between Education Department for Primary Education and the Commission aimed at the introduction of the issue of equality of opportunity in the primary school years (for this purpose, educational materials for teachers will be produced and supplied);

(e)Organized awareness activities on equal opportunities to education in school premises and in the Ministry of Education, directed at decision makers as well as the general public;

(f)Worked on a collection of publications on issues of equal opportunity to education, based on which 12 titles have been published. In addition to this collection, the Commission has also published many other books on similar subjects.

130.Concerning policies and specific actions regarding textbooks, studies on sexist distortions in school textbook manuals reveal that the attention and preoccupation given to this issue, particularly in the 1970s, in United Nations and European Union decisions and recommendations, have not been put into practice in a clear and unquestionable manner by the Portuguese State. According to studies, sexist distortions that perpetuate the stereotyped image of women and men are still reproduced, as well as a growing invisibility of references to women in texts used in secondary and post-secondary schooling. On this matter the legal framing and the political orientations are given by:

(a)Law degree number 369/90 of 26 November, which regulates the system of adoption of school textbooks and which does not mention the promotion of equal treatment between women and men;

(b)The specifications that are sent annually to schools by the Departamentos de Educação Básica e do Ensino Secundário (Department of Basic Education and of Secondary Education), with the definition of the criteria to be adopted for the selection and adoption of school books also omits the subject of equality between women and men.

(c)The Plano Global para a Igualdade de Oportunidades (Global Plan for Equal Opportunity) annexed to the Resolução do Conselho de Ministros (Resolution of the Council of Ministers) number 49/97, approved on 6 March, establishes, in objective 7, on education science and culture: the promotion namely through the attribution of prizes, the elaboration of school textbooks and other educational and cultural materials which introduce non-stereotyped images of women and men.

131.The Commission has been considering this issue since 1979, and has participated in working groups and promoted seminars and studies on educational materials already covered in previous reports.

132.In the 1990s the study Pedagógicos e o desenvolvimento de uma educação para a igualdade dos sexos (Pedagogic Material and the development of an education for equality between sexes) was issued containing a listing of sexist distortions in various teaching materials and the presentation of suggestions and alternatives for the evaluation of teaching materials from an equal rights perspective.

133.The Commission has also reinforced sensitization activities by the Ministry of Education, through the elaboration of official opinions about the importance of integrating equal opportunity between women and men as a criteria for the evaluation and selection of school textbooks and, in 1996, cooperated with the Spanish Instituto de la Mujer (Woman’s Institute) in the translation and distribution in Portugal, to the Ministries of Education and institutes of learning, of a poster on the production of non-sexist school books. The Commission also translated and disseminated the recommendations of the European Union on the elimination of sexism in language, which was adopted in 1990.

Article 11 (1)

1.Employment, labour conditions and professional training

134.Several laws were adopted reinforcing the guarantees of the right to equal opportunity between men and women concerning employment, working conditions and professional training.

135.In the ambit of the right to professional training, consecrated in the Constitution, specifically in article 58, the Government considered the issue a matter of priority, subscribing to the Acordo de Politica de Formação Profissional (Professional Training Policy Agreement) which was celebrated by the Government, the worker’s representative organizations and employers in July 1991. The Agreement embraced various priority areas in the area of professional training, namely the integration of disfavoured groups (including women) into the labour market.

136.Law decree number 401/91 of 16 October, on the professional training regime, established, as one of the priorities of professional training (whether initial or continuous), the promotion of equal opportunities in the access to training, employment and work and also to the career progression, thus reducing social and professional inequalities and social exclusion.

137.Law decree number 405/91 of 16 October, set out rules for the provision of professional training in the labour market, establishing that the State must consider easing the difficulties that the disfavoured groups within the population (including women) experience when defining the priorities to be observed in granting of support for training.

138.As a result of the above laws, several measures destined to stimulate and support women beginning or returning to professional activity were adopted, including programmes of professional training dedicated to the inclusion in the labour market of women who were destined to adult long-term unemployment and of young unemployed women.

139.In the terms of normative dispatch number 52/93, of 8 April, which standardized the training/employment programme norms and procedures promoted by the Instituto de Emprego e de Formação Profissional (Employment and Professional Training Institute), the employment and professional training entities that integrate women into professions where they are underrepresented are exempt from any financial obligations for the training scholarships.

140.Kindergarten or day-care centre subsidies are given to women who attend professional training in the direct management centres of the Instituto and have children in their care.

141.Constitutional law number 1/97 of 20 September introduced significant changes to the Constitution, the most important change being that the promotion of equality between men and women became one of the fundamental tasks of the State (art. 9). In addition, legal protection against all forms of discrimination is now included in rights, liberties and personal guarantees (art. 26), which, according to article 18, are directly applicable and binding on both public and private entities.

142.Article 58, on the right to work, was also altered, entrusting to the State the task of promoting equality of opportunity in choosing profession or type of work and conditions of work, which cannot be closed or limited to one sex, of free access to any position, work or professional category.

143.Article 59, referred to above, was also altered, to stipulate that the employing organization must allow, in conditions of dignity, not only personal realization, but also the reconciliation of professional and family lines. Finally, article 68 gives both mothers and fathers work leave rights for an adequate period of time, in the best interests of the child and the needs of the family.

144.In terms of the law of the European Union, Portugal, as well as participating in the IV Programa de Acção Comunitário a Médio Prazo para Igualdade de Oportunidades entre Mulheres e Homens 1996-2000 (IV Medium-Term European Action Plan for Equal Opportunity between Women and Men 1996-2000), over-fulfilled the various directives adopted in the plan.

145.Beyond reformulating the constitutional principle of equal opportunity between women and men, several different measures, not only legislative have been adopted to ensure respect for the above principle in the areas of the right to work, to equal treatment in the workplace and the decent working conditions.

146.In order to promote the application of the legislation on the matter of equal opportunity to employment, labour and professional training, the Comissão para a Igualdade no Trabalho e no Emprego — (CITE) — (Commission for Equal Opportunity to Work and Employment) was created in 1979. An entity involving the participation of three different entities, the Commission is currently under the tutelage of the Ministry of Labour and Solidarity, overseeing the situation with regard to the dismissal of pregnant women, women with small or breastfeeding children, the approval of recommendations for the alteration of legislation or the proposal of new measures connected to equal rights in employment, and in the workplace and to professional training.

147.In addition to the publication of studies, specifically on violations of the dignity of men and women in the workplace, the Commission (CITE) has disseminated information on sexual aggression, so that it can be prevented and victims can be enlightened about their rights.

The informative and formative activities of CITE target the general public and some specific strategic groups, namely, social negotiators, entrepreneurs, union workers, legislators serving businesses and syndicates, human resources technicians, public administration functionaries and agents, magistrates, lawyers, teachers and municipal entities.

148.Also concerning the right to equal treatment in the workplace and decent working conditions, law number 105/97 or 13 September aims at the application of this right and guarantees its application.

149.The above law is applicable both to the public and private sectors, and, apart from defining the concept of indirect discrimination, it establishes that discriminatory practices occur when there is a considerable disproportion between the number of male and female workers.

150.In spite of the legal rights conferred to the worker’s unions active within an entity acting in violation of the right to equal treatment, in any action to prove discriminatory practice, regardless of the right to action by the worker or candidate, the employer is the one obliged to prove the existence of any practice, criteria or discriminatory measure regarding gender.

151.According to the law, any discriminatory practice in terms of gender, whether direct or indirect, constitutes a violation, punishable with a fine between 5 to 10 times the highest minimum granted remuneration per month, not precluding the application of another sanction under the law. In cases of reoccurrence, in addition to the minimum and maximum limits of the fine being doubled, and additional sanction is imposed, consisting of a legal condemnation of the employer to payment for the expense for an official publication, in one of the most widely read newspapers in the country, of the legal extract declaring the existence of the particular discriminatory practice. In cases like this, the employer is also forced to display the official notice in his workplace.

152.All the decisions will be sent to CITE to organize for their registration, and supply the information on the registration of any information that has been sent in rem judicatem to Judges who will officially rule on it. The obligation of the Government to organize and publish the necessary statistics in due time results from this law.

153.The Plano Global para a Igualdade de Oportunidade (Global Plan for Equal Opportunities) proposes several measures on this matter, some of which are worth noting:

(a)Inclusion of themes related to questions of gender and equal opportunity in courses of initial and continuous training for teachers;

(b)Consideration of questions related to gender in the studies on impact of the different measures of the Ministerio do Trabalho e da Solidariedade (Ministry of Labour and Solidarity);

(c)Introduction of specific measures aiming at equal opportunity in the existing regulations of the Quadro Comunitário de Apoio (European Community Board of Support);

(d)Introduction of specific measures aiming at equal opportunity in the existing regulations of the Quadro Comunitário de Apoio (European Community Board of Support);

(e)Reinforcement of the control and fulfilment of the legislation in equal opportunity through the Comissão para a Igualdade no Trabalho e no Emprego (Commission for Equality of Labour and Employment) and through the intervention of the Inspecção Geral do Trabalho (Inspector-General on Labour), whose agents are specifically training on this subject;

(f)Creation of an inspection unit inside the Comissão para a Igualdade no Trabalho e no Emprego (Commission for Equality of Labour and Employment) to oversee the issue of equality as well as the instruments of collective regulation of labour, aiming at sensitizing and encouraging employers to introduce positive measures;

(g)Distribution of documents containing proposals to ensure equal opportunity to work in all bodies of public administration, as well ensuring the same opportunity to spouses in the ambit of nominations to work in this sector;

(h)Encouraging enterprises to adopt positive measures, such as contracting long-term unemployed women and the integration of women in new professional areas where they might be outnumbered;

(i)Promotion and dissemination of specific support programmes of a financial and technical nature to women’s entrepreneurial initiatives;

(j)Introduction into the regulations of the programmes financed by the European Social Fund of benefits or financial bonuses for actions that support these objectives;

(k)Stimulating the creation of institutions for child, elderly and handicapped care through cooperation between the central administration, local governments and non-governmental organizations;

(l)Stimulating not only the social partners in the Social Concentration Commission, but also the enterprises for the promotion of reconciliation measures for professional and personal life, namely through the introduction of new ways of organizing working hours, targeting flexibility in working schedules;

(m)Establishment of a juridical board on the question of work in the home, with a view to the adoption of measures to acknowledge the value of this work as labour, including for taxes and social security.

154.The Acordo de Concertação Estratégica (Agreement on Strategic Deliberation) 1996-1999 also included equal opportunity as an objective, including the involvement of the Government and its social partners.

155.Aiming at the completion not only of existing legislation, but also international agreements on issues of equal opportunity between men and women, several positive measures related to employment, labour and training were promoted. Out of the group of positive measures some that are worth mentioning are:

(a)A 20 per cent supplementary financial prize for incentives to hire women in professions of fields where they are outnumbered, the prize to be awarded for each position filled;

(b)A 20 per cent bonus for public support programmes in the following areas: local employment initiatives, the conservation of the cultural patrimony, the creation of self-employment and the creation of self-employment for the unemployed, whenever at least 50 per cent of the joint stock of the company belongs to the workers and these workers directly participate in the management of the enterprise;

(c)Exception from payment for training for entities that integrate training/employment programmes for enterprises that hire women in professions where they are outnumbered;

(d)Application of the principle of equal opportunity as a criteria for the selection of professional training projects to be jointly financed by the European Social Fund;

(e)Adoption of measures that include the principles of equality in the ambit of the second Quadro Europeu de Apoio (European Board of Support): financial support to the enterprises that guarantee the participation of women in non-traditional fields; merit prizes to enterprises that develop programmes that contribute in an exemplary manner to equality of opportunities; and bonuses for training scholarships to be granted to workers who have children or grown-ups in their care and have to entrust them to others in order to be able to attend training programmes.

156.Resolution 59/98 of 6 May of the Council of Ministers approved the Plano Nacional de Emprego (National Employment Plan). The Plan rests on four pillars: I ‑ employability, II ‑ entrepreneurial spirit, III ‑ adaptability and IV ‑ equal opportunity. To achieve the objective of promoting, on a horizontal and integrated perspective, equality among men and women in measures and actions, in work, employment and at the professional training level, the measures for affirmative action must be considered implicit in the first three pillars referred to above. Thus, in the ambit of pillar IV, on equal opportunity, aiming at fighting discrimination between men and women, and considering the reconciliation of professional and family life and the reintegration in active life, new instruments were considered, namely:

On combating discrimination between men and women:

(a)The creation of a bureau for equal opportunity, starting with the construction of modules, methodologies and innovative materials, directed at strategic groups;

(b)The inclusion of a module on equality of opportunities in all public training developed by the Instituto do Emprego e da Formação Profissional (Centre of Employment and of Professional Training);

(c)The creation and running of an investigation unit for equal opportunity, including instruments for the collective regulation of work;

(d)The distribution of prizes to enterprises with outstanding policies in the field of equal opportunity;

On reconciliation of professional and family life:

(e)To give priority to activities that respond to the search for services needed for the improvement of the quality of family life and women’s lives, particularly activities involving the development of the Centros de Ocupação dos Tempos Livres (centres for spare time) which offer counselling for students when their legal guardians are unavailable;

(f)The regulation of parental leave guaranteeing equal rights and opportunities to both spouses with jobs;

(g)Encouraging the elaboration of codes of goods practices in areas such as the protection of motherhood and fatherhood and positive activities for the reconciliation of family and professional life;

(h)The provision to both sexes, through initial and continuous training, of education in the competencies for the exercise of activities that support family life;

(i)The extension of the pre-school network;

Finally, with the objective of easing the re-integration into working life:

(j)Creation of other pilot training centres for all stages of life, not only for long-term unemployed people, and also for the re-integration of workers after an extended interruption in professional working life;

(k)Specific support for enterprises that promote equal opportunity in reintegrating workers into professional working life;

(l)Adjustment and reinforcement of positive measures;

(m)Creation of a support fund for new activities destined for beneficiaries of the minimum wage.

157.In the ambit of the fulfilment and control of the application of the principle of equal opportunity between men and women, we would like to point out that discrimination based on gender is considered an offence, fines being applied by the Inspecção Geral do Trabalho (General Labour Inspection). Specific training is given to inspectors working in the area of equal opportunity to work and in the work place and to professional training at the initial training level. The Portuguese courts of law have considered that the violation of the rules of equal respect for men and women in the work place constitute just case for the revision of the labour contract by the offended party.

2.Social security

158.Law decree number 307/97 of 11 November consecrated the application of the principle of equal treatment between men and women in the area of social security benefits, specifically those that assure protection against disease, invalidity and old age, including early-retirement, on-the-job accidents, professional diseases, unemployment and family subsistence contributions. The above-mentioned benefits are applied in contributions destined to complete the payments granted by the social security regime or to substitute for prior ones, whether participation in these regimes is compulsory or elective. The non-fulfilment of the payments determined by the law, as well as the non-elimination of the existing discrimination in the professional regimes, are punishable by fines ranging from 10,000 to 1,000,000 Portuguese escudos, to be applied by the regional centres of social security.

159.Important technical and normative measures for the application of specific rulings for the payment of death benefits were also adopted, leading to the complete reformulation of laws in this area, and the introduction of several improvements, among which the application of the principle of equal treatment between men and women stands out.

160.Law number 19-A/96 of 9 June regulated by law decree number 196/97 of 31 July is also noteworthy as it established the first board to rule on the right to the minimum wage. In spite of the fact that this right has an overall application, the number of women who will benefit from it will be quite significant.

161.The payment granted consists of a financial contribution, which is non-taxable, granted in strict conformity with the programmes of social integration. The right to this payment is given to people who legally reside in the national territory, whose income, whether personal or from someone in the family, is less than the established lowest limit. The concept of family household includes: the spouse, persons cohabiting as a couple for a period of over one year and underage relatives.

3.Security, hygiene and health in the work place

162.The national legislation relative to security, hygiene and health in the work place is set out in law decree number 441/91 of 14 November, which contains a set of basic principles relative to security, hygiene and health in the work place, directed at the implementation of a general professional risk prevention programme to ensure the workers’ right to working conditions of security, safety, hygiene and health protection.

163.In spite of having a generic application, once the decree is applied, to both self-employed workers as well as to dependent ones, in both the public and private sectors, it will ensure the adoption of complementary legislation for certain groups of workers sensitive to specific risks, namely pregnant women.

164.With the objective of regulating both the law referred to above as well as law number 17/95 of 9 June relative to the protection of motherhood and fatherhood, administrative-rule number 229/96 of 26 June was published, establishing special safety and health conditions for this group of workers in the work place and also partially revoking the dispositions on administrative rule number 186/73 of 13 March.

165.The rule establishes a list of physical, biological and chemical agents as well as a list of activities which can present specific risks, setting conditions or forbidding the development of those activities as they pertain to pregnant and breastfeeding women, as well as those about to give birth.

166.The evaluation of the nature, degree and duration of the risks that these working women are exposed to must be carried out by the employer, who must adopt the necessary. measures to prevent exposure to the named risks. The employer must also ensure the adaptation of working conditions for the completion of other tasks compatible with the state and professional category of the worker, also granting women workers leave during necessary periods so that they may avoid exposure to risks.

167.All the rights of the working woman are maintained in these cases and she is granted a subsidy — equivalent to 65 per cent of her remuneration — under decree number 333/95 of 23 December. In cases where the worker is an employee of the central, regional or local administration, the subsidy will be equal to the employee’s whole salary as established in law decree number 194/96 of 16 October.

168.Law number 17/95, also consecrates specific measures relative to night work for pregnant and breastfeeding women. Pregnant workers are to be released from night work for 112 days before and after birth, out of which at least half must be taken before the presumed date of birth. Women can also be released from working at night during pregnancy and breastfeeding, if a doctor’s medical statement is presented considering the woman’s health, the state of the unborn baby or the child’s health.

169.During the period of leave from night shift, a compatible daytime working schedule must be assigned to the pregnant woman, breastfeeding woman, or, whenever that is not possible, they must be given leave from work, with no loss of rights and subsidy as set out in law decrees number 333/95 and 194/96.

170.Still in regard to these matters, administrative rules number 197/96 and 198/96 of 4 July are worth mentioning. They regulate the minimum health and security obligations in drilling or mining industries, whether above or underground, establishing specific rulings ensuring periods of rest for pregnant and breastfeeding women under adequate conditions.

Article 11 (2)

171.National legislation forbids the discharging of employees without good cause. The discharge of an employee for reasons that contradict the principle of equal treatment between men and women, which is consecrated by the Constitution, is not considered just cause.

172.On 9 June 1995, law 17/95 was published, introducing changes to law 4/84 of 15 April, relative to the protection of maternity and paternity. According to the law, the discharge of pregnant, breastfeeding or parturient women is considered a discharge without just cause, and the employer has the obligation to legally rebutting this charge.

173.In addition, in situations where the ending of the labour contracts is legally promoted by the employer of the pregnant, breastfeeding and parturient women, a favourable opinion from the Comissão para a Igualdade do trabalho e no Emprego (Commission for Equal Opportunity to work, and in the work place) is always necessary, according to article 18 of the Maternity and Paternity Protection Law.

174.The above law, as well as augmenting the duration of maternity leave and ensuring measures of protection for pregnant, breastfeeding and parturient women, regulated a special license, for a period of six months to two years, for child assistance and disallowed discharge of those workers in the cases where the employer had not previously obtained a favourable opinion from the Comissão para a Igualdade do trabalho e no Emprego (Commission for Equal Opportunity to work, and in the work place).

175.A favourable opinion is only given when the Commission concludes that the discharge is neither directly nor indirectly motivated by the fact of the pregnancy and that, therefore, the discharge does not constitute a discriminatory measure.

176.After the issuance of law number 17/95, several legal documents on the new regime for the protection of maternity and paternity were published, namely law decree number 333/95 of 23 December in the field of labour relations in private law, and law decree number 194/96 of 16 October in the ambit of public administration workers.

177.Law number 17/95 increased the duration of maternity leave to 98 consecutive days, 60 of which must be taken after the birth (the rest can be totally or partially enjoyed before or after the birth) sixty days can be added to this period in cases of clinical risk requiring hospitalization. The enjoyment of at least 14 days of maternity leave is compulsory. The father can enjoy the right to maternity leave if the mother has physical or psychological incapacity. In cases of adoption of a child less than 3 years old, the adopting parent has the right to 60 consecutive days of leave to care for the child.

178.For all legal purposes, maternity leave is considered as actual labour when calculating the worker’s seniority as well as the allowance/alimony and the Subsidy de refeição (food allowance). As for payment of salary, public administration workers are entitled to full remuneration of their wages, while the workers bound by individual labour contracts are entitled to a subsidy equal to the remuneration that is paid by the Social Security.

179.In addition, the recently published law number 18/98 of 28 April extends the protection of maternity and paternity consecrated by law number 4/84, and, with the revision of law number 17/95, extended the duration of maternity leave to 120 consecutive days, 90 of which are to be enjoyed after the birth. The new law allows an extension of 30 days for each twin after the first, in cases of multiple birth.

180.This same law introduced changes to parental leave, which can now be extended up to 3 years in cases of the birth of a third child, and is taken into account in the calculation of the retirement pension —pensão de reforma, for invalidity or old age. With this law, employers were also entrusted with the duty of finding solutions for professional training for workers returning from parental leave.

181.The law will be put into practice in a progressive way, in phases, extending the license to 110 days between the period of 1 January and 31 December 1999, and going up to 120 days starting January 2000.

182.Law decree number 333/95 of 23 December provided for the adaptation of the social security regime to the new changes, among which it is worth mentioning the creation of a subsidy for the specific risks for pregnant, breastfeeding and parturient women resulting from exposition to agents, processes, working conditions and night time labour that may present health risks to the worker or child, as well as of a subsidy for assistance to the beneficiary’s sick or handicapped offspring.

183.In situations where an assistance subsidy is granted for offspring less than 10 years old, in cases of disease, the exclusive exercise of parental power by one of the parents is no longer demanded, allowing single parents and adoptive families access to this subsidy.

184.Law number 102/97 of 13 September granted the right to special leave for assisting handicapped and chronically ill patients as well as a subsidy for parents who exercise this right.

185.The regional centres of social security, the private social solidarity institutions and the social support organizations deliver services connected with the care of children during working hours, through the service of nannies, nursery homes, kindergartens and recreation centres. The payment for the use of such services is estimated according to the household income, however, in cases of proven economic necessity, no payment is required.

186.Projects and specific actions for women have been developed by the Comissão para a Igualdade e para os Direitos da Mulheres (Commission for the Equality and the Rights of Women). The Commission, from 1993 to 1995, put into practice a project entitled Bem me quer, integrated in the European Community’s Emprego e Desenvolvimento dos Recursos Humanos (Employment and Human Resources). The project set up support services by five regional governments for the professional re-integration of women into professional working life.

187.The services, called Espaços de Informação Mulheres (Women’s Information Spaces) have the function of:

(a)Supporting women:

(i)In the identification of their personal and professional knowledge, in the definition of their interests and in the professional application of their acquired competencies;

(ii)In the search for professional training adequate to their individual situations;

(iii)In job searching;

(iv)In the clarification and counselling of the projects for the creation of self-employment, as well as other economic activities;

(b)To intensify the growing involvement and cooperation between entities, public and private, at both local and regional levels, to best explore the available resources, aiming for an easier professional re-integration of women in “regular” jobs, and/or in income generating work and increasing their participation in local and regional development;

(c)To create informative and educational support to help and support the creation of new “Espaços de Informação Mulheres” (Women Information Spaces) by other regional governments.

188.The project established groups of “Spaces” to integrate the project objectives as well as their activities; it identified the resources and the development strategies of each local government involved and established cooperation nets with local and regional entities for common activities to stimulate better professional re-insertion of women. It also created formative and educational support destined to promote the creation of new Spaces by other regional governments.

189.In addition to the numerous formative and informative materials, which were not published, the project was involved in the creation of a new collection of the Commission, called “Bem me Quer”, devoted to the publishing of studies and informative, sensitization and educational materials to support the professional re-insertion of women to improve their professional status and to build their careers. This is a specialized collection on areas of professional training, employment and equal opportunity.

190.Thus far, five titles, product of field work experience, have been published. A video was also produced, “Espaços de Informação Mulheres” (Women Information Spaces), to sensitize public and private entities that are potential supporters for the profession re-insertion of women and for these structures existing at a more decentralized level.

191.In 1996/1997, the Commission for the Equality and the Rights of Women promoted a project, Trampolim, also integrated in the European Community’s “Emprego e Desenvolvimento dos Recursos Humanos” (Employment and Human Resources Development), with the objective of informing and sensitizing the local governments of both of the autonomous regions of the country and other local agents about the creation of local nets for dynamizing and promoting questions of equal opportunity and, more particularly, about the status of women in society as well as their integration in the labour market under equal conditions of work and with a perspective of regional development. The project organized seminars with several local governments in the autonomous regions and initiated the creation of mechanisms for equality in these same regions.

192.The project, Trampolim / Reda, initiated in 1998, is also integrated in the European Union initiative “Emprego e Desenvolvimento dos Recursos Humanos (Employment and Human Resources Development). It essentially aims at the creation of a national net of counsellors for equality at the local level, as well as a net of “information centres” for the support of the professional re-insertion of women. With this project, the Commission hopes to:

(a)Inform and sensitize local governments about:

(i)Equal opportunity and the decisive role they must perform in implementing a national policy of equal opportunity;

(ii)The need to create “Espaços de Informação Mulheres” (Women Information Spaces) to contribute to the promotion of equal access to labour for women and men, through lending support to women in their individual job searches or through training or creating their own employment or any other type of economic activity, as well as increasing their participation in local development;

(iii)The effective practice of a policy of equal opportunity at the local level.

(b)Produce and test methodologies, as well as educational materials:

(i)For the creation, emplacement and management of the “Espaços de Informação Mulheres” (Women Information Spaces);

(ii)To strengthen their capacity in the area of the professional re-integration of women and to dynamize the activities inherent in this kind of service;

(iii)To sensitize the local and economical actors, public and private, at both local and regional levels, for equal opportunity, as well as for cooperation in searching and implementing solutions more adjusted to the specific needs of women and their situation;

(iv)To be responsible for the principle of equal opportunity at the local level (perform the due functions)

(c)Develop the technical competencies of the people working to support the professional re-insertion of women, aiming at the professionalization of this function.

(d)Increase the number of existing national “Espaços de Informação Mulheres” (Women Information Spaces), to increase the quality of their services, activities and strategies.

(e)Create a national net of “Espaços de Informação Mulheres” (Women Information Spaces) as well as people, responsible for equality aiming at:

Sharing experiences and information, improving capacity of responding to the specific needs of women within the environment where they operate, improve the quality of the actions developed and, so that they can work in articulation with the Commission, as well as in cooperation with social and economical agents at the council’s level, namely employment centres and enterprises for equal opportunity.

(f)Join the activities of the net to the European net of projects aimed at promoting equal opportunity between women and men in the labour market, which already includes five countries (France, Spain, Austria, Greece and Italy), allowing:

(i)Transferring and jointly producing instruments and methods of training and work;

(ii)Joining, contacting and cooperating with structures with the same objectives, operating in various Member States of the European Union;

(iii)Developing common patterns for functioning as well as quality in services;

(iv)Evaluating and disseminating innovative actions and sharing experiences and competencies.

193.This project has been active in the formation of the Conselheiras para a Igualdade (Councils for Equality), that are named in the several protocols established between the project and several local governments aimed at the integration of the principle equal opportunity in the policies and activities promoted in their Councils, as well as the training boards of the local governments to create “Information Areas for Women”, with the objective of making them capable of carrying out activities in this field.

Article 12

194.In Portugal there are no obstacles to equal opportunity between men and women in terms of access to health services, including services of family planning. During the period under review, several measures were adopted. Law number 90/97 of 30 July altered the legal limit for the termination of voluntary pregnancy. According to the current law, abortion is non-punishable if it is performed by a doctor, or under his/her supervision, in an official health institution or location officially recognized as such, and under the consent of the pregnant woman, when, according to the state of knowledge, and medicinal experience it:

(a)Constitutes the only way to prevent the death or serious and irreversible lesion to the physical and psychological health of the pregnant woman;

(b)Constitutes the only way to prevent the death or serious and irreversible lesion to the physical and psychological health of the pregnant woman; and is performed in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy;

(c)When there is scientific proof indicating that the unborn child will suffer from an incurable disease or congenital malformation, and the interruption is performed in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy (proof from echography or by any other adequate method according to the leges artis, except in situations when the unborn cannot survive, in which case the interruption can be performed at any time);

(d)When pregnancy has resulted from a crime against the free will and sexual self-determination and the interruption is performed in the first 16 weeks.

195.Law number 17/95 of 9 July and law number 18/98 of 28 April on maternity and paternity protection. Dispatch 5411/97, set forth a national net for the prenatal diagnosis of handicaps and/or congenital malformations. All couples running such risk have access to free prenatal diagnosis. Also, measures were implemented to provide information prior to conception, aimed at reducing the medical risks linked to pregnancy, and reducing the number of non-counselled pregnant women.

196.The Ministry of Health is earnestly pushing for the fulfilment of the current legislation relative to family planning. Its “Estratégia da Saúde 1998-2002” (Health strategy 1998/2002) establishes clear goals in terms of the use of contraceptives and teenage pregnancy reduction.

197.Within the “Estratégia da Sa d de 1998-2002” (Health strategy 1998/2002) a cooperation protocol was signed by the Commission, with the aim of training and informing health professionals in detecting, supporting and counselling women, victims of violence and children and adolescent victims of mistreatment of sexual abuse.

198.The protocol between the Direcção Geral de Sa d de (Regional Health Direction) and the Associação de Planeamento Familiar (the Association of Family Planning) was signed for the elaboration of educational materials in the area of sexual education/information for young men and women, parents and teachers. In addition, publication is being prepared by the Ministry of Health on the theme “Women and Health in Portugal”.

Article 13

199.The national social security system grants equal access for women and men to all family benefits in both general and non-taxable systems. Under the general system, benefits are provided for:

(a)Disease — A monetary subsidy usually attributed for a maximum of 1,095 days, in the amount of 65 per cent of the standard remuneration;

(b)Maternity — A monetary subsidy during 68 days in the amount of 100 per cent of the standard remuneration;

(c)Unemployment — Paid through an unemployment subsidy (65 per cent of the standard remuneration, unemployment social subsidy (the amount is variable, according to the size of the beneficiary’s family);

(d)Family duties — Family subsidy to children and young men and women, subsidy of attendance to special education premises, a lifelong monthly subsidy, a subsidy for assistance to a third person and funeral subsidy;

(e)Invalidity — Pension for incapacity to work;

(f)Old age — Pension attributed to beneficiaries that have come to the minimum legal age of retirement;

To the invalidity and old age pensions a subsidy for assistance to a third person assistance can be added. The standard maximum retirement age for men and women is 65, as set forth in law decree number 329/93 of 23 September, which also established a transitional period of 6 years for the gradual introduction of the measure in annual increments of six months;

(g)Death — Survival pension (to which an assistance subsidy for the assistance of a third person can be added) and death subsidy;

(h)Professional diseases — Indemnification and pensions in situations of temporary or permanent incapacity brought on by a work-related illness.

200.The non-contributory system covers nationals and, under some circumstances, refugees, resident foreigners and stateless persons in economically difficult circumstances who cannot be integrated into the general system. The scheme established in the non-contributory system includes the following modalities and contributions:

(a)Family subsidy for children and young men and women;

(b)Subsidy for attendance to an institute for special education;

(c)Orphan’s pension;

(d)Social pension for invalidity and old age;

(e)Subsidy of assistance to a third person;

(f)Social equipment.

201.The workers of the central, regional and local administrations have systems of autonomous social protection with similar applications. In addition, concerning family benefits, in 1996, law number 19‑A/96 of 29 June regulated by law decree 196/97, of 31 July ruled on the minimum granted income.

202.From a legal perspective, there are no institutional or administrative obstacles that prevent women from taking out loans, mortgages and other forms of financial credit, however, there is no statistic data to demonstrate the present differences between male and female activity in this sphere.

203.The Plano Global para a Igualdade de Oportunidades (Global Plan for Equal Opportunities) in point 8, considered equality between men and women in sports policies. In spite of the fact that there has been an increase in female participation in sports in the last few years, as well as better possibilities for women to take part in national and international sports events, overall this tendency is not reflected in increased female representation in decision-making positions.

204.Women are clearly under-represented, in particular at higher levels, in management positions, sports organizations, training and refereeing. In the face of this situation, it is important to elaborate a national plan for equality in sports policies that takes into consideration the results achieved at both national and international levels.

205.In trying to promote equal opportunity for women and men in sports, at all levels and in all functions and spheres of competencies, the most recent international text, considered worldwide to be a fundamental document, is the Brighton Declaration of 1994. At the governmental level, as a Member of the European Union, Portugal subscribed to the principles of the Brighton Declaration, as one of the texts adopted by the 8 a Conferência dos Ministros do Desporto do Conselho da Europa (Eighth Conference of Sports Ministers of the European Union) in Lisbon in 1995.

206.Portugal has also actively cooperated with the European Union on this issue, having organized a seminar on the contribution of sports to a democratic society (Lisbon 1996), at which the subject of the participation of women in sports was covered.

207.At the non-governmental level, the first initiative organized in Portugal on the issue was the congress on “Women and Sport”, organized in November 1996, in Lisbon, by the Women’s Democratic Movement (NGO) and the sports department of the Câmara Municipal de Lisboa (Lisbon’s City Hall), with the participation of the European Women’s Support Group).

208.This congress approved the Brighton Declaration and produced a proclamation directed to the Government, the sports organizations (Sports federations, Olympic Committee and Confederation), the women’s non-governmental organizations and the universities calling for the creation of an autonomous and structured organization. After the congress, the Associação Portuguesa a Mulher e o Desporto (Portuguese Association Woman and Sport) was established on 6 February 1998. The Association has the objective of promoting equality and the participation of women in sports at every level, function and area of competence.

Article 14

209.Although the agricultural sector of the Portuguese economy has been declining relative to the overall economy, women working in that sector still constitute and important part of the total feminine work force (15.8 percent in 1997) and a highly significant portion of the agricultural work force (53.4 per cent in 1997). As for their status, 81.2 per cent are self-employed workers with no employees, 8 per cent work for a family member, 9.5 per cent are employees and 1.1 per cent are self-employed with personnel in their service.

210.The legislative measures assumed during the period under review were the following:

(a)Law decree number 339/90 of 30 October, created the Empresa Familiar Agrícola Reconhecida (Recognized Family Agriculture Enterprise), legalized the concept of “family labour” in agriculture, and recognized the rights of those relatives who, in spite of not only contributing their manual labour or cooperating in administrative chores, also work in the management of production, and who, up to that date, were unprotected;

(b)Legal dispatch 53/97, established the application of a measure on training and education, which granted priority to candidatures that advance the objectives of the equal opportunity policy, namely the promotion of the access of women to new areas of professional activity;

(c)Dispatch number 10 271/97, which approved the rules of application of the measure, obliged the training entities to apply the law on non-discrimination between women and men in labour and in the work place, also stipulated that financial support would be provided based on the fulfilment of the principle of equal rights;

These two measures contribute to the development of technical and social competencies, promoting greater participation of women in the rural and agricultural processes and to the elimination of discrimination against women.

211.Administrative rule number 195/98 regulates the aids to substitution services it concedes these aids to assuring the creation of conditions that allow temporary substitution of the elements of agricultural activities, the entrepreneur, the spouse and permanent workers, namely in cases of disease, accident, maternity, professional training and vacation.

212.The Associação das Mulheres Agricultoras Portuguesas(Portuguese Women’s Agriculturist Association), a non-governmental organization, continues to promote women in the agricultural sector through the following activities:

(a)“Rosa e Acácio” a project to prevent professional risk in agriculture — for the protection of children working in the agricultural sector;

(b)“A participação das mulheres nos processos de decisão do mundo rural e agrícola” (Participation of women in the decision-making processes in the rural and agricultural world) — a study on agricultural tourism, was executed in two phases:

(i)“Qualificações profissionais em agro-turismo”(Professional qualifications in agricultural tourism);

(ii)The execution of a training module for the training of trainers.

(c)“A situacção actual e as prespectivas futuras das qualificçõaes de profissionais das agricultoras do sul da Europa” — (Current situation and the future perspectives of the qualification of professional agriculturist women of southern Europe;

(d)“Mulheres Agricultoras” (Women Agriculturists);

(e)“Ligando Mulheres na periferia” (Linking women in outlying areas);

(f)Self-employment for Women in Rural Areas;

(g)“Guia de boas prácticas em matéria de acesso de Mulheres á educação e á formação profissional no meio agrícola”. (Guide of good practice in matters of women access to education and to professional training in the rural areas);

(h)“A mulher na recupração e diversidade das economias rurais” (Women in the recovery and diversification of the rural economies) — a study;

(i)“Os idosos no meio rural e agrícola” (The elderly in the rural agricultural world);

213.The Associação das Mulheres Agricultoras Portuguesas (Portuguese Women Agriculturist Association) also offers general consulting services to its associates. The Association promoted the following seminars:

(a)“Familia , mulheres e voluntariado : contributo para o desenvolvimento do mundo rural” (Family women and voluntary work: a contribution to developing the rural world;

(b)“Educação não formal e formação continua da mulher agrícola” (Non-formal education and the continuous training of the agriculturist woman);

(c)“A mulher e voluntariado a participaçã civica e responsável no desenvolvimento local” (Woman and voluntary work: civic and responsible participation in local development).

214.TheAssociação das Mulheres Agricultoras Portuguesas(Portuguese Women Agriculturist Association) also promotes regular encounters for the exchange of experiences between women, publishes an informative monthly newsletter and information brochures and broadcasts on radio and television.

Article 15

215.The Portuguese Constitution and Portuguese law consecrate equality, before the law between women and men, with no exception, apart from military service in practice, however, deviation to this norm still exist, namely in areas such as labour and work, in family life and in participation in political and public life.

Article 16

216.Portuguese Constitution and the Portuguese law consecrate equality, before the law, between women and men, with no exception, in the areas of marriage and family relations. In practice, however, the existence of preconceptions and social stereotypes, as well as the persistence of family violence against women and the lack of adequate mechanisms for their protection, considerably diminishes the status of women inside the family and within marriage.