National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025

1. Policy framework for the National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 ........8 1.1 Documentation of ESDIF 2021-2025 strategic options ...............................................8

2. Proposals for the horizontal implementation of gender mainstreaming and design of policies and actions under ESDIF 2021-2025 ..................................................................14 2.1 Consultation at the National Gender Equality Council ..............................................14 2.2 Involvement of government actors in the formulation of sectoral policies for gender mainstreaming.........................................................................................................18 2.3 Contribution of the policies included in the ‘National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025’ to the development of the Greek economy and the distribution of income - Council of Economic Advisers (Ministry of Finance) ............................................63

3. ESDIF Structure 2021-2025 ........................................................................................88 Priority Axis 1: Preventing and combatting gender-based and domestic violence. ...... 93 Priority Axis 2: Equal participation of women in the labour market. ............................... 99 Priority Axis 3: Equal participation of women in decision-making and leadership...... 105 Priority Axis 4: Mainstreaming the gender perspective into sectoral policies ............. 109

4. ESDIF Follow-up procedure..................................................................................... 125

5. Procedure for the ESDIF preparation ..................................................................... 127 Sources ........................................................................................................................................... 128 2 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Acronyms GSDFPGE General Secretariat for Demography and Family Policy and Gender Equality EU European Union EC European Commission ESF European Social Fund OP Operational Programme ESDIF National Action Plan for Gender Equality ESIF National Equality Council ESPA Partnership Agreement for the Development Framework ERDF European Regional Development Fund KEDE Central Union of Greek Municipalities OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development UN United Nations LA Local Authorities MERA Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs MIN Ministry of Interior MCS Ministry of Culture and Sports MP Mature Project 3 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Welcome speech of the Deputy Minister for Labour and Social Affairs, responsible for Demographic Policy, Family and Gender Equality Gender Equality is at the core of human rights. That is why it is a basic principle of the Greek State and of the European Union. Gender Equality is both a fundamental human right and an integral part of peace, democracy and sustainable development, as these not only require but ensure as well equal rights, equal obligations and equal opportunities. The progress that has been made in the fight for gender equality in recent years should not leave any room for complacency. Women still face many obstacles along the way, continue to be the target of violence and gender-based stereotypes and hate speech which are used against them. The global health crisis has exacerbated existing gender inequalities and has once again made women and girls the first victims of this crisis. History has taught us that a single crisis is enough women's rights to be called into question once more. Because, unfortunately, there is a risk that their achievements in the fields of personal choice, work, security, freedom and autonomy in relations be overriden. Therefore, the prevention of a setback regarding women's achievements and the consolidation and extension of their rights should be a goal and policy object for every State of Law and of course for our country. For us, Gender Equality and the empowerment of women is a government priority. In the midst of difficult and demanding European and international circumstances, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic, we have started to diversify our policies in a timely manner and work towards a genuine achievement of gender equality through initiatives and targeted actions. The progress we have made and are already implementing, in the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, is reflected in the National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025, which not only shields and defends women's rights but also strengthens their position and development in society. 4 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 We need a change of course and the moment is now. Looking forward to the future, we are working to give girls and women their rightful place which they deserve. Let’s make use of the great potential of women by fighting gender imbalances that create inequalities and exclusions. Let’s break down the institutional barriers and social stereotypes which construct gender-specific roles and, thus, ensure that all women have equal access to work, innovation and science, their free participation in decision-making centres, their promotion to positions of responsibility, in other words their active presence in the social, economic and political life of the country. We still have a long way to go before we reach substantive Gender Equality. This fight requires the participation and engagement of all women and men, the State and citizens. Through collective and individual action. With sensibility, design and targeting. Using knowledge, a cross-sectoral approach and realism. The new society we are building is based on Equality and Inclusion. Worth the fight! Maria Syrengela Deputy Minister for Labour and Social Affairs 5 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Welcome speech of the General Secretariat for Demography and Family Policy and Gender Equality Substantive gender equality, inclusion and equal opportunities remain a challenge in modern Greek society. Achieving them requires political will and planning to implement actions, activities and projects to be applied horizontally in all areas. The State aims to enhance the potential of all its members by implementing this National Action Plan for Gender Equality (ESDIF) 2021-2025. Over the past decades, women’s achievements both in the private and public sphere have gradually multiplied. However, women remain more vulnerable than men in a number of challenges. This is a situation that was fully confirmed over the pandemic period, which disproportionately affected women. Gender inequality was exacerbated, staying at home made the boundaries between work and family more blurred and the phenomenon of gender-based and domestic violence intensified. In times of crisis, the need to promote gender equality becomes even more pressing. It is true that progress and prosperity are ensured by the fully activating society, which is not possible without fully activating women and effectively making use of their potential. The General Secretariat for Demography and Family Policy and Gender Equality has worked and keeps working in a coordinated manner to develop and implement policies and actions that will enable women to take the position they deserve, an equal position in the labour market, in private life, in science but also as regards civic participation. The National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 being developed along four (4) main thematic priority axes: 1: Preventing and combatting gender-based and domestic violence. 2: Equal participation of women in the labour market. 3: Equal participation of women in decision-making and leadership 4: Mainstreaming the gender perspective into sectoral policies. 6 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 The axes were specified based on the priorities of GSDFPGE, the guidelines and requirements of the European and international organisations and the needs of modern Greek society. This is a realistic, mature project, adapted to the prevailing conditions, which GSDFPGE intends to implement in a technocratic manner and with close monitoring. Its priorities involve mainstreaming the gender perspective into public policies, empowering women in all aspects of life and tackling all forms of violence exercised upon them. This Action Plan plays a catalytic role in realising our vision: to enable all women, of all ages, to build their life as they wish, to chart their course and follow it, without encountering obstacles related to stereotypes. Gianna Chormova General Secretariat for Demography and Family Policy and Gender Equality 7 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025

1. Policy framework for the National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 1.1 Documentation of ESDIF 2021-2025 strategic options The new National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 is being designed at a time marked by the effects of the COVID – 19 coronavirus pandemic in our country and in all European countries. Despite the immediate response of the State to tackling and combatting the spread of the virus, it is clear that the environment around us is changing and in this ever-changing environment we need to design a coherent and effective policy to ensure stability and development for all. The European Parliament has dedicated this year's International Women's Day to all women who have fought globally to tackle the coronavirus crisis, with the aim of rewarding women who, either because of their professional status, have been called upon to face unprecedented difficulties in the fight to combat the virus or, due to their role as mothers, spouses and partners, undertook to manage a ‘different’ daily life. This has also happened in our country. The unprecedented conditions we have experienced have intensified the need to achieve gender equality and to make it a horizontal policy that can and should be implemented in practice. Law 4604/2019 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 50) on ‘Promoting gender equality, preventing and combatting gender-based violence - Regulations for the granting of citizenship - Provisions related to Local Government elections - Other provisions’ and ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence by Law 4431/2018 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 62) set the first framework in this direction. Creating a legislative framework, however, is not enough to produce the desired results. Coordinated effort is required from all stakeholders, as provided for in Article 10 of Law 4604/2019, to mainstream the gender perspective into public policies, in order to develop projects and actions with a view to achieving substantive equality and, therefore, improving the country’s performance in the annual Gender Equality Index of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE). 8 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Greece ranks last in the EU on the Gender Equality Index for 2020 based on data from 2018, remaining in the same position since 2010, despite the small improvement of the score compared to 2010 and 2017. The best performance of our country has been recorded in the health and financial sectors, while the lowest performance and therefore the greatest scope for improvement has been recorded as regards power and representation, time for care and activities and work. Therefore, there are still significant needs for specifying the implementation of Law 4531/2018 and Law 4604/2019 and mainstreaming the gender perspective into public policies and at the local level, while stereotypes and inequalities continue to exist and spread in all areas of life, such as political, social, personal and professional. As regards the issue of gender-based and domestic violence, the year 2020 marked the beginning of the implementation of Law 4531/2018, which ratified the ‘Istanbul Convention’, followed by the assessment of the country in September 2021, with a three-month time frame, by the designated Independent Expert Body of the Council of Europe (GREVIO), as to the proper implementation of the Convention. It should be noted that there is a significant gap in the relevant data on violence against women, which conceals the true extent of the violence. At the same time, confinement due to the COVID-19 coronovirus pandemic has resulted in women already in violent relationships being exposed to their abuser for long periods of time, putting themselves at greater risk of domestic violence. Consequently, the country has to meet needs such as measuring the extent and tendency of the spread of all forms of violence covered by the scope of the Convention, organising training and vocational seminars to inform the public about gender-based and domestic violence and how to deal with and resolve such incidents. The network of structures which consists of 43 counseling centres,19 shelters and the 24-hour SOS 15900 telephone helpline is a key point for the multifaceted support and empowerment of women who are victims of violence and for abused women. According to Eurostat, 7 women were killed by their partner in 2020, while there is no data available for women who are victims of intentional homicide committed by a member of their family. In addition, it is estimated that 25% - 42% of girls belonging to the immigrant population are at risk of female genital mutilation, while 2% of women report that they have been subjected to online harassment. Furthermore, 138 female victims of human trafficking were registered by 2016. 9 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 As regards the participation of women in social and political life, in 2020, the proportion of women in the Council of Ministers is only 10%, while in 2013 the proportion was 16.1%. It is worth mentioning that the corresponding proportion in the European Union is 32%. Female members of the parliament account for 21%, which is an increase compared to 2013, when the percentage was 16,1%, but this proportion is lower than the European average of 32%. As regards regional and municipal councils, in 2019, it seems that women held 21% of posts, i.e. a slightly increased percentage compared to

2013. As far as the business sector is concerned, only 12% of the members of the Board of Directors of the largest companies were women. Although the percentage continues to be low, it has doubled since 2013 when it was only 5.7%. As regards the posts of the members of the collective bodies of the Central Bank, research funding organisations, public broadcasters and the national Olympic sports organisations, the representation is equally low and there is also a significant difference between the relevant percentage in the country and that of the EU. Therefore, significant efforts are needed as to motivation, awareness and support, to increase the participation of women in positions of authority, responsibility and leadership, to reduce the gap in relation to the participation of men, but also the performance at EU level, as well as for the effective implementation of the quotas now provided for in the legislation. Regarding the participation of women in the labour market, in 2018 the employment rate of women, in Full Time Equivalent terms, was 31.4%, while that of men reached 50%. In relation to the corresponding 2015 figures (29.8% and 47.2%), although women’s employment appears to be improving, the gender gap is widening. The gap between the percentage of women and that of men who have a partner and children (50% against 79% respectively) is of particular importance as it reaches almost 30 percentage points (2018) and is higher than that observed in couples without children, in which the gender gap is 6 percentage points. Low participation of women in the labour market is recognised as one of the main problems of the Greek economy in the Report on the Development Plan for the Greek economy, with a significant impact on productivity, as the average educational level of those outside the labour market is high. Low participation is due, on the one hand, to the consistently low participation and early retirement of women, and, on the other hand, to the discrimination shown by employers to women, especially those of childbearing potential. The main obstacle to labour market participation is the lack of quality care services for children and the elderly. The proportion of women who declare that the care of young children affects their work, which (proportion) exceeds twice that of men (32.0% against 14.6%) (ELSTAT, 2018) is a typical example. In particular, a career break in order to look after children mainly concerns women (49.7% against 4.0% of men), while 10.9% of women has not work in order to take care of their children. Furthermore, women’s low participation in 10 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 managerial positions show that they lag behind men as to professional development. Gender segregation in the labour market affects both women and men. The employment rate in the education, human health and social work sectors is 22.8% for women compared to only 8.2% for men. As regards the pay gap, ELSTAT data for 2018 show that the average annual salary of women is 20.6% lower than that of men. As regards the digital skills of the general population, the gender gap appears to be smaller: 63% of women use the internet every day compared to 66% of men (Eurostat, 2021), 22% of women possess digital skills beyond a basic level compared to 25% of men. However, with regard to education and the labour market in ICT, research and engineering sectors, gender segregation is notable. ICT graduates for 2018 are 39% women and 61% men, while scientists and engineers in high-technology sectors are only 21% women against 79% men. Gender balance in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) studies and careers is an ongoing issue. Across the EU28, 14% of women obtain a STEM degree compared to 40% of male students. The effort is therefore focused on increasing the number of women who choose STEM studies. In its 2018 report on women in technology and in the digital age (Women in the digital age), the European Commission notes that if more women held posts in the digital sector there could be an annual increase of 16 billion euros in the EU GDP and more women would be attracted to the STEM sector, including ICT. This will also lead to economic growth, creating more jobs, up to 1.2 million by 2050 while, according to Eurostat data, employment growth in the ICT sector will exceed 8 times the average increase in employment in the EU. Therefore, there is a need for actions that facilitate and encourage the combination of family and private life and work, especially as regards the care of infants and toddlers aged from 3 months to 2.5 years, which promote equality in wages, and address occupational gender-based stereotypes, foster female entrepreneurship and enhance education and training of women and girls in research and technology at all levels of education. Horizontal mainstreaming of the gender perspective into sectoral policies and multi-level governance is a key tool for promoting equality and tackling various forms of entrenched discrimination. The issue of gender equality is included in the national action plans of other bodies (such as children’s rights, racism, social integration of migrants and persons with disabilities), with which it is required to establish a constant and effective coordination. 11 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 In the field of economy, the gender budgeting principle has been introduced for the first time in the central administration by Law 4604/2019; furthermore, efforts and cooperation will be required for the correct implementation of the provisions and the use of this tool by the Ministries. Promoting gender equality at local level is the main challenge to substantively improve the position of women in local communities. In this direction, municipal and regional equality committees are the hub of networking and implementation of projects and actions. Based on the latest data, from July 2019 until today, out of a total of 332 municipalities in Greece, 278 municipalities have completed the establishment of municipal equality committees (DEPIS), 37 municipalities are currently establishing those committees while only 26 municipalities have not initiated any relevant action. As far as the regions are concerned, 8 out of 13 have completed the establishment of regional equality committees (PEPIS). The progress made in this area, in the midst of a pandemic, reflects the importance of organisation, guidance and open communication between central and decentralised administration. Regarding gender equality in the field of sport, it is observed that the participation rate of women in sports activities is upward. However, their number is considerably smaller than that of the male population who has incorporated sports as a leisure activity. According to the Eurobarometer survey on the frequency of sport or physical activity over the age of 18, in 2016 only 6.1% of women compared to 12.3% of men stated that they exercise every day or almost every day while in 2011, the respective rates were 4.9% and 11.7%. A similar difference has been observed in the percentages of those who never exercise, which are 68.6% for women and 53.7% for men (2016). More specifically, as regards the percentage of people who have a positive perception of their health, there is a decrease in the period 2005-2017. In 2018 it was found that 74.2% of women and 78.4% of men consider that their health is in good condition compared to 2005 where the rates were 75% and 80% respectively. As regards their access to adequate healthcare in 2018, about 11.3% of women and 9% of men said they are satisfied. 12 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 As for people with disabilities, women report higher levels of unmet needs compared to men (30% against 28%) and people without disabilities (20% against 21%). The fight against gender discrimination and stereotypes in all aspects of life and public policy is imperative in order to improve the position and the lives of people, especially women. The relevant thematic actions require mainstreaming the gender perspective into all areas of life (e.g. political, social, personal and professional), intensive and effective governance on issues of equality with horizontal and vertical collaboration, and organizing more informative seminars and activities aimed primarily at raising awareness among individuals and society about gender equality. 13 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025

2. Proposals for the horizontal implementation of gender mainstreaming and design of policies and actions under ESDIF 2021-2025 2.1 Consultation at the National Gender Equality Council In the light of all the considerations set out in the previous chapter and in order to highlight new needs and problems in order to try to solve them through the priorities and actions under the new ESDIF 2021-2025, the National Gender Equality Council held its 2nd meeting, which took place on Wednesday 18 November 2020, 13:00 - 16:00, online, through the platform ‘e-presence.gr’. The purpose of the online meeting was to discuss the objectives and actions of the new National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 at the level of the relevant collective advisory body, i.e. the National Gender Equality Council. The meeting was attended by ESIF members as defined in Ministerial Decision ref. 37326/Δ1.11506/12-10-2020 (OPN: 6XOT46MTLK-HBD) regarding its establishment, executives of the competent services of GSDFPGE, and (also attended) by executives of the contractor supporting the competent Directorate of GSDFPGE in the preparation of ESDIF 2021-2025. More specifically, the following people participated in the meeting:

1. Maria Syrengela, Secretary-General for Family Policy and Gender Equality as the President of ESIF;

2. Styliani Siarapi, non-permanent associate in the office of the Minister of Interior as an ESIF member;

3. Eftychia Katsigaraki, Director-General for Transparency and Human Rights of the Ministry of Justice, as an ESIF member;

4. Aikaterini Sarri, Professor at the Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies of the University of Macedonia, as an ESIF member;

5. Diamanto (Dia) Anagnostou, Assistant Professor at the Department of Public Administration of the Panteion University of Athens, as an ESIF member;

6. Theodosia Tandarou-Kringou, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Research Centre for Gender Equality (KETHI) representative of KETHI, as an ESIF member; 14 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025

7. Rodi Kratsa-Tsangaropoulou, Member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Greek Regions (ENPE) - Regional Governor of the Ionian Islands, representative of ENPE, as an ESIF member;

8. Evangelia Schinaraki-Iliaki, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Political Association of Women, representative of the Political Association of Women, as an ESIF member;

9. Stella Kasdagli, representative of Women On Top, as an ESIF member;

10. Katerina Loukidou, Head of the Department for Planning, Creating Standards and Development of Gender Equality Policies, GSDFPGE

11. Papazoglou Angeliki, Directorate for the Development and Support of Gender Equality Policies, GSDFPGE;

12. Gkavogianni Peggy, Head of Unit / Unit A1 Special Management Service, MIN;

13. Platis Dimitris, GSDFPGE executive;

14. Tzortzi Evgenia, Director of the Cabinet of the Secretary-General for Family Policy and Gender Equality;

15. Koutsomarkos Nikos, executive of the contractor. Ms Kakali, representative of KEDE, was absent from the meeting but her proposals were submitted in writing and taken into account. During the teleconference, the four (4) Priority Axes of the new National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025, the respective objectives, indicative content of the actions per target and the current legislative developments in the field of gender equality were presented, while it was noted that although Greece ranked last in the EU on the Gender Equality Index for 2018, according to the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), it considers that the actions already implemented in this direction, but also those that are expected to be implemented in the near future, will improve the ranking of Greece, without the already obvious improvement and development being a reason for complacency. The presentations made by the members resulted in the following proposals: • need to strengthen the institutions of the Municipal and Regional Equality Committees by employing new staff and upgrade them through the participation of experts or academics; • need to enhance skills in new technologies and research, especially for women, so that they have equal opportunities in competitive workplaces in order to strengthen their position; 15 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 • digital transformation of women’s businesses by making use of opportunities offered by the European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs) but also by investing in Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) etc., and by integrating digital specialised skills courses into Secondary and Tertiary Education through specific training programmes and promotion of various show-cases and role models by women entrepreneurs or politicians and equality laboratories; • need to further activate the Equality Committees in the Universities, which have created a Network that gives a new impetus to Higher Education through the mobilisation of institutions and individual academics regarding the preparation and implementation of Action Plans for Equality and Diversity with measurable targets through information and awareness actions. • It was proposed to operate ESDIF as a model for the Municipalities, with the aim of creating Local Action Plans focused on education. • It was proposed that ESDIF be taken into account in the preparation of municipal budgets and thus a direction be given to mainstream the gender perspective into them, and it was noted that it is of particular importance to implement a coordinated monitoring of policies to verify whether they are actually implemented by all national authorities, as it is believed that they have not delivered the expected results so far. • It was proposed to create a register of NGOs / women’s organisations and it was noted that there is a need for proper cooperation between women’s organisations in order to better support and make use of every proposal expressed. • Emphasis was placed on the importance of mainstreaming the gender perspective into schools and it was proposed to renew study guides, to establish efficiency indicators and raise awareness in children while they are still in Nursery School, with the contribution of child psychologists. Furthermore, it was stressed that there is a need to support Gender Equality in families also through Municipal Equality Committees. • Actions such as providing training for women’s education in technology, artificial intelligence (AI), technophobia, etc. were highlighted. • It was proposed to train judges and prosecutors on issues of Gender Equality, Child Protection, etc., as well as ensure special care, by establishing specific provisions in the chapter on violence included in ESDIF, for female prisoners and their children, who up to the age of (3 years) grow up in prisons • It was emphasised that treatment programmes for perpetrators should be revised due to the increased cases of violence caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus and it was proposed to conduct field research in parents and guardians in order to study the family environment in which they grew up, aiming for prevention and protection 16 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 from domestic violence. It was also proposed to organise awareness-raising seminars and statistical surveys in order to gather appropriate material containing actual data for immediate action. • It was proposed to promote education and training in digital skills (digital skilling) as a tool for the reintegration of women into the labour market and more specifically women who were left outside the labour force due to unemployment or maternity leave. • It was proposed to train guidance counselors on issues relating to stereotypes in Secondary Education, where all the options available to students will be explained, without gender discrimination. • It was stressed that attention should be paid to domestic violence which has increased due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. • The need for awareness-raising, activation, information and support of women in all kinds of issues, especially in health, sexual health and reproductive health, etc. was highlighted. Also, emphasis was placed on the need to strengthen the networking of women at local and regional level, the cultural creation which promotes Gender Equality, women's agricultural cooperatives and public awareness. Elimination, by the GSDFPGE network of structures, of stereotypes in mass media and increase in the possession and use of PCs for the active participation of women in the modern ICT environment. 17 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 2.2 Involvement of government actors in the formulation of sectoral policies for gender mainstreaming. This chapter presents the positions and proposals of the Ministries submitted in view of the formulation of the new National Action Plan with a view to mainstreaming the gender perspective into their policies. The information presented relates to actions that are already being implemented under a gender perspective and actions that are proposed to be implemented either by the competent ministries themselves or in cooperation with other jointly competent bodies. The presentation of the Ministries is made in accordance with their ranking, as foreseen in accordance with the Prime Minister’s Decision No 3/ 20-1-2020 entitled ‘Determination of ministerial ranking’ (Government Gazette, Series II, No 48), in conjunction with paragraph 3 of Article 115 of Law 4622/2019 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 133). Ministry of Finance The Ministry of Finance has adopted a series of legislative acts to promote gender equality, as follows: Α. Law 4706/2020 on ‘Corporate Governance of Societes Anonymes’, modern capital market, transposition into the Greek legislation of Directive (EU) 2017/828 of the European Parliament and of the Council, measures to implement Regulation (EU) 2017/1131 and other provisions’ modernised the legislative framework for corporate governance, directly or indirectly contributing to the promotion of substantive gender equality and elimination of gender discrimination. In particular, points b and c of paragraph 1 of Article 3 on Corporate Governance not only strengthened the role and characteristics of the independent members but also upgraded the mix of the boards of directors of the companies including the terms of participation of women (sex equality) therein. 18 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 According to paragraph 1a of Article 3, the Capital Market Commission has published Circular No. 60/18-9-2020 entitled ‘Guidelines for the Suitability Policy provided in Article 3 of Law 4706/2020’ on the adoption of this policy, according to which the latter must include, inter alia, criteria for assessing the suitability of BoD members as well as diversity criteria for the selection of its members in order to ensure a variety of views and experiences and, thus, make good decisions. Consequently, the above law directly contributes to the National Action Plan for Gender Equality, priority axis 3 on ‘Equal participation of women in decision-making and leadership’ and in particular to achieve the individual objective 3.1 ‘Increasing the number of women in politics’ as part of Action 3.1.1 Legislative interventions for the quota of women in political bodies and Action 3.1.4 Support of women for their civic participation. Furthermore, it directly contributes to Objective ‘3.2: Increasing the number of women in positions of responsibility in the public and private sector’ as part of Action 3.2.1: Legislative interventions and Action 2.2.4: Promoting networking of women in decision-making. Finally, indirectly, it also contributes to priority axis 2 on ‘Equal participation of women in the labour market’ with the aim of 2.1 ‘Strengthening female employment’ and is an indirect action to inform and raise awareness about gender discrimination in employment (2.1.2). Β. The Draft Law of the Ministry of Finance entitled: ‘Transposition of Directive (EU) 2019/878 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2019 amending Directive 2013/36/EU as regards exempted entities, financial holding companies, mixed financial holding companies, remuneration, supervisory measures and powers and capital conservation measures, transposition of Directive (EU) 2019/879 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2019 amending Directive 2014/59/EU as regards the loss-absorbing and recapitalisation capacity of credit institutions and investment firms and Directive 98/26/EC (OJ L 150), by amending Article 2 of Law 4335/2015, and other urgent provisions’, which has been discussed in the Parliament and is expected to be voted within the current week, contains the following provisions: • Definition no 67 is added to Article 3, paragraph 1 of Law 4261/2014 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 107), and reads as follows: ‘gender-neutral remuneration policy’ means a remuneration policy based on equal pay between female and male workers for similar work or work of equal value. 19 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 • At the end of paragraph 1 of Article 66 of Law 4261/2014 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 107), a subparagraph is added as follows: ‘The remuneration policies and practices referred to in the first subparagraph shall be gender-neutral.’. • Point (h) is added to paragraph 2 of Article 84 of Law 4261/2014 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 107) and reads as follows: ‘(h) the remuneration policy shall be gender-neutral.’ These provisions contribute to the achievement of objective 2.3 on ‘Reducing the gender pay gap’ (under priority axis 2 on ‘Equal participation of women in the labour market’). C. The Draft Law of the Ministry of Finance entitled: ‘Institutional Framework of the Economic and Social Committee (ESC)’, which was put to public electronic consultation from 12 to 25/2/2021 and has been sent to the ESC for the formulation of a reasoned opinion, promotes the upgrading of the ESC, under the constitutionally guaranteed institution of social dialogue, including, inter alia, issues related to the promotion of the principles of equal treatment and fight against gender discrimination. In particular: • Article 1, paragraph 2 provides that: ‘[….] The responsibilities of the ESC include, in addition to those provided in the preceding subparagraphs, the following: (a) making proposals to the Government and the social partners for the promotion of the principles of equal treatment, as well as taking measures against discrimination in employment; (b) encouraging social dialogue at the regional and local level, as well as dialogue with representative organisations and, in general, non-governmental organisations, whose statutory objective is combatting discrimination based on any ground such as race, colour, national or ethnic origin, descent, religious or other beliefs, disability or chronic illness, age, family or social status, sexual orientation, gender identity or sex characteristics...’. • Article 3, paragraph 7 provides that: ‘The number of regular and alternate members of the Plenary Session of the ESC, as well as the regular and alternate members of the Executive Committee, which correspond to each gender, shall amount to at least one third (1/3) of the total of senior members. The ESC shall comply with the principles of equal treatment in decision-making procedures, take measures against discrimination as defined by national law and European Union law and ensure adequate representation of both sexes in the Plenary Session of the ESC. 20 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Consequently, the above law will directly contribute to the National Action Plan for Gender Equality, priority axis 3 on ‘Equal participation of women in decision-making and leadership’ and in particular to achieve the individual objective 3.1 ‘Increasing the number of women in politics’ as part of Action 3.1.4 Support of women for their civic participation. Furthermore, it directly contributes to Objective ‘3.2: Increasing the number of women in positions of responsibility in the public and private sector’ as part of Action 3.2.1: Legislative interventions. It also contributes to priority axis 4. ‘Mainstreaming the gender perspective into sectoral policies and in particular into Objective 4.1 on ‘Mainstreaming the gender perspective into all policies’ and action 4.1.1. ‘Analysis and design of policies, measures, programmes from a gender perspective’. Ministry of Development and Investments The Ministry of Development and Investments is in direct cooperation and supports the initiative of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, ran by the Deputy Minister for Labour responsible for Demographic Policy and Family, Ms Maria Syrengela, for the creation of the ‘Innovation Centre for Women – # GIL4W’. This project aims, at the same time, at the thematic cooperation of government and social actors and market players, but also at their commitment that the adoption of technology and innovation will not lead to an increase in social and economic inequality. The initiative aims, inter alia, at: 1. designing innovative actions that will attract more girls to STEM studies and will seek to increase the participation rate of women in research and innovation-driven businesses; 2. creating a platform for the development of entrepreneurship based on high technology, creating the conditions for equal participation in the new environment formed by the continuous evolution of technology and by placing special emphasis on female talent. 3. assessing the impact of gender-based policies, using a data-driven approach. To this end, public and private sector actors from the research and academic community, employment and social organisations have decided on a strong scheme to support, promote and disseminate this initiative. In addition, the Ministry of Development and Investments is planning and implementing a package of actions to promote gender equality and eliminate more efficiently gender discrimination. Some of those actions include: 21 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 ▪ Reconstruction of the National Council for Research in Technology and Innovation (ESETEK), as the highest advisory body of the State in research and innovation, with the participation of 7 women from the field of Research and Innovative Enterprises1. ▪ The positions of responsibility at the Head of Directorate level in the Secretariat- General for Research and Innovation are currently filled by women! The Ministry of Development and Investments, by promoting positive role models, seeks to contribute towards gender equality in the following areas: - Priority Axis 2: Equal participation of women in the labour market. - Priority Axis 3: Equal participation of women in decision-making and leadership In particular: ▪ Creation of the National Register of Start-ups ‘Elevate Greece’: Elevate Greece is the gateway to the country’s innovation ecosystem. It aims at strengthening, developing and extroverting Greek start-ups. Its main objective is to promote networking between them, as well as to raise their visibility at the international level. Their progress is also recorded on the basis of critical benchmarks, enabling start- ups to attract ‘angel investors’ and businesses from Greece and abroad. At the same time, they can participate in the National Start-up Entrepreneurship Awards and have access to benefits and sponsorships from Official Supporters of Elevate Greece, which stimulate the development of businesses whose purpose is related to their activity. The aim of ‘Elevate Greece’ is, among other things, to promote start-ups in which female entrepreneurs also participate. In this context, the first Elevate Greece Start-up Entrepreneurship Awards have been planned to include a specially designed award for Female Innovative Entrepreneurship. ICC Women Hellas (International Chamber of Commerce) is also one of the Official Institutional Supporters of ‘Elevate Greece’.2 ICC Women Hellas has recently founded Female Founders Startups Cluster3 and organised a successful event. According to the European Startup Monitor, only 8% of startups have been founded exclusively by women and 25% thereof has a founding team which includes at least one woman.4 According to the first findings, the situation in Greece is expected to be similar or even worse (Elevate Greece has not completed the registration of start-ups). This imbalance can be reduced by promoting international initiatives such as 1 http://www.esek.org.gr/central.aspx?sId=109I344I994I646I447329&lang=el 2 https://www.iccwbo.gr/ 3 https://startupper.gr/news/68315/female-founders-startups-cluster-online-opening-event-stis-8- apriliou/ 4 https://europeanstartupmonitor2019.eu 22 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 • the Women Tech EU programme5 could provide assistance in this direction, i.e. empowering women in positions relating to technology and science. • the European VC Fund Managers Group • and HORIZON programmes6 aimed exclusively at women with a view to strengthening self-confidence. In addition, organisations such as MeXoXo7 and SEIN – School for Entrepreneurship & Innovation8 will soon begin to provide technology and entrepreneurship courses for women in Greece as well, under the auspices of the Ministry of Development and Investments. ▪ ESPA actions for Innovation In July 2018, the Secretariat-General for Research and innovation (GGEK) prepared, within the OECD framework, a case study / report on the financing of spin offs financed by it in previous periods. TIP Policy Mix for Science – Industry Knowledge Transfer Project ‘The Greek Case Study’ (p.38)9 Chart 1 illustrates the imbalance in the senior levels of staff active in the research / business sector as follows: women cover 23% of the scientific and technical staff and 69% of the auxiliary staff compared to 79% and 41% covered respectively by male staff. Chart 1: Allocation of employees by sector (source: TIP Policy Mix for Science – Industry Knowledge Transfer Project ‘The Greek Case Study’ July 2018) 5 https://www.womentech.net/ 6 https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en/h2020-section/promoting-gender-equality-research- and-innovation 7 https://www.mexoxo.com/ 8 https://sein.co.il/ 9 https://tinyurl.com/p7kfxu4s 23 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 The National Documentation Centre (EKT) collects data for the Greek Research, Technology, Development, Innovation System (ETAK) and, in this context, it has included the statistics on the participation of women in research and development (R & D) in the list of national statistics published. At the same time, it represents the country as regards statistics for the flagship publication of the European Commission ‘She Figures’. EKT systematically records the participation of women in the fields of research, development and innovation, both at the European and national level. At the same time, through its targeted publications, it emphasises the interconnection of indicators with specific policies, helping to improve the effectiveness of public policies. PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN 7 RESEARCH CENTRES UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE SECRETARIAT-GENERAL FOR RESEARCH AND INNOVATION Based on the data kept in 7 Research Centres supervised by GGEK, regarding the percentages of employed men and women, it appears that the number of men employed in research centres is significantly higher than the number of women employed in Research sectors; a significant percentage of unequal distribution has been observed at higher levels, such as that of Researcher A. Finally, in exact sciences women are less than men while in human sciences the opposite happens: the percentage of women is higher than that of men. Ministry of Foreign Affairs 24 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Based on Law 4604/2019 and in order to implement the UN Security Council Agenda on Women, Peace and Security (WPS Agenda)10, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has undertaken to coordinate the preparation and implementation of the National Action Plan for Women, Peace and Security-ESDGEA (2020-2024), which was prepared by a competent Interministerial Committee with the active participation of the General Secretariat for Demography and Family Policy and Gender Equality and was put to public consultation which ended on 09.05.2021. ESDGEA was drawn up on the basis of: (a) the horizontal integration of the gender perspective into all national policies (gender mainstreaming) and, therefore, (b) the strengthening of the cohesion of national policies, both internal and external. EDSGEA comprises the following pillars: Pillar I: Prevention of armed conflict, gender-based, sexual and domestic violence and sexual exploitation and abuse. Pillar II: Gender-balanced representation, participation and leadership in public life, the State apparatus and the decision-making process. Pillar III: Protection of women and girls from gender-based, sexual and domestic violence, including sexual exploitation and abuse, as well as from other violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Pillar IV: Relief and recovery of women and girls who have survived armed conflict and gender-based, sexual and domestic violence Pillar V: Promotion of the Agenda for Women, Peace and Security at a bilateral, regional, multilateral and international level. In the light of the above and in view of the impending adoption of EDSGEA, it is proposed to add the following objective under priority axis ‘4: Mainstreaming the gender perspective into sectoral policies’ of ESDIF, which focuses on the following actions: Objective 4.X. Promoting gender equality in foreign policy. Action 4.X.1. Harmonising the implementation of the National Action Plans for Gender Equality (2021-2025) and for Women, Peace and Security (2020-2024), with a view to enhancing coherence between internal and external national policies. [Pursuant to Article 10 of Law 4604/2019]. Action 4.X.2. Promotion of the UN Security Council Agenda for Women, Peace and Security at a bilateral, regional, multilateral and international level. [This is Pillar V of ESDGEA]. 10 United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions 1325/2000, 1820/2008, 1888/2009, 1889/2009, 1960/2010, 2106/2013, 2122/2013, 2242/2015, 2272/2016, 2331/2016, 2467/2019 and 2493/2019. 25 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Proposals from the Office of the National Rapporteur on Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings, Mr Iraklis Moskoff: The crime of Trafficking in Human Beings is a particularly heinous organised crime which has become globalised and directly affects the core of human dignity and freedom. This is a crime which is also classified as a form of gender-based violence, as it continues to affect the vast majority of women and underage girls, mainly for the purpose of sexual exploitation. For example, at the European level, women and girls account for almost 3/4 of all victims of trafficking in human beings, according to the latest report from the European Commission. A similar percentage has also been recorded in our country, i.e. 72%, as in the last two years that the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) (2019 and 2020) has been put in operation, 321 reports have been submitted for potential victims of Trafficking in Human Beings, of which 233 were women and girls. To prevent and combat Trafficking in Human Beings and to protect and assist the victims, a National Action Plan for the years 2019-2023 has been prepared by the Office of the National Rapporteur on Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings (ONR). The gender perspective regarding the phenomenon of trafficking in human beings has been taken into account when designing the plans. The National Action Plan (ESD) is to be implemented using the ESPA financial instruments and in cooperation with international organisations and civil society and private sector actors. With regard to the National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025, the Office of the National Rapporteur for Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings intends to implement or continue to implement the following actions: Action 1.1.5: Training professionals and public sector executives on the subject of violence against women Continuing the training seminars for the staff of the GSDFPGE structures in all the Regions of the Greek Territory, with the aim of strengthening the services provided to women who are victims of violence, where Trafficking in Human Beings is a separate unit. Continuing and enhancing the functioning of the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) for the Protection of Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings, which is under the supervision and coordination of the ONR. The NRM is conducting a series of training seminars to detect, identify and refer potential victims of Trafficking in Human Beings. It is worth mentioning that a total of 270 professionals have been trained in 18 seminars during 2020. Implementing a training programme for public sector executives in cooperation with the Training Institute (INEP) of the National Centre for Public Administration and Local Government (EKDDA). Implementing a series of training seminars for employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the detection of possible incidents of Trafficking in Human Beings in the performance of their consular functions. 26 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Action 1.1.6: Informing and raising awareness of the general population about gender equality and preventing and combatting violence against women Awareness-raising of the general public on Trafficking in Human Beings and gender- based violence belongs to the first strategic axis of the National Action Plan 2019-2023 against Trafficking in Human Beings, which includes a series of actions in cooperation with civil society actors. For instance, information and awareness-raising campaigns are conducted, large or medium-sized cultural events such as Break the Chain and Raise Your Voice Festival are supported. Action 1.4.3 Preventing and tackling trafficking and prostitution - survival sex Reviewing Law 2734/1999 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 161) on persons prostituting themselves for remuneration. It is noted that a competent working group has been set up at the Ministry of Citizen Protection with the participation of the ONR, which has reached a first conclusion. Enhancing the social inclusion of women who are victims of gender-based violence or violence in general and women who are victims of trafficking in human beings. Also, the objective is to provide alternatives as a means of preventing ‘survival sex’, by strengthening employment, providing access to the labour market and the developing voluntary vocational training, apprenticeship and vocational guidance programmes. Action 4.2.3. Promoting equality in Regional and Local Government Contribution of the Regional and Local Government to the protection, assistance and empowerment of victims of gender-based violence and trafficking in human beings, through social services, accommodation facilities employment support and social entrepreneurship, as well as integration actions through culture and sports. It is noted that a Cooperation Agreement has already been signed with the Region of Attica, which provides for the above actions, while corresponding collaborations are being launched with other regions of Greece. Action 4.3.1. Protecting the rights of migrants, female refugees and asylum seekers and girls Continuing the programmes for the training of the staff of the Reception and Identification Centres regarding Trafficking in Human Beings, as well as extending those programmes to the staff of the open accommodation facilities. It is noted that the majority of adult potential victims of sexual exploitation in 2020 were female asylum seekers. Action 4.4.1 Mainstreaming the gender perspective into all levels of education Training of teachers of primary and secondary education in Inclusive Sex Education (ISE), in accordance with the standards of the successful Human Rights for Beginners programme, which is carried out in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (ONR) and the Council of Europe. The training in ISE can serve as a means of preventing sexual exploitation and modern slavery by restricting the demand 27 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 for sexual ‘services’ from victims of trafficking in human beings. Ministry of Citizen Protection During the period 2021-2025, the Services of the Ministry of Citizen Protection, aiming at promoting gender equality and eliminating more effectively gender discrimination, have planned and will implement the following projects: Priority axis 1: Preventing and combatting gender-based and domestic violence. Objective 1.1: Implementing the provisions of the Istanbul Convention [Law 4531/2018 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 62)]. Within the framework of the above objective, the EU co-financed Ariadne 2 programme will be implemented from 2020 (until 2022) under the title: ‘Developing and supporting multidisciplinary police reporting procedures to prevent and respond to domestic violence against migrant / refugee women’. The coordinator of this project is KEMEA, in cooperation with the Municipality of Athens, KETHI, KGEM – DIOTIMA, Women's Centre of Karditsa and Action Aid Hellas. Action 1.1.5: Training professionals and public sector executives on the subject of violence against women Design and implementation of training programmes by the competent departments of the Hellenic Police Headquarters, with the aim of managing incidents of domestic violence and based on the educational and organisational needs of the police personnel. Action 1.1.6: Informing and raising awareness of the general population about gender equality and preventing and combatting violence against women. Developing actions and/or participating in initiatives of other co-responsible Bodies and Services, in order to raise public awareness on issues of domestic violence and to inform the citizens about the role of the Police Services. Objective 1.4: Combatting other forms of violence Action 1.4.3. Preventing and tackling trafficking and prostitution - survival sex 28 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Combatting trafficking in human beings is a key priority in the ‘Anti-crime policy programme 2020-2024’ of the Hellenic Police. In order to effectively investigate cases of trafficking in human beings, the Hellenic Police has set up Anti-Trafficking Departments and Teams. The effective treatment of this criminal activity is determined by specific objectives and is pursued through specific actions. Some of these actions are: (a) Objectives set out within the framework of the ‘Anti-crime Policy Programme 2020- 2024’ to combat efficiently the trafficking in human beings for the purpose of exploitation, i.e.: • a victim-centred approach combined with an assessment of the specificities of each case; • a Gender-based approach; • particular sensitivity towards underage victims; • zero tolerance of recruitment and trafficking of people for the purpose of exploitation. (b) Actions to achieve the above objectives: - Raising awareness of police personnel, and in particular of ‘front-line’ personnel, which is highly likely to come into contact with possible cases (victims, perpetrators). Case management by making every possible effort to avoid further – secondary victimisation. - Information - implementation of relevant legislation. Assistance provided by actors within the police force with recognised experience and specific knowledge on relevant subjects (Anti-Trafficking Departments of the Police Directorates of Attica and Thessaloniki, Sub-Directorates for the Protection of Minors of the Police Directorates of Attica and Thessaloniki, etc.) - Handling with particular sensitivity cases of trafficking in human beings where the victims belong to vulnerable groups, such as women, minors and people with disabilities. - Developing contacts with the co-responsible governmental and non-governmental bodies - Immediate notification of Public Prosecutor who has jurisdiction ratione loci and ratione materiae and, under his instructions - guidelines, pursuing the provision of the statutory assistance and protection in cooperation with co-responsible Bodies and Services (National Centre for Social Solidarity), General Secretariat for Demography and Family Policy and Gender Equality, Office of the National Rapporteur, etc.). - Participating in training programmes and workshops within the country and abroad. Issues relating to preventing and combatting violence against women, gender-based and domestic violence and trafficking, are included, in general, in the training material taught in the Police Academy, as part of courses, lectures and trainings. 29 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 - Preparation of an ‘Action Guide’ for police officers dealing with related cases with the ultimate aim of encouraging victims to report crimes against sexual freedom to the relevant police authorities. - Dealing with racist crime (Article 82A of the Penal Code) and hate speech (Law 927/1979 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 139), without considering the gender identity of the victim. In addition, in the light of the above objective, an EU co-financed project is expected to be implemented, entitled: Α4: Crossing borders for effective police investigation to protect female victims of sex trafficking and enhance accountability mechanisms (2021-2023) The coordinator of this project is KEMEA in cooperation with EKKA / National Referral Mechanism for the Protection Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings, KESD – Themistoklis and Dimitris Tsatsos Foundation, Vienna Centre for Societal Security and Law and Internet Foundation Priority Axis 4: Mainstreaming the gender perspective into sectoral policies. Objective 4.3: Improving the position of women who are subject to multiple discrimination and eliminating their social exclusion. Action 4.3.4. Supporting mothers in prison and released from prison Operation of a Centre of creative activities for children from 1.5 to 2.5 years who live with their mothers in the Detention Facility. Children with mothers in prison, from the age o 2.5 years, are transported to a public daycare centre in Thebes on a daily basis so that they can study until the age of three (3) years. At that age they leave the detention facilities (Article 13, paragraph 3, of the Penal Code). Implementing a research programme for the pilot functioning of family support intervention at the Eleonas Women's Detention Centre in Thebes, as well as evaluating the intervention. The intervention shall aim at investigating, providing and evaluating specialised support services for the families of prisoners, in order to preserve and strengthen the family ties of women in prison. 30 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 • Training of women already released and being released from prison in family reunification. • Education and training of women already released and being released from prison in targeted labour market integration issues. • Training of human resources (detention facilities, Police stations, offices of OAED - Manpower Employment Organisation, Municipalities, Asylum Services, offices for Foreigners, etc.) on family reunification of women already released and being released from prison. Objective 4.4: Gender mainstreaming in education – science – research Action 4.4.1: Mainstreaming the gender perspective into all levels of education (gender- sensitive education) Integrating into the training programme of the Corrections Academy a thematic section for the promotion of gender equality. Ministry of National Defence The Ministry of National Defence contributes to ESDIF with the following proposed actions: In Priority Axis 1 ‘Prevention and control of gender-based and domestic violence’:

1. Establishing an Office for the Prevention and Treatment of Sexual Violence according to the standards of the US Army (SAPRO), ensuring appropriate organisation and channels of communication (by telephone or via the Internet) with personnel seeking support for incidents of harassment or abuse occurring in the workplace. Equipping the office with scientists from different disciplines (lawyers, psychologists and sociologists) ensures the proper handling of reports and the support of victims who will need help. Sub-projects: a. Determination of specifications and requirements for the creation of the office (4th quarter of 2022 / MND - GENERAL STAFF). b. Staffing and opening of office (1st of 2023 / MND - GENERAL STAFF).

2. Systematic development of human resources (training) as ‘Gender Advisor’, so that personnel members can later staff gender perspective management positions. 31 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Its role is to provide counseling and guidance to the Administration, to properly mainstream the gender perspective into the aspects of military life (education, missions, operations, thinking). The body responsible for the training of Gender Advisors (GENADs) is the Nordic Defence Cooperation (NORDEFCO) in Sweden. Sub-projects: a. Determination of staff requirements (2nd quarter of 2022 / MND - GENERAL STAFF). b. Training of personnel as GENADs (2nd quarter of 2023 / MND - GENERAL STAFF). c. Filling General Staff vacancies - Major Administrations - Formations (2nd quarter of 2024 / GENERAL STAFF).

3. Conducting informative events and trainings for Commanders-Directors, regarding human rights and processing and handling reports of sexual harassment and abuse, so that they deal with unprofessional behaviour and create an equal opportunity climate within the work environment. Sub-projects: a. Establishment of a Scientific Committee to determine the content of the informative events (2nd quarter of 2022). b. Conducting informative events on an annual basis (4th quarter of 2025). In Priority Axis 2 ‘Equal participation of women in the labour market’ the following is proposed:

1. Strengthening the Psychosocial Care Teams (PCTs), by including in their programme informative events and workshops to be conducted by specialised scientific staff (sociologists, psychologists), in order to foster a culture of respect for colleagues and/or subordinates and enhance general awareness on gender discrimination in the workplace. The informative events must be designed appropriately, taking into account the particular character of the Special Forces environment. Sub-projects: a. Establishment of a Scientific Committee to determine the content of the informative events (2nd quarter of 2022 / GENERAL STAFF). b. Pilot informative events as part of the existing programme of the PCTs (4th quarter of 2023). 32 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 In Priority Axis 3 ‘Equal participation of women in decision-making and leadership’ it is proposed to conduct statistical research on an annual basis on the subject of monitoring the participation of women in positions of responsibility. Implementing body: GENERAL STAFF In Priority Axis 4 ‘Mainstreaming the gender perspective into sectoral policies’ the following are proposed:

1. Incorporation of training modules in Higher Military Education Institutions (ASEI) and Higher Military NCO Schools (ASSY), as well as in all Special Forces schools and trainings. The package (NATO / Gender Education and Training Package for Nations) is designed to support increased gender perspective awareness in military operations and to help the NATO Member States to develop its capabilities by successfully mainstreaming the gender perspective into the three main objectives of the Alliance: collective defense, crisis management and collaborative security. Project: Update and revision of training programmes (4th quarter 2022 / GENERAL STAFF).

2. Adoption of NATO policies regarding ‘Women, Peace and Security’ (NATO/EAPC Women, Peace and Security Policy and Action Plan 2018). The Policy and the Action Plan of the Alliance fully incorporate UN Security Council Resolution 1325, as well as subsequent resolutions, which aim to include the gender perspective in the design of procedures and practices within the Alliance and its Member States. Project: Integration of the Alliance Action Plan in Special Forces (4th quarter of 2022 / MND - GENERAL STAFF).

3. Cooperation with government agencies and bodies on the subject in question (General Secretariat for Demography and Family Policy and Gender Equality, Research Centre for Equality Issues, Women Counseling Centres), to make use of their knowledge and good practices regarding staff awareness and violent incident tracking. Project: Conclusion of a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and State bodies (4th quarter of 2022 / MND).

4. Annual statistical research based on collected data that will reflect the integration of gender in Special Forces and highlight issues of critical importance for SF staff. Sub-projects: 33 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 a. Definition of requirements - specifications - purpose of the research (2nd quarter of 2022 / GENERAL STAFF). b. Conducting a pilot survey (2nd quarter of 2023). Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs The actions proposed by the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs are included in Priority Axis 4 (Mainstreaming the Gender Perspective into Sectoral Policies), and in particular in Objective 4.4 (Promoting Gender Equality in Education - Science - Research). Some actions are also included in Priority Axis 2 (Equal Participation of Women in the Labour Market) and more specifically in Objective 2.5 (Enhancing education and training of women and girls in research and technology), in Priority Axis 3 (Equal participation of women in decision-making and leadership) and more specifically in Objective 3.3 (Enhancing Education and Training of Girls and Women with a view to supporting them to assume leadership positions), and in Objective 4.3 (of Axis 4 Improving the position of women who suffer multiple discrimination and eliminating their social exclusion). Note that the reproduction of gender stereotypes in education means limiting the development of girls’ and boys’ natural talents and abilities, choices in terms of education and their profession, as well as opportunities they are presented with in life. The education of children significantly influences the way they think about themselves and their peers, as well as the way they interact with the opposite sex. The education provided in our schools should make it clear to the younger generation that gender discrimination and violence against women is unacceptable. For this reason, the Istanbul Convention seeks to promote, through education, the values of gender equality, mutual respect and non-violent interpersonal relationships, non- stereotypical roles of both sexes, the right to personal integrity and gender-based violence awareness and the need to address it (Article 14). Teaching these principles helps children to become citizens who embrace the values of respect and democracy. Actions implemented:

1. ‘Skill Labs’11 The Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, by means of a Law that it submitted to the Parliament for vote, last June, on the upgrading of the public school (Law 4692/2020), has already included, in the compulsory schedule of kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, as pilot projects for this year and for 218 schools, and from next year onwards for all schools in the country, the ‘Skills Labs’ which aim to help students develop life skills, soft skills and technology skills. The action is implemented in cooperation with the Institute of Educational Policy (IEP) and incorporates four new thematic cycles (well-being, environment, social responsibility and creativity) in the compulsory, weekly timetable, in order to promote, through them, soft skills and life 11 http://iep.edu.gr/el/psifiako-apothetirio/skill-labs 34 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 skills such as: children’s ability to communicate, collaborate, think critically, reflect, assume responsibility, empathise. The four (4) thematic cycles of the ‘Skill labs’ have been structured on the basis of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and are as follows: Figure 1: The Thematic Axes and their sub-topics Each thematic cycle is divided into individual thematic sections, in order to ensure a broad approach and the possibility of deepening by thematic unit and cycle. To implement the programme, the IEP invited interested Institutions, Organisations, Academic, Research and Scientific Institutions related to the field of education to submit tested mes and training material, which will correspond to the four thematic cycles and the laboratory skill courses. The material was evaluated and subsequently posted on an IEP platform entitled Platform 21+, with the aim of initially being piloted and then serve as an open curriculum for fostering soft skills and life skills in compulsory education. The programmes are classified by subject and by level of education and are aimed at all students attending kindergartens, primary schools and high schools in the country. In the context of the laboratory teaching the use of innovative teaching methods, such as experiential and exploratory learning, is encouraged and strengthened, aiming at a more direct and active participation of students in the classroom. 35 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 In particular, the first thematic cycle entitled ‘I live better - living well’ directly addresses issues of gender equality as well as issues relating to the promotion of mental health and well-being of pupils, as through its programmes children come into contact with concepts such as mental resilience, empathy, compassion, mutual support, respect, self- awareness and engage in activities of active listening, active participation, initiative- taking questioning and critical reflection. In this context students behave with the aim of mutual understanding, mutual respect, solidarity but also self-identification, self- empowerment, responsibility, recognition and acceptance of difference. The thematic submodule includes: SEX EDUCATION It consists of programmes such as ✓ Building Healthy Relationships Between the Sexes (HEALTH EDUCATION DIRECTORATE OF SECONDARY EDUCATION, A ATHENS) ✓ Awareness raising, Prevention of Mental Disorders and Strengthening Mental Resilience in School Communities (Society of Social Psychiatry P. Sakellaropoulos) ✓ The Underwear Rule - Campaign ‘ONE in FIVE’ to end child sexual abuse (Council of Europe) ✓ Adolescent sexuality - Risks and Protective Factors (ELPIDA – Shelter of Hope) ✓ Mental Health-Enhancing self-esteem (ELPIDA, PREVENTION CENTRE OF EASTERN THESSALONIKI) ✓ Safe Touches (ELIZA - SOCIETY AGAINST CHILD ABUSE). The third thematic modular course entitled ‘I am interested and active - Social Awareness and Responsibility’ is very important for gender equality, the promotion of mental health and the well-being of pupils. The programmes in this thematic modular course focus on society, democracy, human rights and attempt to introduce to pupils concepts such as dignity, equality, freedom and democratic citizenship, citizenship, nationality, statelessness, refugee, asylum seeker, immigrant, identity, culture, civilisation, digital world, digital citizen, right, obligation, rule of law. Pupils gain a better understanding of themselves and the world in which they live, by participating in these programmes, as they face modern problems and solve real problems. They gain a better understanding of social problems such as bullying, exclusion, marginalisation and act autonomously with a view to address those problems by finding creative solutions. *** 36 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025

2. Establishing an unpaid scientific team for a specific project and development of a hardware platform for Sex Education: In the broader context of promoting gender equality and respect, the Institute of Educational Policy (IEP), by its Decision on ‘Establishing an unpaid team for the ‘Educational measures to strengthen the prevention of gender-based violence and protection against indecent assault’(act no. 11/04-03-2021 of the Board of Directors of the IEP), set up an unpaid team for a specific scientific project entitled ‘Support of school activities during the school year 2020-21 to strengthen the prevention of gender-based violence and protection against indecent assault in school units - Sex Education’. The purpose of the Scientific Team set up for the Project was to ‘support focused educational school activities regarding the promotion of the rights of children to sexual dignity, protection of sexual freedom and prevention of gender-based violence, neglect and abuse under Article 23 of Law 3500/2006 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 232)’. A digital hardware platform was developed on the IEP website12, which brings together sex education programmes relating to educational activities of knowledge and critical thinking, as well as activities to foster life skills in matters of gender, rights, mental and physical health, safety, protection, respect for sexual dignity and equality. The Convey me is aimed at secondary school students with a view to raising awareness about gender stereotypes and the sexuality of women in the media and how media contribute to the emergence of violence and harassment through special educational material. This subject focuses on issues of gender stereotypes, sexualisation of young people in the digital environment, gender-based violence, sexual violence and harassment, handling of sensitive issues and disclosure of relevant experiences. The programme ‘The world Anew’, also posted on the same platform, includes training material resulting from the cooperation of the Research Centre for Gender Equality (KETHI) with UNICEF. The publication, entitled ‘The world Anew’, which is the result of the same cooperation, is based on the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence, namely the Istanbul Convention’. Its aim is to raise concerns, but also to trigger a debate among young people on preventing and combatting gender-based violence. The book presents the stories of girls who have been subjected to gender-based violence in four languages: Greek, English, Arabic and Farsi. At the same time, a special Guide is provided to the teachers so that they can use the book ‘The world Anew’. Additional guides/manuals have been posted on the same platform for the teachers and the professionals who, in general, deal with children. ‘Guide for the identification and management by the teacher of incidents of abuse and neglect’ is one of those guides and is addressed to all teachers, both Primary and Secondary Education teachers, hoping that 12 http://iep.edu.gr/el/sex-education 37 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 it will help them identify students who are victims of abuse and to manage these issues in the best possible way. In other words, the relevant obligation of teachers referred to in Article 23 of Law 3500/2006 has been triggered. The Secretariat-General for Vocational Education, Training, Lifelong Learning and Youth / Directorate for Youth shall include in all its actions and programmes the provisions of the Istanbul Convention (as set out in the definitions, restrictions and notes) to combat stereotypes, discrimination and gender-based violence against women. It shall promote dialogue on equality of women in the leadership of organisations and businesses, equal rights to health, family (single parent or nuclear) and education. It shall provide all possible foresight and assistance to ensure that women in vulnerable groups enjoy equal rights both in the community and at work as well as in the family. It shall reinforce and encourage women’s participation in culture, international relations, youth structures, volunteering, the ‘exact’ sciences and employment. Proposals for further action

1. Proposal for further action to promote Gender Equality in Primary and Secondary Education Following the consultation between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labour, it is proposed to develop joint actions in the promotion of STEM courses for girls, combatting stereotypes in studies and careers. Objectives: • The girls should get acquainted with STEM courses from a very early age; i.e. from kindergarten • We should encourage the promotion of female role models in educational material, curricula and training • Career day, role modeling and mentoring activities, in which girls can participate, should be developed, possibly by interconnecting universities with schools and female university students with female school students • We should encourage the participation of women in specific areas e.g. artificial intelligence (AI) 38 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 ***

2. Proposals for further actions to promote Gender Equality in Higher Education • Creation (where there are none) and strengthening of the already existing Gender Equality Committees (GECs) in all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) [Article 33, Law 4589/2019 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 13] • Strengthening and promotion of the special office for the reception of relevant complaints of the Gender Equality Committee in HEIs, which exists in every HEI and is staffed by psychologists. The procedures and responsibilities for forwarding the complaints to institutionally competent bodies should be simple and clearly defined. ***

3. Proposals for further actions to promote Gender Equality in Vocational Education and Training and Lifelong Learning: • Training programmes in vocational education, training and lifelong learning (concerning administrative and teaching staff) • Action for equal participation in initial vocational training programmes • Action for equal participation in mobility programmes (Erasmus +) implemented by Vocational Training Institutions (IEK) • Action to encourage women and girls to participate in vocational education and training in technology-related specialties, ICT and professions where women’s participation is low • Action to inform and raise awareness of the gender perspective in vocational education and training • Specific arrangements for the participation of women who are subject to multiple discrimination and elimination of their social exclusion in Second Chance Schools • Design of awareness-raising programmes for women who are subject to multiple discrimination, regarding opportunities for their reintegration into the education system [Second Chance Schools, Vocational Training Schools, Vocational High Schools (EPAL), Post-High School — Apprenticeship Class, Vocational Training Institutions) to eliminate their social exclusion. 39 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs The transfer of GSDFPGE to MLSA (Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs) and the upgrading of its portfolio at the Deputy Minister level gave impetus to the design of policies to promote gender equality in all sectors, in particular in the workplace. At the same time, a Department for Gender Equality in the Workplace has begun to operate as part of the Secretariat-General for Labour and under the Directorate for Individual Regulations. That Department has specific responsibilities in matters of gender equality in the workplace maternity protection and the facilities for workers with family obligations. The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, in order to strengthen and expand its actions in the workplace and to support women, is implementing the following projects: • Reform for vocational education and training This reform concerning specialised workforce, the redefinition and the upgrading of its skills through a reformed training model aims at reducing the fragmentation of the labour market, while at the same time improving participation in the labour market, placing particular emphasis on vulnerable groups. • Reform of active labour market policies Active reform of labour market policies aims at maximising efficiency through the redesign, strengthening and overall reform of the policies in question, in combination with significant investments in programmes that subsidise private sector employment for the unemployed, including special populations, upgrading and redefining the workforce and giving younger unemployed people the opportunity to gain valuable work experience through paid full-time employment and improve the ability to provide advice as well as the quality and intensity of services. In addition to combatting unemployment and promoting social cohesion, the proposed measure promotes recruitment, prevents redundancies and encourages growth and expansion through lower starting wages or non-wage labour costs, thus facilitating the transition from unemployment to full employment. The reform also aims to further extend the open framework delivery model for ALMPs, based on the lessons learned from the Elefsina pilot project, to three additional websites. Finally, the reform also aims to address the issue of the weakness of OAED, especially with regard to advisory services, during the period of transition to full reorganisation. 40 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 The above major reforms include a large number of individual arrangements and actions to modernise the labour market, create jobs, further upgrade and specialise the country's workforce and ensure that all stakeholders are adapted to the new circumstances of the fourth industrial revolution aiming at maintaining a healthy labour market with active human resources. The period in which the above reform is to be implemented is 2021-2025. Following are some details on the implementation of the reform: Law 4808/2021 Part III on the transposition of Directive 1158/2019 into national law and, at the same time, the enhancement of the national provisions on parental facilities and maternity protection, the improved framework for teleworking and Part II on combatting violence and harassment in the workplace. In addition, the monitoring of the implementation of the provisions of the new law and the use of maternity leaves and leaves related to family reasons, through the information system ERGANI laid down in Part IV, Chapter C of the above law, to assess their effectiveness and develop new targeted policies. A broader objective is to support women’s employment and professional development. Furthermore, strengthening the cooperation of the staff of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs with the Labour Inspectorate and the Ombudsman is crucial in order to improve the implementation of the institutional framework for tackling discrimination and promoting equal opportunities and equality of men and women in the workplace and in employment, but also the new framework on violence and harassment in the workplace following the ratification of International Labour Agreement 190 and the adoption of the relevant implementing measures in Part II of Law 4808/2021 Also it is worth mentioning that the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs participated as a partner in the implementation of the DIONE action (GRANT AGREEMENT - NUMBER - 831636) under the RIGHTS EQUALITY AND CITIZENSHIP 2014-2020 programme of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers and was co- financed by the European Commission. The action is aimed at tackling the problems associated with the dismissal of women due to pregnancy and maternity and the unfavourable treatment due to parental leave, through the creation of an online platform. It mainly concerns women who have been dismissed or are being treated unfavourably due to maternity or parental leave, employers or human resources managers, Services of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs [Labour Inspectorate (SEPE) and employment promotion centres (KPA) of OAED], but also the general public. 41 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 The platform is accessible via the following link: https://project-dione.eu Ministry of Health The Ministry of Health has issued Ministerial Decision No 146/29-12-2020 on ‘Determination of Strategic Objectives, year 2021, which are to be implemented within the years 2021-2023’; more specifically five Strategic Objectives, specified in Intervention Axes, which aim at the universal access of the population to quality health services, combatting health risk factors, protecting and promoting health and the well-being for all, at all ages. In this regard, and considering health as a social good and a right, the Strategic Objectives of the Ministry incorporate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, which are included in the 2030 Agenda. The Sustainable Development Goals include Objective 5 ‘Achieving gender equality and the independence of all girls and women’, which underlines the importance of mainstreaming the gender perspective into all policies aimed at the effective achievement of Sustainable Development. This objective includes the elimination of all forms of violence, the safeguarding of effective and full participation of women in political and public life, as well as their universal access to reproductive health services. In the context of ensuring universal access for women to innovative, sustainable and high quality healthcare, the Ministry of Health has already developed cross-sectoral cooperation mechanisms regarding: ✓ Actions to reduce maternal mortality and improve natal care. ✓ Information and training programmes on reproductive health and family planning issues. ✓ Design and implementation of National Screening Programmes which, according to Law 4675/2020 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 54) include the prevention of cervical and breast cancer. ✓ Specialised nutrition programmes for pregnant, lactating and elderly women. 42 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Finally, in order to properly apply the Istanbul Convention (Law 4531/2018), the State must ensure that victims have access to services that facilitate their recovery from the effects of violence and that they have access to healthcare and social services. In this context, the signing of a relevant Memorandum of Cooperation is being promoted. That Memorandum shall ensure the provision of health services to victims of sexual and physical violence and multiple discrimination, as well as the provision of health checks to female victims of sexual and/or domestic violence and their children, who request accommodation in a Shelter (Guest House) for Abused Women, under the GSDFPGE Network. Ministry of the Environment and Energy In several regions of the world, women manage agricultural land, animals, forests, water and the local ecosystem in general. In this way, they become a source of knowledge and expertise in the rational use of the environmental wealth of their region. It is also worth noting the importance of their role in ensuring food and water for the safety of the community. Unfortunately, environmental degradation is one of the most important problems in modern societies and affects people, ecosystems and the economy. It is particularly burdensome for vulnerable groups such as women, especially considering that studies show that 70% of the world's poor population are at increased risk of exposure to the harmful effects of environmental disaster. In particular, women are more affected than other groups by the effects of climate change and biodiversity decline. The phenomenon of unequal accessibility to environmental goods and decision-making processes for their management is a fact, as is the limited mobility of women to find new resources. In other words, the environmental crisis is female. Women’s actions highlight demands that link health with ecology, peace with the environment, human rights with the means of sustainable living. That is why it is necessary to integrate women into public environmental policies. Promoting women's participation in policy-making regarding environmental issues, through mechanisms such as consultation and access to information, reinforces the fundamental principles of transparency and gender equality. At the UN level, the need to promote women's rights as a vulnerable group of the population is reflected in the UN Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. In addition, one of the Sustainable Development Goals is to strengthen gender equality. 43 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 The Ministry of the Environment and Energy recognises the important role of women in shaping its policies. In this context, it supports the empowerment of women through equal participation in consultation and decision-making, as well as the promotion of opinions from a gender perspective against environmental degradation, ensuring an increased proportion of women in positions of responsibility. Through the participation of representatives in international and regional meetings, the participation of women in institutions and bodies for the protection of the environment is ensured, mainstreaming the gender perspective into relevant decisions and policies. According to the policies of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy, gender equality is not only a matter of social justice. It is also an essential aspect of the economy for the success of sustainable development initiatives. On this basis the Ministry has been consistently working to develop strategies that include the gender perspective in addressing environmental crises. In addition to existing gender equality policies, the Ministry of the Environment and Energy aims to continue promoting actions for gender mainstreaming. Typical examples are the mandatory participation of women in the Boards of Directors of its supervised bodies and in the energy communities. Strengthening women’s cooperatives in protected areas through product promotion, patronage and participation in decisions is an important tool for highlighting their role. In line with EU requirements, the Ministry takes into account the needs and capacities of women in terms of climate change adaptation solutions. Furthermore, in addition to the positive measures taken by the Ministry of the Environment and Energy, it shall ensure that all forms of discrimination, including gender, are eliminated in all areas when policies are formulated. From the above it is clear that the Ministry of the Environment and Energy recognises in practice the important role of women in the shaping of the environmental policy and, driven by the principles of equality and transparency, it works both to strengthen and to further promote the positions of women in all areas of its action. Ministry of Culture and Sports 44 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 The Ministry of Culture and Sports has submitted a package of actions covering all the Priority Axes of the new ESDIF and are illustrated below: Priority Axis 1: Preventing and combatting gender-based and domestic violence. Objective 1.2: Combatting violence in the workplace - Action 1.2.1. Drafting a Code of Conduct and designing mechanisms for the prevention and treatment of discrimination, abuse of power, sexual and any other form of harassment and abuse in culture. The Code shall apply both to supervised entities and supervised educational structures, as well as to the examination committees of the Ministry of Culture and Sports (MCS) in artistic education, and to the institutions sponsored by the MCS giving priority, inter alia, to ensuring substantive gender equality and elimination of gender discrimination and stereotypes, as well as to combatting gender-based violence in the workplace. Priority Axis 2: Equal participation of women in the labour market. Objective 2.1: Strengthening female employment - Action 2.1.1. Strengthening female employment and entrepreneurship in the fields of cultural heritage and cultural and creative economy. - Action 2.1.2 Enhancing the skills of female professionals in the cultural and creative sector, through Acropole Across (organisation under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture, which will be, among other things, a skill development hub, providing tools to strengthen cultural institutions and professionals, by organising specially designed seminars, workshops and training programmes) - Action 2.1.3. Developing sustainable skill teaching programmes related to women’s handicraft throughout Greece - Action 2.1.4. Empowerment through grants, actions of the Ministry of Culture and Sports in order to support them, strengthen their resilience and integrate them into the labour market. Objective 2.4: Promoting female entrepreneurship - Action 2.4.1. Encouraging women for international synergies and participation in transnational programmes and fora for female entrepreneurship and startups in the cultural sector 45 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 - Action 2.4.2: Female Entrepreneurship Financing Programmes - Action 2.4.2.1. Creating financial instruments to support small businesses in the cultural and creative sector, encouraging collective business models, networks and partnerships and interconnecting Greek cultural production with domestic and foreign markets. - Action 2.4.3. Training girls and women in entrepreneurship - Action 2.4.3.1 Strengthening female employment and entrepreneurship in the cultural and creative economy through Acropole Across programmes. Objective 2.5: Enhancing education and training of girls and women in research and technology - Action 2.5.1: Further education and training in new digital tools and skill development Priority Axis 3: Equal participation of women in decision-making and leadership Objective 3.2: Increasing the number of women in positions of responsibility in the public and private sector 3.2.1: Increasing the number of women in positions of responsibility in the cultural sector 3.2.2. Implementing the quota for women in collective management bodies 3.2.3. Increasing the number of women participating in the Committees and Working Groups of the Ministry of Culture and Sports (in most cases the target of the quota has been achieved). 3.2.4. Ensuring that women assume administrative / leadership roles in Cultural Bodies and Institutions 3.2.5. Enhancing the training and basic and further education of women in the development of administrative capacities, in the improvement of communication skills, in cultural development, in the development of applications and ICT as aids to their capacity to assume positions of responsibility through programmes at the Training Institute of the National Centre for Public Administration. 46 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Objective 3.3: Strengthening education and training of girls aiming at them assuming leadership roles - Action 3.3.1. Upgrading and modernising higher artistic education meeting all legal, academic, institutional conditions and, consequently, implementing all the necessary reforms, giving priority to equal access and inclusion and, thus, the improvement of the working position of women and their professional prospects on the basis of international good practices (consistent with the objective laid down in Article 17, paragraph 2, of Law 4604/2019 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 50) on promoting gender equality through education and learning at all levels of and in all processes of academic life). Priority Axis 4: Mainstreaming the gender perspective into sectoral policies Objective 4.1: Mainstreaming the gender perspective into all policies (gender mainstreaming) - Action 4.1.4. Promoting non-sexist language in public documents 4.1.4.1. Incorporating (mainstreaming) the gender perspective into administrative correspondence and avoiding the use of language which might conceal or contain gender discrimination elements when drafting administrative documents of Staff Offices and Organisational Units for Modern Culture 4.1.4.2 Mainstreaming the gender perspective into the calls between themes, for grants / patronage in the field of Modern Culture posted in the Register of Cultural Bodies of the Ministry of Culture. Objective 4.3: Improving the position of women who are subject to multiple discrimination and eliminating their social exclusion - Action 4.3.2: Mainstreaming disability into gender equality policies and programmes. 4.3.2.1 Calls for the granting of cultural actions to promote universal accessibility for people with disabilities, including beneficiaries and women with disabilities. Objective 4.7: Promoting gender equality in culture - mass media - Action 4.7.1: Strengthening cultural creation that promotes gender equality - 4.7.1.1 Planning, strengthening, implementing and promoting actions from the archives and permanent collections of the Supervised Museums of the MCS [e.g. National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST), National Gallery (EPMAS)], in the context of the operation of the Network of Contemporary Culture Museums of the MCS 47 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 regarding the work of emblematic Greek female artists of the 20th century. - 4.7.1.2 Calls for subsidies by the Ministry of Culture and Sports, in which the main eligibility criterion is: ‘Combatting stereotypes and discrimination, accepting diversity as well as strengthening social solidarity and cohesion, and promoting inclusiveness, accessibility and participation in culture, placing an emphasis on vulnerable social groups’. - 4.7.1.3 Design and implementation of targeted thematic actions in archaeological sites, monuments and museums of the country. Finally, within the framework of cooperation between the two ministries, we have initiated procedures for the conclusion of a memorandum of cooperation on education, promotion of gender equality in sport, strengthening of the participation of women in coaching positions and in decision-making centres, but also on combatting all forms of violence, abuse of power and racism in sports. Ministry of Justice The contribution of the Ministry of Justice to ESDIF 2021-2025 includes the following activities which are currently being planned and implemented: The Action concerns the strengthening of the implementation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. and falls under Priority Axes 1 and 2. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union defines rights that are of particular importance for women’s rights in the judicial process, the most important of which are human dignity (Article 1); the prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; (Article 4); the right to liberty and security (Article 6); the right to respect for private and family life (Article 7); the right to the protection of personal data (Article 8); equality before the law (Article 20); non-discrimination (Article 21); equality between women and men (Article 23); the rights of the elderly (Article 25); integration of persons with disabilities (Article 26); protection in the event of unjustified dismissal (Article 30); fair and just working conditions (Article 31); family and professional life (Article 33); and the right to an effective remedy (Article 47). 48 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 • Creating a focal point within the Ministry of Justice to monitor the implementation of the Charter. Greece has been commended for this initiative in the teleconference of the Working Party on Fundamental Rights, Citizens Rights and Free Movement of Persons (FREMP), in which other Member States were urged to adopt this practice as well. • Establishing a Working Group to deal with matters relating to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which shall consist of representatives of: the relevant Office of the Ministry of Justice, the Office of the Deputy Minister G. Kotsiras, the Office of the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Justice, the Secretariat-General for Legal Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs and the Special Legal Service - European Union Law Section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Timetable for the implementation of the action: Continuous action Furthermore, in the framework of the National Action Plan against Racism and Intolerance, the Ministry of Justice is implementing two actions which are part of the axis for gender mainstreaming. Action 1: Drawing up, by the National Council against Racism and Intolerance, of proposals regarding human rights education and the fight against racism with the aim of informing, raising awareness and preventing violations as regards human rights and combatting racism. (Continuous action) Action 2: Establishing a network for eliminating all forms of discrimination and promoting the principle of equal treatment, in accordance with the objectives and pursuant to the provisions of the current legislative framework, with the aim of combatting all forms of discrimination, promoting equal treatment, encouraging cooperation with the Ministries involved and strengthening the dialogue with civil society. (Continuous action) Ministry of Interior The Ministry of Interior is promoting actions that concern the entire public administration and its human resources and aim at upgrading its knowledge and skills, the functioning of the administration and the provision of quality services to citizens, having mainstreamed the gender perspective. In this context, it is proposed to include the following actions: PRIORITY AXIS 1: PREVENTING AND COMBATTING GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Objective 1.1: Implementing the provisions of the Istanbul Convention (Law 4531/2018) 49 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 • Action 1.1.5: Training professionals and public sector executives on the subject of violence against women Action: Signing a Memorandum of Cooperation with the General Secretariat for Demography and Family Policy and Gender Equality to develop material promoting gender equality and eliminating more efficiently gender discrimination. It will be implemented by the National School of Public Administration and Local Government Timetable: June 2021. Action: Establishing the Code of Ethics and Professional Standards of Public Officials to be implemented by the Secretariat-General for Human Resources of the Public Sector in cooperation with the National Transparency Authority. Timetable: 2022 Action: Training public sector executives on the subject of violence against women. It will be implemented by the National School of Public Administration and Local Government Timetable: 2021-2025 Objective 1.2: Combatting violence in the workplace • Action 1.2.3: Conducting an awareness-raising campaign on sexual harassment in the workplace in the public and private sectors Law 4795/2021 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 62) ‘Internal Audit System of the Public Sector, Integrity Advisor to the public administration and other provisions for public administration and local government’ reinforces the internal audit process within the Administration and establishes, at the same time, the office of the Integrity Advisor who, among other things, has the power to ‘provide personalised advisory assistance on ethical and integrity issues that the employee faces when performing his/her duties, including issues such as sexual harassment, discrimination, intimidation, mobbing and conflict of interests’. - Conducting an awareness-raising campaign on sexual harassment in the workplace in the public sector and providing information on the relevant responsibilities of the Integrity Advisor. It will be implemented by the National School of Public Administration and Local Government Timetable: 2021-2025 - Developing an electronic tool for monitoring disciplinary proceedings relating to disciplinary offences related to combatting violence in the workplace and providing statistics. It will be implemented by the National School of Public Administration and Local Government Timetable: December 2021 50 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 In addition, a draft Code of Conduct against Sexual Harassment in the Workplace is currently being prepared and will later be reviewed and discussed with the Secretariat- General for Family Policy and Gender Equality of the Ministry of Labour, in order to assist public services to handle and address this important issue. PRIORITY AXIS 2: EQUAL PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN THE LABOUR MARKET Objective 2.1: Strengthening female employment • Action 2.1.3. Monitoring of female employment and discrimination in the workplace • Developing an electronic tool for the monitoring of disciplinary proceedings concerning the disciplinary offence of violating the principle of equality, equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in labour and employment and the use of language which contains gender discrimination elements, in the exercise of their tasks, and providing statistics. It will be implemented by the Secretariat-General for Human Resources in cooperation with the National Transparency Authority. Timetable: December 2021 • Monitoring the action of the Integrity Advisor on issues of discrimination in the workplace It will be implemented by the Secretariat-General for Public Sector Human Resources Timetable: 2021-2025 Objective 2.2: Reconciling work and family life • Action2.2.1: Transposition into the national law of the Directive of the European Parliament on work-life balance and other legislative interventions - Introducing teleworking into the Public Sector (institutional project). It will be implemented by the Secretariat-General for Public Sector Human Resources Timetable June 2021. • Action 2.2.2: Informing and raising awareness of employers about promoting facilities for employees The Ministry of Interior, within the scope of its responsibilities and in particular with regard to the management of the human resources of the Public Sector, has taken legislative initiatives which are mainly reflected in the Civil Service Code (Law 3528/2007 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 26) and in the Code on the Status of Municipal and Local Officials (Law 3584/2007 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 143) for the reconciliation of work and family life, providing for a significant number of leaves and facilities for parents and especially for mothers with family obligations regarding all categories of employees working in the public sector (see also Annex). 51 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 However, today, due to the many and demanding obligations which make the role of the female worker-mother particularly burdensome, the Ministry of Interior recently (2020) took further legislative measures in this direction. In particular, Article 47 of Law 4674/2020 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 53) provided for significant further facilities for civil servants in the narrow public sector (Law 3528/2007 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 26), but also in the local authorities (Law 3584/2007), for both permanent employees and those employed under a Private Law Contract (presidential decree 410/1988 (Government Gazette, Series, No 191), who have family obligations. In particular and in accordance with the aforementioned legislation, it has been provided to grant and extend the leaves related to the protection of the health of workers and their children. It is also worth noting the provision for a special purpose leave for civil servants who are parents whose children attend school units of which the operation has been suspended due to restrictive measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic (Article 5, Decree-Law of 11.03.2020 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 55). The above policy continued to apply throughout the period during which school units were or remain closed (see also Annex). Furthermore, and in direct relation to the above objective, the Ministry of Interior has put into consultation a bill entitled ‘Institutional framework of teleworking in the public sector’. The draft law in question, both in normal and exceptional circumstances, ensures respect for working hours, leaves, the combination of work and private life and the right to disconnect, with particular attention to the situation of parents with young children, single parents and informal carers providing ongoing care to dependent relatives, as the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic showed that these groups faced the greatest difficulty in combining work and family life even by using teleworking. Properly regulated flexible forms of work, teleworking and jobs that do not involve presence in a specific location can play an important role in maintaining jobs and support a better life-work balance. The aim of the regulation is to contribute to: workers keeping their jobs; a better work- life balance through saving travel time; arranging working time. • Action 2.2.3. Improving access to pre-school education and care 52 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Taking into account the scope of responsibilities of the Ministry of Interior, it is noted that these include as well the operation of municipal pre-school care and education structures. In view of the above, the following MIN actions may be included in this Action Plan: • Programme ‘Harmonisation of Family Life and Work’ The programme ‘Harmonisation of Family Life and Work’ facilitates mothers or fathers who have custody of their children by providing to them childcare services in public and private crèches, integrated care crèches, daycare centres and child creativity centres. • The programme ‘Financial support for families with pre-school children’ This is an extension of the benefits of the programme ‘Harmonisation of Family Life and Work’ to the families of employees working in the public sector, in legal bodies governed by public law and in local authorities (first and second level) and to children of families working in the private sector, who cannot benefit from the programme ‘Harmonisation of Family Life and Work’, due to the very low income criteria that it has set so far. • Subsidising Municipalities and Legal Entities for the adaptation of municipal crèches, day care centres and nurseries to the specifications of the new institutional licensing framework in accordance with the provisions of presidential decree 99/2017 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 141). PRIORITY AXIS 3: EQUAL PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN DECISION-MAKING AND LEADERSHIP Objective 3.1: Increasing the number of women in politics • Action 3.1.2: Informing - awareness-raising Information and awareness-raising campaigns, public debates, etc. It will be implemented by the National School of Public Administration and Local Government Timetable: 2021-2025. • Action 3.1.4. Support of civic participation of women - Training of INEP-EKDDA instructors in the gender perspective. It will be implemented by the National School of Public Administration and Local Government Timetable: 2021-2025 - Designing and implementing targeted training sessions for Local Government officials / elected entities to increase their participation in bodies and institutions of representation It will be implemented by the National School of Public Administration and Local Government Timetable: 2021-2025 53 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Objective 3.2: Increasing the number of women in positions of responsibility in the public and private sector • Action 3.2.2: Informing - awareness-raising • Information and awareness-raising campaigns, etc. It will be implemented by the National School of Public Administration and Local Government Timetable 2021-2025 • Training of INEP-EKDDA instructors in the gender perspective. It will be implemented by the National School of Public Administration and Local Government Timetable 2021-2025 • Conducting training seminars to empower women and enhance their skills women aiming at them being promoted to positions of responsibility. It will be implemented by the National School of Public Administration and Local Government Timetable: 2021-2025 • Action 3.2.3. Monitoring the participation of women in positions of responsibility • Developing an applet in the Register of Public Sector Human Resources (Inventory) for monitoring how posts in Administrations and posts of heads in organisational units are filled based on the gender. It will be implemented by the Secretariat-General for Public Sector Human Resources. Timetable: June 2022 • Developing a Database for the monitoring of data concerning elected local authorities of first and second level as well as management positions based on the gender. It will be implemented by the Secretariat-General for Internal Affairs and Organisation. Timetable: 1st semester of 2023 PRIORITY AXIS 4: MAINSTREAMING THE GENDER PERSPECTIVE INTO SECTORAL POLICIES Objective 4.1: Mainstreaming the gender perspective into all policies (gender mainstreaming) With regard to the reforms of the Greek Citizenship Code, the integration of the principle of gender equality has been long completed since, already, on the one hand, in the context of the standard provisions of the Citizenship Code, the acquisition of Greek citizenship by birth has been foreseen and, on the other hand, the amendment of the Citizenship Code, by implementing the provisions of Law 1438/1984 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 60), regulated both the acquisition of Greek citizenship by children born in a civil marriage before the entry into force of this law and the abolition of the effect of the marriage (loss) on the citizenship of women. In addition to the above, and in particular as regards the period at issue, it should be noted that Article 25 of Law 4674/20120 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 53), and more specifically in the context of the collection of statistical data relating to the acquisition of Greek citizenship, establishes - inter alia - that the gender perspective 54 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 should be integrated into statistics. The statistics shall be collected by the end of April of each subsequent year and shall be published on the website of the Ministry of Interior. This measure has been included in the 2020-2022 objectives of the Hellenic Statistical System (ELSS). In any case, however, the gender perspective has been reflected since 2007 in the national statistics, in the context of the implementation of European Statistics (862/2007 EC). • Action 4.1.1: Analysis and design of policies, measures, programmes from a gender perspective Action: Establishment of an Integrity Advisor. Implementation: Secretariat-General for Public Sector Human Resources Timetable April 2021. Action: Increasing the days of paternity leave and establishing parental leave in the context of the transposition into national law of Directive (EU) 2019/1158 to the extent that the already applicable national legislation is inadequate Implementation: Secretariat-General for Public Sector Human Resources Timetable December 2021. • Action 4.1.3. Design and implementation of educational programmes for gender mainstreaming Action: Design and implementation of targeted seminars, by category and specialty of employees, to integrate (mainstream) the gender perspective both into the internal and external work environment (uniformed staff, nursing staff, public service, etc.). Implementation: National School of Public Administration and Local Government Timetable 2021-2025. Objective 4.2: Strengthening the cross-sectoral approach to gender equality issues • Action 4.2.1: Promoting equality in Local Government (implementation of Law 4604/2019) According to Articles 5-7 of Law 4604/2019 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 50), Municipal and Regional Equality Committees are established in the Municipalities and Regions of the Country. Relevant Instructions were given in Circular ref. 67/ 23624/14.04.2020 of the Ministry of Interior (‘Municipal Advisory Bodies’), issued by the competent Directorate for Local Government Organisation and Operation. 55 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 • Action 4.2.4. Cooperation with other international and European organisations In the programme to be organised under the coordination of the Ministry of Interior (MIN) entitled ‘Coexistence without discrimination: An approach based on Human Rights and Gender Perspective’, based on the exchange of know-how and good practices on discrimination and gender equality, with an emphasis on examples of good practices in the field of reporting/monitoring racist and xenophobic incidents and investigating initiatives or mechanisms involving civil society participation between Spain, Greece and Morocco. The main objective of the project is to strengthen Moroccan institutions and public policies to prevent racism and xenophobia against migrants on the basis of the protection of their fundamental rights, in order to promote ‘coexistence’, taking into account the gender perspective. Objective 4.3: Improving the position of women who are subject to multiple discrimination and eliminating their social exclusion • Action 4.3.2: Mainstreaming disability into gender equality policies and programmes The Programme ‘Harmonisation of Family Life and Work’ Action 3.2.3) (see above, Action 1, 3.2.3) includes both special care and accommodation facilities for persons with disabilities as well as special provisions for preschool children and children with disabilities (corresponding annual expenditure ceilings) and provisions for points to be awarded (score) to beneficiaries who are persons with disabilities or who have a spouse or children with disabilities. Objective 4.5: Promoting gender equality in health • Action 4.5.2: Informing and raising awareness to eliminate gender stereotypes • Design and implementation of targeted training sessions (provided to nursing/medical/paramedical staff) to eliminate gender stereotypes. Implementation: National School of Public Administration and Local Government Timetable 2021-2025. • Objective 4.6: Promoting gender equality in sport • Action 4.6.1: Combatting sexual violence, harassment and sexism in sport • Training of officials of first and second level local authorities involved in sports and culture for gender mainstreaming Implementation: National School of Public Administration and Local Government Timetable 2021-2025. 56 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Ministry of Migration and Asylum The Special Secretariat for the Protection of Unaccompanied Minors of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum has submitted proposals for the implementation of specific projects covering all the Priority Axes of ESDIF and are reflected as follows: - ‘Developing an integrated framework for the prevention and effective protection against all forms of violence, exploitation and abuse against unaccompanied minors’ Α. Specific objective: Increasing awareness of unaccompanied minors in matters of violence and exploitation - informing them about the gender perspective and empowering them so that they recognise the risks and seek help. Unaccompanied minors are vulnerable to violence, exploitation and discrimination due to lack of parental protection, fear, ignorance, stigma, which prevent them from contacting the authorities and asking for help. In fact, they are often targeted by the perpetrators for these reasons. It is therefore vital that action is taken to systematically inform children in a child-friendly and gender-sensitive manner with a view to empowering them and strengthening their resilience. The content of the information should be adapted to the age of the minors, taking into account that there are differences in the way information is passed on to very young children in relation to adolescents. Action: Promoting awareness about gender equality From a very young age people form and share certain ideas and beliefs about gender roles as dictated by their culture or at least by their parents and their community. Therefore, all awareness-raising activities concerning gender equality in order to have a genuine preventive effect against gender-based violence are aimed at adolescents over 12 years of age. Girls and boys are invited through experiential activities to assess and challenge their gender stereotypes and to approach gender differences as characteristics rather than as an indication of the strength of one sex over the other. The topics will be indicative: • healthy and unhealthy relationships • effect of gender stereotypes on their relationships • connection between stereotypes and gender-based violence 57 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 • impact of stereotypes on people who are not covered by social standards and norms • the contribution of adolescents to the prevention of all forms of gender-based violence. Such actions will take place in educational facilities as well as in establishments for the accommodation of unaccompanied minors. Β. Specific objective: Enhancing referral mechanisms for minors who are victims of violence and exploitation Action: Support of minors who are victims of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. The aim is to design, test, evaluate and integrate a support model for victims of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, which will involve a holistic, multi-sectoral and rights- based approach. The support will be tailored to the needs of survivors, focusing on building resilience, providing life skills and completing an action plan for the next steps. This support model aims at actively involving minors who survived sexual abuse and exploitation in determining the type of assistance they would like to receive and the projects in which they would like to participate, along with their guardian ad litem and reference person, to help them regain control of their lives and feel that they are active members of society. Priority Axis 2: Equal participation of women in the labour market Objective 2.1: Strengthening female employment ‘Ensuring social inclusion for all unaccompanied minors who have a legal residence permit in Greece’ Action: Ensuring access to vocational training and activation of apprenticeship Unaccompanied minors, regardless of their gender, recognise that access to the labour market is very important to them, as they wish to contribute financially to their families back to their country of origin and engage in activities that they like and feel comfortable with. In Greece, a minor over 15 years of age may be employed if certain guarantees are met. With regard to the access of minors to employment, a number of steps must first be taken: • Access to formal vocational training 58 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 • Providing incentives to employers and securing apprenticeships • Providing assistance to minors and employers as regards the issuance of the necessary documents / supporting documents and safeguarding standards in working with minors – For vocational training and apprenticeship, unaccompanied minors must have a tax registration number. In addition, along with the local community and local employers, apprenticeships should be secured as soon as minors are fit for a position and ready to participate by giving incentives to employers and creating a ‘refugee-friendly’ label for their businesses. Guardians ad litem, mentors and other reference persons should be involved in these efforts. Action: Creating jobs at the local level for unaccompanied minors – third-country nationals over 16 years of age and for local people Priority Axis 4: Mainstreaming the gender perspective into sectoral policies Objective 4.5: Promoting gender equality in health Action 4.5.2: Informing and raising awareness to eliminate gender stereotypes Addressing the needs of unaccompanied minors for physical and mental health’ In order to address the needs of unaccompanied minors for physical and mental health care, certain factors affecting their health and access to health care should be taken into account in order to take appropriate measures. Unaccompanied minors may have experienced a lack of health care in the past for various reasons, even in cases where a visit to a doctor or hospital was mandatory. They may even come from a different ‘health culture’ that does not include hospitalisation, medication, regular health checks or psychotherapy and thus feel reluctant to trust western medicine and health practices. In addition, their culture may affect their interaction with medical staff, e.g. as regards gender. Action: Promoting sexual and reproductive health of unaccompanied minors, in particular, girls Sexual and reproductive health are key elements of the right to health, and in both cases it implies that a person enjoys full physical, mental and social well-being and a sex positive life that promotes his/her well-being. Although it concerns and affects all ages and sexes or gender identities, it first becomes apparent during adolescence after significant changes, hormonal and neurodevelopmental, in the body. Since such issues are often taboos in many cultures, minors almost never talk about it on their own initiative with adult professionals, until it is too late. Unaccompanied minors are mostly inadequate and have no equipment at all to manage a sexual activity that takes place 59 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 voluntarily or compulsorily. Access to information, contraception and empowerment are key to protection against acquiring sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancy, removal from their families and other risks to their well-being. Supporting and intervening to ensure good sexual and reproductive health for young people can have a lifelong beneficial effect and should be carried out from an early age to prevent insecure behaviour and empower minors. When designing projects to promote sexual and reproductive health targeting unaccompanied minors, cultural considerations and sensitivities are very important. Cultural perceptions of sex and girls’ position and rights have a profound effect on the sexual behaviour of both sexes. Therefore, effective and sustainable sexual and reproductive health programmes should target both girls and boys and promote a human rights approach to issues of sexuality, equality, empowerment and contraception. Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy The proposal of the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy concerns priority axis 2: ‘Equal participation of women in the labour market’ - Objective 2.4 ‘Promoting female entrepreneurship’ and in the framework of the implementation of Law 4770/2021 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 21) and specifically paragraph 1 of Article 7 concerning the ‘Island Entrepreneurship Financing Programme’, it is proposed to include the following objective: ‘Promoting female entrepreneurship in small and remote islands with a particular focus on supporting and promoting the “special” local economy and traditional products.’. Ministry of Rural Development and Food The Ministry of Rural Development and Food, within the framework of Priority Axis ‘2. Equal participation of women in the labour market’ and Objective ‘2.4. Promoting Female Entrepreneurship’ of ESDIF, in accordance with Article 2 of Law 4673/2020 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 52), states that provisions have been made for the establishment of female cooperatives whose members are exclusively women. The conditions for setting up a female cooperative are clearly more favourable than for establishing other agricultural cooperatives, and it is also possible, by means of a JMD, to specify particular development and implementation positive actions. It is also noted that, in the measures of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, there is no discrimination between the sexes and women and men can be included equally. In the context of the new National Action Plan for Gender Equality (ESDIF) and the new programming period, a concerted effort will be made to highlight projects and actions for female farmers and to empower women in green jobs. 60 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Ministry of Tourism The principle of gender equality and integrating (mainstreaming) the gender perspective into public policies of each Ministry within the scope of its responsibilities should be a priority, as it is not only a fundamental human right but also a necessary foundation for sustainable development in Europe and rest of the world. It is pointed out that through the gender perspective other existing inequalities (race, disability or age) can be understood and appropriate measures can be taken to address them. In the area of competence of the Ministry of Tourism, since it belongs to the wider public administration, the practices of the Greek and European public administration should be followed. Specifically:

1. The Ministry, the structures and the supervised entities need to monitor and record the correct application of the directives of the European Union and national legislation, which prohibit all forms of discrimination and gender inequality. Competent supervisors should make relevant recommendations.

2. It would make sense to gather examples of best practices for combatting gender inequality in the workplace and in other environments in order to implement their results.

3. It is also proposed to establish mechanisms to enable and support employees to safely report any discriminatory treatment.

4. It is suggested to adopt further practices for certain groups of workers who may be more affected by intimidation and violence in the workplace, in particular women during their pregnancy, workers under temporary contracts, etc. In particular, attention should be paid to secure cooperation with psychologists, social workers who will ensure - provide specialised professional and psychological support.

5. Training and information programmes on gender equality should be organised for all employees and for those who carry out administrative tasks. Effective training should be interactive, continuous and tailored to the needs of a specific workplace and be provided by an external expert.

6. It is necessary to draw up a code of conduct for the prevention and control of discrimination in the workplace.

7. Employees should be encouraged to cooperate effectively and to express their views on programmes and measures for the prevention and control of all forms of inequalities that may exist in the work environment.

8. The relevant legislation should ensure the analysis of allocation of resources and funds by gender and the collection of analytical data.

9. The level of compliance with the relevant legislation should be reviewed at regular intervals in order to ensure transparency and accountability. 61 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025

10. In order to effectively integrate the gender perspective (gender mainstreaming), a comprehensive approach should be introduced, as mentioned in the OECD report, entitled ‘Tackle gender gap to boost growth’. Ministry of Digital Governance The Ministry of Digital Governance and the Information Society SA (CS), with a view to mainstreaming the gender perspective in its policies, contribute to the National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 (ESDIF) of GSDFPGE, by designing and developing he ‘Digital Equality Map’ platform. The above project is part of the ESDIF Priority Axis 4: ‘Mainstreaming the gender perspective into sectoral policies’ and, more specifically, it is included in the following objectives: - 4.1: ‘Mainstreaming the gender perspective into all policies (gender mainstreaming)’, Action 4.1.1: ‘Analysis and design of policies, measures, programmes from a gender perspective’ and - 4.2 ‘Strengthening the cross-sectoral approach to gender equality issues’ contributing to Action 4.2.1: ‘Promoting equality in Local Government (implementation of Law 4604/2019) for the promotion of equality in Local Government pursuant to Law 4604/2019’. In particular, the Digital Equality Map (platform) is a digital visualisation on the map of Greece and at the same time a digital real time repository for actions, but also other information, concerning the Equality Committees of the Municipalities and Regions of the Country, the Gender Equality Committees of the Universities, but also central bodies and services of the General Secretariat for Demography and Family Policy and Gender Equality (GSDFPGE) such as KETHI and the Library on Gender and Equality. The actions to be shown in the Digital Equality Map shall be linked to the 4 thematic axes of ESDIF. At the same time, a subsystem for monitoring all ESDIF actions will be developed by GSDFPGE, with the possibility of supervising and presenting their implementation to the public. 62 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 2.3 Contribution of the policies included in the ‘National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025’ to the development of the Greek economy and the distribution of income - Council of Economic Advisers (Ministry of Finance) This note attempts to analyse the impact of the policies contained in the National Action Plan for Gender Equality (ESDIF) 2021-2025 on the (macroeconomic) aggregates of Greece, as well as on the distribution of income, inequality and poverty. Furthermore, the link between the percentage of women participating in the Greek labour market and certain variables at the core of ESDIF’s actions (such as the pay gap between women and men, the proportion of women holding senior management positions, the participation of women in vocational training and education programmes and the proportion of women who have problems with the care of minor children) is being investigated. Literature review This chapter provides a brief introduction to the literature that examines the impact of gender-based and domestic violence in female employment. Furthermore, the chapter provides a brief review of the literature on the ways in which women's participation in the labour market and the assumption of positions of responsibility in political and social life affect female employment and, consequently, affect the economic development of a country. 63 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 The impact of gender-based and domestic violence on female employment Research shows that women who have experienced gender-based or domestic violence are more likely to report that they were unemployed at some point during their working life and suffered from various physical and mental health problems. While this finding demonstrates that victims face both unemployment and mental health problems, few studies have gone further to examine the effects of mental health problems on unemployment. Therefore, mental health problems resulting from gender-based or domestic violence cause at least partial instability in the employment of victims13. The literature also reveals that the feelings of anxiety that women who are abused experience prevent victims from performing daily tasks and therefore directly affect the productivity and quality of work14 and indirectly the prospect of training and skill development of those employees15. One of the most frequently observed disorders in the workplace faced by women experiencing violence is that every day they spend less time at work or that they leave early from work. Although it is difficult to predict the extent to which women face financial instability as a result of less work, studies have attempted to investigate the cost of violence for women and to show that women who are unable to keep a job due to abuse are exposed to a higher risk of poverty16. Also studies show that domestic violence can have a detrimental effect on the stability of women’s employment not only during physical and mental abuse, but for up to two to three years after the end of the abuse. However, it is not yet clear how long after the incident of violence employment instability will occur (for example instability in productivity or in punctuality), but the evidence suggests that instability threatens the working life of women when they lose their job and are unemployed.17 13 Sabia, J., J., Dills, A., K., Desimone, J. 2013. Sexual Violence against Women and labour Market Outcomes, American Economic Review, DOI: 10.1257/aer.103.3.274 14 Cseh, A. 2008 The Effects of Depressive Symptoms on Earnings., Southern Economic Journal, 75(2): 383- 40 15 Fletcher, J. M. 2012. Adolescent Depression and Adult labour Market Outcomes. NBER Working Papers 18216, National Bureau of Economic Research 16 Peterson, C., Kearns, M.,C., McIntosh, W., L., Estefan, L., F., Nicolaidis, C., McCollister,K., E., Gordon, A., Florence, C. 2018. Lifetime economic burden of intimate partner violence among US adults, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 55 (4): 433-444 17 Anderberg, D., Rainer, Η., Wadsworth, J., Wilson, T. 2015. Unemployment and domestic violence: theory and evidence, Economic Journal., 125:585 Aizer, A., 2010. The gender wage gap and domestic violence, American Economic Review, 100 (4):1847- 1859 64 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Equal participation of women in the labour market The literature that examines gender discrimination in the labour market often focuses on how gender, combined with a multitude of variables (e.g. age, educational level, vocational training, seniority, etc.), affects both female employment levels as well as wage differences between men and women. The theoretical bases for understanding the phenomenon of gender discrimination in the labour market are identified in approaches such as the preference discrimination theory18, according to which the demographic and/or personal characteristics of employees trigger prejudices and are responsible for the discriminatory treatment of women not only by employers, but also by other employees and customers of businesses. Also, the statistical theory of discrimination19) points out searching and gathering information concerning decision-making for the recruitment and promotion of workers entails high costs. As a result, employers typically have incomplete information about the productivity of each individual employee and assess employees by groups rather than taking into account their personal characteristics. Consequently, women are likely to face discrimination against them because of stereotypes about the relevant groups, which contributes, among other things, to unequal employment opportunities. For example, because of the consolidated perceptions about female career commitment level, employers may prefer male employees, considering them as a ‘safer’ option than women. Finally, the human capital theory20 focuses on the characteristics that are formed through investment in human resources, i.e. during training and participation in training programmes. According to the theory, the lowest level of human capital is an important parameter that contributes to discrimination against women and affects both their inclusion and participation in the labour market21_bookmark29. In this sense, the extension of higher education has been promoted as an alternative to addressing gender inequalities by providing women with the tools and resources so that they achieve better results in the labour market.22 The Greek reality shows that the gender gap is relatively small in terms of digital skills since 22% of women possess digital skills beyond a basic level compared to 25% of men 18 Becker, G. 1957. The Economics of Discrimination, Chicago: University of Chicago Press 19 Arrow, K. J. 1973. ‘The Theory of Discrimination’, in Or. Ashenfelter and Al. Rees (eds), Discrimination in labour Markets. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press 20 Becker, G. 1964. Human Capital, New York: Columbia University Press, 2nd edition 21 Anker, R. 1997. Theories of Occupational Segregation by Sex: An Overview, International labour Review, 136(3): 315-339 22 Didier, N. 2021. Does the expansion of higher education reduce gender gaps in the labour market? Evidence from a natural experiment, International Journal of Educational Development., 86, 102467 65 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 (Eurostat, 2021). However, with regard to education and the labour market in the Technology, Information and Communication (ICT) and research and engineering sectors, gender segregation is important. In 2018, the ICT industry graduates were 39% women and 61% men, while scientists and engineers in high technology industries were only 21% women against 79% men. The effort is therefore focused on increasing the number of women who choose STEM studies. The literature on gender discrimination in the labour market has largely focused on the pay gap between men and women, which is one of the most persistent gender gaps23. Indeed, in Greece, the pay gap is quite large since the average annual salary of women is 20.6% lower than that of men, according to ELSTAT data for 2018. The percentage of low wages of women in various sectors of the Greek economy is high. Furthermore, women spend more time in unpaid work than men, regardless of their employment status, level of education, and whether or not they have minor children24. The pay gap is partly attributed to the discriminatory behavior of employers towards the sexes and partly to factors such as the sector of economic activity and the type of occupation. Often, due to the stereotypical shaping of the so-called ‘female’ and ‘male’ professions, some professions are ‘male dominated’ or ‘female dominated’. For instance, the employment rate in the education, human health and social work sectors is 22.8% for women compared to only 8.2% for men (ELSTAT, 2018). Also, intermittent employment patterns observed in the case of women (in particular due to maternity or other care obligations, mainly within the family) lead to a lower level of remuneration, both during the working life and during the retirement period25_bookmark33. In order to explain the pay gap, the researchers also focus on other parameters, such as the institutional framework and (more rarely) the personality characteristics of employees, such as the level of their self-esteem26. The institutional framework against gender discrimination in the labour market, as well as the extent to which this framework is effective, seem to play an important role in shaping women’s employment. In addition, policies aimed at harmonizing professional, private and family life, policies in the field of social care (e.g. quality care services for children and the elderly) or policies related to the possibility of flexible employment and/or other alternative forms of employment, 23 O’Neill, J. 2003 The Gender Gap in Wages, circa 2000, American Economic Review AEA Papers and Proceedings, 93(2): 309–314 24 Petroglou N. 2020 Country Report. Gender Equality. How Are EU Rules Transposed Into National Law? Greece 2019, European Network of Legal Experts in Gender Equality and Non-Discrimination, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union 25 Hegewisch, A. and Gornick, J. 2011. The Impact of Work-Family Policies on Women’s Employment: A Review of Research from OECD countrie', Community, Work & Family, 14(2): 119-138 26 Fortin, N. 2008 The Gender Wage Gap Among Young Adults in the United States. The Importance of Money Versus People, Journal of Human Resources, 43(4): 884-918 66 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 also make a significant contribution to enhancing female employability27. In Greece, the proportion of female workers who state that the care of young children affects their work is 32% while the relevant proportion of male workers is 14.6% (ELSTAT, 2018). In particular, a career break in order to look after children mainly concerns women (49.7% against 4.0% of men), while 10.9% of women has not work in order to take care of their children. This brief overview of the relevant literature shows that tackling discrimination against women in the labour market is a multifaceted issue. The most representative, if any, actions which contribute to removing barriers which prevent women from participating in the labour market and to reducing the discrimination against them are those actions which encourage the combination of work and private life, promote equality in wages and effectively deal with occupational gender stereotypes, promote female entrepreneurship and foster education and training of women in research and technology at all levels of education. Such actions are included in the National Action Plan for Gender Equality (ESDIF). These are expected to promote genuine gender equality in the labour market and consequently to have a positive impact on economic growth through different channels, as described in the relevant literature. For example, promoting gender equality in the labour market allows businesses to make better use of available labour resources that foster growth. Specifically, gender equality in the labour market translates into a larger talent pool for recruitment, due to the larger number of women added to the workforce, which in turn leads to an increase in the marginal productivity of enterprises28. Furthermore, the increase in the percentage of women in the labour market translates into an increase in workers with medium and high skills, which leads to a better distribution of individual talents in the economy, more innovation and faster adoption of technology, thus increasing productivity and, consequently, economic growth29. Similarly, equal participation of women in the labour market enables women to fully develop their potential in the labour market, for example by earning leadership positions, which also has a positive impact on productivity, especially in sectors where the participation of women in the labour market is increased30. 27 Müller, and Wrohlich, K. 2020 Does subsidised care for toddlers increase maternal labour supply? Evidence from a large-scale expansion of early childcare, Labour Economics, 62, 101776 28 Cuberes, D. and Teignier, M. 2016.Aggregate Effects of Gender Gaps in the labour Market: A Quantitative Estimate, Journal of Human Capital,10 (1): 1 - 32 29 Cavalcanti,T. and Tavares, J. 2015. The Output Cost of Gender Discrimination: A Model-based Macroeconomics Estimate, Economic Journal, 126(590):109-134 30 Dadanlar, H., H., and Abebe, M. A., 2020, Female CEO leadership and the likelihood of corporate diversity misconduct: Evidence from S&P 500 firms, Journal of Business Research,118,398-405 67 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Equal participation of women in decision-making and leadership The absence of gender barriers to political and social participation is an important condition for equality between men and women. Equal gender participation in decision- making is a matter of justice, respect for fundamental rights and good governance. Despite the fact that the participation of women in the political and social life of our country is steadily increasing over time, the representation of women in politics is significantly lower than their proportion in society. Action should therefore be taken to encourage women to get involved in civic activities because as the number of women in political leadership and in positions of influence increases, such behavior will become increasingly acceptable in the society, contributing to the emergence of new role models of successful women.31 The ESDIF Priority Axis 3, ‘Equal participation of women in decision-making and leadership’ focuses on such actions, aiming at strengthening the presence of women in positions of power and their representation in the political and social life of the country. Participation is considered by researchers a key element that enables vulnerable groups to influence decisions that have a critical impact on their lives. Women’s political and social participation is seen as increasingly crucial for development and progress32. Studies have shown that having a significant number of women in positions of power results in more socially oriented policy-making such as reducing corruption;33, reducing air pollution34 and, in general, improving the quality of life of the society as a whole35. In addition, a significant number of surveys suggest that when women are involved in political decision-making, they tend to deal with issues that concern them as a group, such as gender discrimination in the field of employment, thus contributing to the planning of actions aimed at increasing the labour participation rate of women36 and at reducing the ‘glass ceiling’ effect which prevents women from rising to the top of the hierarchy. 31 Lucas, 2003.Status processes and the institutionalisation of women as leaders, American Sociological Review, 68 (3): 464-480 32 Mayoux L. 1995. Beyond naivety: women, gender inequality and participatory, Development, Development and Change ,26 (2): 235-258 33 Swamy A., Knack S., Lee Y., Azfar O. 2001. Gender and corruption, Journal of Development Economics., 64 (1): 25-55 34 Ergas C., York R.2012, Women’s status and carbon dioxide emissions: A quantitative cross-national analysis, Social Science Research, 41 (4): 965-976 35 York R., Bell S.E., 2014, Life satisfaction across nations: The effects of women’s political status and public priorities, Social Science Research, 48 :48-61 36 Lv, Z and Yang,R., 2018, Does women’s participation in politics increase female labour participation? Evidence from panel data analysis, Economics Letters, 170:35-38 68 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 The participation of women in the labour market: Econometric analysis using data of the labour Force Survey In this chapter, we have attempted to explore, empirically, the link between the percentage of women in the Greek labour market and certain characteristics that have been set as important determinants of it. However, due to the nature of these factors and/or the existing limitations as regards their recording, it is difficult to fully present the effects that all policies and actions included in ESDIF and which aim to strengthen the position of women in the Greek labour market. Therefore, as a result of the limitations in the relevant statistical data, the analysis focuses on checking the correlation between the participation of women and certain variables such as the pay gap between women and men, the proportion of women holding senior management positions, the participation of women in vocational training and education programmes and the proportion of women who have problems with the care of dependent minor children. For the purpose of the analysis, individual-level data from the quarterly labour Force Survey (LFS) were used. The LFS can be accessed through the records of the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) which are available to the public. For reasons related to the availability of variables, the period chosen for this analysis was that from 2006 to 2020. Furthermore, for reasons of compatibility with Eurostat definitions, the sample was limited to persons aged between 20 and 64 years. Therefore, information was used for approximately 2.2 million observations in the period covered by the analysis. For these observations, the LFS provides information on a number of economic, social and demographic characteristics, e.g. personal employment status (employed, unemployed, inactive), gender, age, geographical region, total net monthly earnings, working hours, business sector, business ownership status, business size (number of people in the local unit), occupation, family status, level of completed education, employment status (full or part-time job), as well as permanent or temporary employment. In addition to these key features, the LFS provides information on a number of factors related to women’s participation in the labour market. One of them concerns the attendance of vocational training programmes in public and/or private institutions (IEK and/or IIEK, respectively), or in a post-high school vocational training school. These factors are included in the analysis in order to test the assumption that participation in such programmes increases the employment opportunities of the participants. According to previous empirical findings, such programmes increase the likelihood of work, though possibly to a lesser extent. However, they can be more effective when implemented in developing countries as well as in countries with high rates of unemployment, especially if participation in the labour market is limited by a lack of qualifications and skills. The LFS provides information on whether the persons participating in the survey are attending such training and education programmes, thus making it possible to create the 69 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 corresponding variable. Another factor that may discourage women from participating in the labour market is the existence of gender pay gaps. Stereotypes and unequal treatment are highly time- resistant and affect both the participation of women in the labour market and wage differences between women and men. Therefore, the existence and the amount of observed wage differences may be negatively related to the participation of women in the labour market. The LFS provides information on the amount of net monthly earnings of the persons participating in the survey. This makes it possible to calculate the pay gap between women and men. However, this may be affected by gender-based differences in working hours, in the distribution of people in professions, industries and regions, and differences in education levels, which in turn affect the level of remuneration. Therefore, the selected pay gap measure has taken into account differences in these characteristics by use of a simple model determining remuneration at the individual level, i.e. it is an adjusted gender pay gap. This ensures that the observed gender pay gaps are due to non-observable factors, in addition to differences in individual characteristics. The imbalance between work and family life is another factor that may adversely affect the participation of women in the labour market. Policies that promote the general provision of care services have proven to be particularly effective in stimulating the participation of women in the labour market. In addition, they effectively help to avoid, or at least minimize, unnecessary work breaks, thereby enhancing the chances of professional development, while at the same time helping to restore the balance between work and private or family life. Finally, the effectiveness of these policies is greater in countries where the participation of women in the labour market is limited. The LFS provides information on problems related to childcare services, so it is possible to create a variable that identifies both those who have such problems (non-availability or high costs of related services) and those who are forced to reduce their working time (by choosing to work part-time) because of the need to care for dependent children themselves. Another factor that negatively affects the participation of women in the labour market, fosters gender stereotypes, and is also linked to the presence of observed gender differences in wages and in recruitment or development, is the unequal participation of women in decision-making and leadership. For example, based on the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) available in the LFS, only 29% of senior management and administrative executives are women. At the same time, gender representation is much more balanced in other categories of non-manual occupations, e.g. professionals, office workers, service providers and salespeople. The underrepresentation of women in management and leadership is similar in the private and public sector, and it remains relatively unchanged over time. Thus, a new variable 70 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 was created based on the information about the gender and occupation of each individual. That variable identifies women who hold senior management and administrative positions at their work. Also, another variable was created. That variable is indicative of female entrepreneurship, i.e. the percentage of self-employed women. In Greece, there is a significant gender gap between self-employed men (~67%) and women (~33%), especially in sectors such as manufacturing, trade, construction, and financial and brokerage services. Therefore, strengthening female entrepreneurship in various sectors could have a positive impact on the participation of women in the labour market. As already mentioned, the information about all the above characteristics is provided at an individual level by the LFS. However, several of these characteristics, such as occupation, remuneration, working hours, etc., are only available to those who worked at the time of their participation in the survey. Therefore, an individual-level econometric analysis would significantly reduce the sample and would not allow the inclusion of certain variables which are important for the analysis. For this reason, a higher-order clustering was deemed necessary as it offers the possibility of analysis based on a sufficient number of observations, while at the same time it allows the use of control variables regardless of the personal employment situation of each person (employed, unemployed, inactive). Using the variables for the administrative region (13 regions at the NUTS-2 level), age (9 five-year groups for people aged from 20 to 64), year (2006 to 2020) and quarter (1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th), the individual micro-data of the LFS were clustered into region/age cells, where each cell is observed in all quarters from 2006 to 2020 (6,786 observations in total). For each of these cells, and using the weighting factors available in the LFS, the following variables were created: population (total and by gender), number of workers (total and by gender), number of economically active (total and by gender), adjusted gender pay gap, number of persons who have completed secondary education, number of persons who have completed post-secondary non-university education, number of persons who have completed tertiary education, number of persons participating in vocational training programmes and number of unmarried persons, number of persons employed in small businesses (with up to 10 employees), number of persons residing in urban areas, and number of persons working in business sector. The employment-to-population ratio as well as the labour force participation rate were created following the methodology of the International labour Organisation (ILO). The employment-to-population ratio is defined as the fraction of workers to the total population, involving persons aged from 20 to 64 years. The labour force participation rate is defined as the fraction of economically active persons (sum of workers and unemployed) to the total population, involving persons aged from 20 to 64 years. Both rates were calculated both in total and 71 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 by gender. As mentioned above, the study of the factors that determine the participation of women in the labour market is a rather technically complex exercise, especially with regard to those factors related to the ESDIF policies. Therefore, the objective of this note is to investigate the impact of certain key characteristics on women’s participation in the labour market. For this reason, the estimates were made using the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method. The aim here was to examine whether changes in the characteristics described above lead to changes in the participation of women in the workforce in a systematic and statistically significant manner. In column (1) of the table below, the dependent variable is the female labour force participation rate defined as the total number of economically active women (sum of workers and unemployed) to the total female population aged from 20 to 64 years. The control variables include the characteristics analysed above. The unit of analysis is the cell at the region / age group / quarter level. All variables are expressed as logarithms, and all estimates are weighted to the size of the total population in each cell. The results in column (1) of Table 1 are in the expected direction. Increases in the gender pay gap tend to reduce the participation of women in the workforce, but the impact is small and extremely weak in terms of statistical relevance. Furthermore, we see that the participation of women in the labour market is decreasing when the proportion of women who have problems with the care of dependent children is increasing. The proportion of women holding senior management and administrative positions does not appear to have a systematic impact on changes in the female labour force participation rate. The participation of women in the workforce is increasing as the proportion of women participating in training and education programmes increases. Furthermore, the proportion of self-employed women is positively linked to the participation of women in the labour market as expected. As regards other control variables not included in Table 1 for reasons of space, the estimation of the model used in this case showed that the participation of women in the labour market is positively influenced by the educational level, especially by the percentage of people who have completed a tertiary education programme, by the percentage of part-time jobs and by the percentage of workers employed in education and health-related activities. At the same time, the participation of women in the labour market, either as workers or as unemployed, is negatively influenced by the proportion of people who have only completed secondary education and by the proportion of people living in densely populated urban areas. 72 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 The conclusions are similar if we use the female employment-to-female population ratio involving women from 20 to 64 years old as a dependent variable. Problems with the care and custody of dependent children negatively affect the proportion of working women. On the other hand, the proportion of self-employed women seems to have a positive effect on the female employment-to-female population ratio. Here it should be noted that including this variable, which measures the percentage of self-employed women, in the analysis, leads to a zero impact of the proportion of women holding management positions. Namely, if the models did not check the role of the proportion of self-employed women, then there would be a positive, albeit small, impact of the proportion of women in positions of responsibility on the percentage of employed women. This is due to the fact that most of the women who declare that they hold administrative positions and positions of responsibility are self-employed, so the two variables are moving in the same direction. Contrary to the case of the female labour force participation rates economically active women (employed and unemployed), the proportion of women taking part in training and education mes does not appear to be systematically linked to the proportion of employed women. In conclusion, although this analysis is not suitable for formulating causal relationships, the envisaged ESDI actions are aimed at balancing work and private life, but also at combatting stereotypes and gender discrimination in respect of requests for remuneration, working hours, recruitment and professional development, and it seems that they are sufficient to enhance the participation and employment of women in the labour market. The complete and consistent monitoring of these actions during their implementation, and the collection and availability of detailed, reliable and targeted qualitative and quantitative data, will enable an ex ante evaluation of their effectiveness in the future. 73 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Table 1. Determinants of female participation in the Greek labour market. Dependent variable: Female labour force Female employment-to- participation rate population ratio Explanatory variables: (1) (2) Adjusted gender pay gap -0.002 (0.002) 0.001 (0.002) -0.013*** (0.004) -0.018*** (0.004) % of women who have problems with childcare % of women in senior management and 0.001 (0.002) -0.001 (0.002) administrative positions % of women in training and education 0.003*** (0.001) 0.001 (0.001) programmes % of self-employed women 0.014*** (0.005) 0.071*** (0.005) Demographic and economic characteristics Yes Yes Fixed age effects Yes Yes Fixed regional effects Yes Yes Fixed year and quarter effects Yes Yes Coefficient of determination 0.950 0.954 Number of observations 5,555 5,555 Notes: Results of estimates using the OLS method. Estimates are weighted using the total population aged from 20 to64 years in each cell (region-age group-quarter). Demographic and economic characteristics include the proportion of persons who have completed secondary education, the proportion of persons who have completed post-secondary non-university education, the proportion of persons who have completed tertiary education, the proportion of unmarried persons, the proportion of persons working in small enterprises (with up to 10 employees), the proportion of persons living in urban areas, and the proportions of persons working in each business sector. The data cover the period 2006-

2020. All variables are expressed in logarithms. The standard errors in parentheses have been corrected for heterogeneity. The asterisks ***, **, and * indicate statistical significance at 1%, 5%, and 10%, respectively. Source: labour Force Survey (LFS), Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT). 74 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Macroeconomic effects of ESDIF using the QUEST model The purpose of the following analysis is to assess the overall effects of ESDIF on the Greek economy, in the context of a Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium Model (DSGE). Specifically, for the implementation of this exercise, the macroeconomic model of the European Commission, QUEST III R & D, is used for the Greek Economy, as developed by the European Commission.37 The configuration and calibration of the Greek version of QUEST III R&D model was carried out by the European Commission, using data available until 2019. QUEST is a neo- Keynesian model with endogenous development, which describes the Greek economy through behavioral equations that explain the behavior of optimizing economic factors through the interaction of households and businesses in intermediate and final goods, Research and Development (R & D), the government, the ECB and the external sector (world economy outside the euro area). The version of the model for the Greek economy, which is also used by the Commission, consists of three parts: the Greek economy, the euro area and the rest of the world. Subsequently, the model also takes into account the interaction of the Greek economy with the rest of the euro area, in the context of international trade and a common monetary authority. In order to make an empirical assessment of the impact of the Plan on the economy, assumptions must be made regarding: (a) the use of the available resources included in the Plan, amounting to approximately 100 million euros; and (b) the alignment of the actions and reforms of the Plan with the appropriate exogenous variables and parameters of the model in order to identify the main channels through which actions affect the financial results. As regards the costed expenditure budgeted in the Plan, it is assumed that these are allocated equally to the years from 2021 to 2025, and are introduced into the model as public investment expenditure. This means that the total of approximately 100 million euros has been allocated equally; i.e. divided into 20 million euros for each year. With regard to the part of actions and legislative reforms, due to the form and internal structure of the model, it is not possible to quantify all the actions included in the Plan. Consequently, the quantitative exercise using QUEST is limited to the quantification of a subset of actions of the Plan that can be reliably linked to corresponding variables and indicators, for which there is empirical literature. In this context, the aim of the Plan is to strengthen gender equality, in particular implement actions aimed at strengthening the position of women in socio-economic terms, and involves the following categories: (a) 37 See Marco Ratto, Werner Roeger and Jan in't Veld (2008), ‘QUEST III : An estimated DSGE model of the euro area with fiscal and monetary policy’, Economic Papers No 335. 75 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 actions that directly enhance women’s access to the labour market, such as actions 3.4.1, 3.4.2, 3.4.3 to support the participation of women in entrepreneurship, actions 3.5.1 and 3.5.2 to enhance and encourage the education of women in science and technology as well as their work in research and innovation technology undertakings; (b) actions that strengthen the position of women in the political process and increase by law the quota of women in political bodies, such as actions 3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.1.3, 3.1.4; (c) reforms for equal treatment of women and for ensuring equal prospects in positions of responsibility through actions 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.3, 3.2.4 as well as actions for the reduction of the gender pay gap observed, through actions 2.3.1, 2.3.2; (d) policies for better access to pre-school care and the balance between work and private life, such as actions 2.2.3, 2.2.2 and 2.2.1; (e) informing about and tackling gender discrimination, as well as raising awareness and promoting specific social behavior to eliminate stereotypes and violence against women, such as actions 1.1.5, 1.1.7, 1.2.1, 1.2.3, 1.4.2, 1.4.3, 4.1.4, 4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.7.1, 4.7.2; and (f) actions for equal access to social policies such as actions 4.4.2, 4.5.1, 4.6.1 and measures to integrate and reintegrate women into the labour market, through actions 4.3.1 and 4.3.4. Based on the international literature, the above categories of actions can potentially increase the participation of women in the labour market by encouraging them, as they aim at eliminating wage discrimination and provide equal prospects for professional development,38 through activities which ensure women’s engagement in entrepreneurship, their training and a balanced relationship between work and family life,39 as well as through activities which raise awareness on issues of gender-based violence, discrimination and the elimination of cultural perceptions that degrade women and create a feeling of fear of harassment and repression, which discourages their participation in the labour market.40. At the same time, in an empirical study by the IMF on the factors contributing to the increase of the labour market participation rate of developed countries, it is stressed that over the past three decades, most of this increase results from the increase in the participation of women due to significant changes in institutions and reforms which strengthen the position of women in gender equality policies and also due to the improved level of education and access to it. Similarly, the empirical exercise of section 2 reinforces the results of the above literature, in terms of the causal link between the increase in the participation of women in the labour market and the actions described above, through the econometric analysis, adapted to the statistical data of the Greek economy. In this context, the assumption made on the 38 See European Commission, European Semester Thematic Factsheet: ‘Women in the Labour Market’ and IMF (2016) Gender Diversity in Senior Positions and Firm Performance: Evidence from Europe. 39 See OECD and International Labour Organisation (2019), ‘Women at Work in G20 countries: Progress and policy action’. 40 See OECD and International Labour Organisation (2019), ‘Women at Work in G20 countries: Progress and policy action’. 76 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 correlation between the actions of the Plan and the exogenous variables of the model is that these actions contribute to the enhancement of the participation of women in the labour market, which in turn increases the overall rate of population participation in the labour market. At the same time, in addition to the question of the correlation between the actions and the parameters of the model, the magnitude of these reforms must also be assessed. It is important to note that the quantitative evaluation of the Plan is currently difficult for many reasons, e.g. that there are not sufficient quantitative indications from corresponding actions of the past that can be used as a reference point. Therefore, and in conjunction with the above assumption, i.e. matching the actions of the Plan to the strengthening of the participation of women in the labour market, the basic working assumption is that the Plan can contribute to covering part of the gap between Greece and the average percentage of the euro area as regards the proportion of women in the labour market. In particular, the assessment of the macroeconomic impact of the Plan includes an examination of an initial scenario of a marginal increase in the rate of female participation in the labour market, by 1 percentage point, or otherwise convergence of this percentage to the euro area average by 1 percentage point, as an indicative measure of the impact of the actions of the Plan. This translates into a 0.5% increase in the overall labour force participation rate, based on calculations using Eurostat data. Table 2 shows the impact of the Plan on the Greek economy, through the adoption of the above assumptions, namely the introduction into the model of the increase in public expenditure of approximately 20 million euros each year for the period from 2021 to 2025, as well as a marginal increase of the labour force female participation rate by 1 percentage point, gradually and linearly, over a period of 10 years, translated in terms of an increase in the total labour force participation rate. In particular, the impact on economic results stems mainly from the channel of the increase in the labour force participation rate, increasing the potential real GDP by 0.16% after 5 years, by 0.34% after 10 years, while in the long term the positive effects on the GDP reach up to 0.42% in relation to the initial long-run equilibrium, i.e. in relation to the scenario in which the Plan is not implemented. 77 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Table 2. Overall impact of the Plan on the economy 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 10 years 20 years Real GDP 0.02% 0.05% 0.08% 0.12% 0.16% 0.34% 0.42% Consumption 0.02% 0.05% 0.08% 0.12% 0.15% 0.30% 0.37% Investment -0.06% -0.11% -0.12% -0.09% -0.006% 0.15% 0.26% Exports 0.04% 0.09% 0.13% 0.17% 0.21% 0.37% 0.44% Employment 0.02% 0.062% 0.11% 0.16% 0.21% 0.42% 0.46% Note: The variables are expressed in terms of percentage change from the baseline scenario, i.e. the initial long-run equilibrium state where the Plan is not implemented. Source: Council of Economic Advisers In the context of the macroeconomic model QUEST III R & D, the gradual increase in the labour force participation rate,41 leads to an exogenous increase in labour supply and a reduction in the marginal labour cost of undertakings in the short term, with all other variables remaining constant, thereby improving the productive capacity of undertakings. This allows businesses to increase the labour demand and thus the employment level increases by 0.21% and 0.42% after 5 and 10 years, respectively. This channeling of resources to the labour factor leads to an adjustment of investments in the medium term, while the simultaneous reduction of production costs pushes down domestic prices, leading to a change in trade conditions favorable to the Greek economy. This in turn increases the external competitiveness of the economy, thereby increasing exports. At the same time, employment in research and development is increasing, which endogenously contributes to the increase of the productivity of the factors of production as there is a greater variety of patent products which implies a wider range of production of intermediate goods due to the entry of more companies into the market. In the long run, when businesses fully adapt and product demand is significantly higher, corporate profitability leads to an increase in investment by 0.26%, in exports by 0.44% and consumption, which is one of the main drivers of growth of the real GDP, due to increased overall income in the economy, increases by 0.30% after 10 years, and 0.37% in the long term. 41 It should be noted that in the context of the QUEST model, labour force is divided into three skill categories: low, medium and high skills. Given that the calibration of the model by the European Commission is based on the fact that the Greek labour force participates less in the labour market compared to the euro area average, only in the low and medium skills, and not in the high ones, the introduction of the change of the labour force participation rate has been made only for the first two categories. 78 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 In a second phase, the analysis takes into account three alternative scenarios for reducing the gap between the female labour market participation rate in Greece and the euro area average, i.e. it is estimate that there is a partial convergence of the country to the average practices of the 19 euro area countries by 25%, 50% and 75% in relation to the current situation. In particular, it is assumed that the partial convergence of this gap, as shown in Table 3, takes place gradually over a period of ten years, as is usually the case in similar studies.42. This involves three scenarios of increasing the participation of women in the labour market as a result of the actions included in the Plan. Subsequently, this increase in the total rate of participation in the labour force of the economy is calculated to be imported into QUEST model as an exogenous gradual change in this percentage, based on Eurostat data. Table 3. Assumptions for the three ESDIF impact scenarios Rate of female Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 participation in the Convergence by Convergence by Convergence by labour market 2020 25% 50% 75% Greece 64.6% 66.6% 68.6% 70.6% Eurozone-19 72.6% Source: Eurostat and Council of Economic Advisers Table 4 presents the macroeconomic effects for each of the three scenarios, in relation to the basic economic variables of the model. The impact on the real GDP ranges from 0.31% to 0.9% at the end of the implementation of the Plan, in 2025, between convergence scenarios, by 25% and 75% respectively. Maximum effects on the GDP in the long term, within these scenarios, can potentially increase real GDP by about 2.5%. This is driven by an increase in consumption, which is between 0.75% and 2.22% in the long term, an increase in private investment, which is between 0.53% and 1.58%, as well as an increase in exports, which is between 0.88% and 2.63% over the same time horizon. Finally, the increase of the labour market participation rate is expected to lead to a significant increase in employment, up to 1.24% in 5 years, and 2.8% in the longer term, based on the most optimistic scenario. 42 See European Commission (2016), ‘The Economic Impact of Selected Structural Reform Measures in Italy, France, Spain and Portugal’, Institutional Paper 023, European Economy. 79 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Table 4. ESDIF’s impact on the economy in the three convergence scenarios Scenario 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 10 years 20 years Scenario 1 0.03% 0.09% 0.16% 0.23% 0.31% 0.67% 0.85% Real GDP Scenario 2 0.05% 0.17% 0.31% 0.45% 0.60% 1.34% 1.70% Scenario 3 0.08% 0.25% 0.46% 0.68% 0.90% 2.01% 2.57% Scenario 1 0.037% 0.102% 0.17% 0.24% 0.30% 0.60% 0.75% Consumption Scenario 2 0.07% 0.21% 0.34% 0.47% 0.60% 1.19% 1.48% Scenario 3 0.11% 0.31% 0.51% 0.71% 0.90% 1.78% 2.22% Scenario 1 -0.13% -0.22% -0.23% -0.19% -0.12% 0.3% 0.53% Investment Scenario 2 -0.25% -0.44% -0.45% -0.37% -0.24% 0.59% 1.05% Scenario 3 -0.38% -0.65% -0.67% -0.55% -0.36% 0.88% 1.58% Scenario 1 0.07% 0.18% 0.27% 0.35% 0.42% 0.75% 0.88% Exports Scenario 2 0.15% 0.37% 0.55% 0.70% 0.84% 1.48% 1.75% Scenario 3 0.23% 0.55% 0.82% 1.05% 1.26% 2.24% 2.63% Scenario 1 0.042% 0.12% 0.22% 0.32% 0.41% 0.86% 0.93% Employment Scenario 2 0.08% 0.24% 0.43% 0.63% 0.83% 1.71% 1.87% Scenario 3 0.12% 0.36% 0.65% 0.94% 1.24% 2.58% 2.8% Note: The variables are expressed in terms of percentage change from the baseline scenario, i.e. the initial long-run equilibrium state where the Plan is not implemented. Source: Council of Economic Advisers The above positive relationship between the participation of women in the labour market and economic development, as well as the documentation of the channels through which this is achieved, is consistent with the international literature. In particular, a study by the European Commission,43 which concerns this relationship in the southern Mediterranean countries, highlights how important is for economic development to increase the participation of women, placing particular emphasis on policies aimed at removing barriers to women’s entry into the labour market, and in particular stresses the importance of promotion, cultural standards and legal reforms in this direction. 43 See MEDPRO Technical Report No. 19/December 2012, Female Labour Force Participation and Economic Development in Southern Mediterranean Countries: What scenarios for 2030? 80 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Similarly, the OECD,44 uses data for 30 countries concerning a period from 1960 to 2008 to study the impact of the diversification of labour force with regard to the level of education, which results from improving the quality of women’s human capital by implementing policies that increase access to education. Empirical results show that the increase in gender equality in terms of access to education leads to higher and equal access to the labour market, creating a significant positive relationship with the GDP growth per capita. An IMF study is moving in the same direction,45 as it emphasizes that the greater participation of women in the labour market, in addition to increasing the total number of workers by reversing the effects of negative demographic trends, also has indirect positive effects on the economy as women offer and introduce different skills into the labour market, which (skills) are complementary to those of men in the production process. This differentiation can have significant positive effects on the overall productivity of undertakings and hence their competitiveness, in particular when there are equal opportunities in positions of responsibility and in combination with the elimination of wage disparities (pay gap). At the same time, the study also analyzes the positive effect of increased participation of women in the labour market in terms of more efficient sectoral allocation (distribution of the labour force across economic sectors), which contributes to increasing the productivity of the economy. Impact on income distribution, poverty and inequality This chapter includes a study of the distributional effects of the increased participation of women in the labour market, which is expected to take place through the implementation of the policies provided for in the National Action Plan for Gender Equality (ESDIF) 2021-2025. The estimate was made using EUROMOD tax-benefit microsimulation model which is the official micro-simulation model of the European Union. The model used data from the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) 2019 (income 2018). The SILC is a harmonised stratified survey conducted on an annual basis in all EU Member States. It includes detailed information on income, employment, health, education, housing, social transfers, social participation, and social and demographic characteristics of each of the households participating in it. It is the main statistical reference source for income distribution, poverty and social exclusion in Greece. 44 See OECD (2012), Effects of Reducing Gender Gaps in Education and Labour Force Participation on Economic Growth in the OECD. 45 See IMF (2018), Economic Gains from Gender Inclusion: New Mechanisms, New Evidence. 81 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 The application of a tax-benefit model such as EUROMOD enables the assessment of distributional and budgetary impact of a policy measure (i.e. on income distribution and on the State budget respectively). In particular, EUROMOD calculates the distribution to the population and the distributional effect of various tax and social policy measures, as well as any change (actual or hypothetical) of those measures. The model simulates some of the measures, combining the rules of the tax system and the eligibility conditions of social benefit schemes with the characteristics of households (e.g. family, work or income status), as reflected in the survey used each time. This category of simulated measures includes direct taxes (income, property) and social security contributions, as well as almost all non-contributory social benefits. Other tax and social policy measures, such as most pensions, cannot be simulated based on the information available in the SILC survey. Of course, this does not mean that in EUROMOD these measures are omitted. They are simply ‘read’ directly from the survey data rather than being simulated. This is similar to the case of private income, which is also collected as data from the SILC survey and taken into consideration. In addition to simulating changes in fiscal and social policy measures, EUROMOD has recently added the possibility of changing the employment status of individuals. Thus, by using the model we can change the initial micro-database that it uses, by simulating either an increase in the unemployment rate or the inflow of new people into the labour force. The characteristics of people who make changes to their employment condition (e.g. salary, months of employment, unemployment, etc.) change accordingly to reflect their new labour status. An important advantage of micro-simulation models is their ability to incorporate in the relevant calculations and results not only the method by which each tax and social policy measure works, but also the (usually complex) interactions between them. For example, an increase in the participation of women in the labour market leads to an increase in government receipts from income tax and from social security contributions. It is also likely to lead to a reduction in the number of beneficiaries of welfare benefits based on income criteria, such as the guaranteed minimum income or the housing allowance. Such interactions cannot be taken into account in an impact analysis except by using a micro- simulation model. As in the previous chapter of the study, the scenarios simulated are as follows: In the first scenario, we assume a marginal increase in the female labour market participation rate by 1 percentage point, as an indicative measure of the impact of the ESDIF actions. This means that approximately 31 thousand women enter the labour 82 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 market. In the second scenario we assume that the ESDIF policies reduce the gap that separates Greece from the female labour market participation rate in the euro area countries by 25%. In the third scenario, we assume that the ESDIF policies reduce this gap by 50%, while in the fourth scenario the gap is narrowed by 75%. These scenarios lead to an increase of 2.4 and 6 percentage points of female participation in the labour market respectively (approximately 62, 124 and 186 thousand women enter the labour market). In each of these scenarios we adopt the conservative assumption that new employees who have completed only primary education are paid the minimum wage, as this was determined in 2022, i.e. €663/month, while new employees with a higher (above primary) level of education receive the average wage of the female workers, already considered in the SILC, with the same educational characteristics, i.e. from €729/month to €1,232/month. It is also important to note that in the results of the analysis no second-order effects of the increase in female participation in the labour market is taken into account and it is assumed that fiscal and subsidy policies remain the same as in August 2021. Finally, we assume that the new employees work under full-time employment contracts and are between 20 and 64 years old. Table 5 shows the changes in the annual median equivalised disposable income (MEDI) per income decile for each of the scenarios considered in relation to the current situation (baseline scenario).46 The increase of female participation in the labour market by 1 to 6 percentage points is estimated to lead to a percentage increase of the population’s MEDI by 0.5% - 2.5%. The MEDI increase is estimated to be significantly higher at the lower end of the income distribution, reaching 16,4% in the fourth scenario for the poorest decile of the population. Table 5. Changes in the median equivalised disposable income (MEDI) Baseline Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 Scenario 4 Income deciles MEDI % change % change % change % change (€/year) 1 3,191 3.1 3.5 10.5 16.4 2 5,183 1.5 2.6 5.5 8.6 3 6,466 0.8 3.0 4.9 6.5 4 7,567 1.4 2.2 3.7 5.2 5 8,685 0.5 1.4 1.9 2.9 6 9,882 0.4 0.6 1.2 1.9 46 The disposable income is converted into ‘equivalised’ income on the basis of a equivalence scale, in order to correctly compare the standard of living of households of different sizes and/or composition. The OECD-modified equivalence scale used by Eurostat assigns 50% to each adult (other than the first) and 30% to each child (up to 14 years old). 83 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 7 11,312 0.3 0.4 1.0 1.4 8 12,994 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.8 9 15,408 0.1 0.1 0.5 0.7 10 25,718 0.0 0.2 0.1 0.3 Total 10,639 0.5 0.9 1.7 2.5 Notes: Income deciles are derived after all the people in the population are ranked in order according to the equivalised disposable income of each individual, from the poorest to the richest, and then divided into ten groups with an equal number of members. The percentage changes are calculated in comparison with the baseline scenario. Source: Council of Economic Advisers, using the micro-simulation model EUROMOD, version I 3.6. Table 6 shows the households benefitting (i.e. seeing their disposable income increase) from an increase in female labour market participation by 1 to 6 percentage points per income decile. We estimate that this development will have a positive impact on about 0.8% - 4.5% of households in the country. These households are mainly located at the lower end and the middle part of the income distribution. However, in the most optimistic scenario (scenario 4) we estimate that households at the upper end of the distribution will also be positively affected (deciles 8-10). Table 6. Percentages of households benefiting from increased female participation in the labour market Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 Scenario 4 Income deciles % change % change % change % change 1 1.9 2.4 6.0 10.0 2 1.4 2.2 5.1 7.7 3 1.0 3.0 5.0 6.5 4 1.5 2.5 4.5 6.1 5 0.8 2.2 2.8 4.2 6 0.6 1.0 2.0 3.4 7 0.5 0.7 1.7 2.8 8 0.2 0.6 0.9 1.8 9 0.4 0.3 1.1 1.7 10 0.1 0.6 0.5 1.2 Total 0.8 1.5 2.9 4.5 Note: Income deciles are derived after all the people in the population are ranked in order according to the equivalised disposable income of each individual, from the poorest to the richest, and then divided into ten groups with an equal number of members. The percentage changes are calculated in comparison with the baseline scenario. Source: Council of Economic Advisers, using the micro-simulation model EUROMOD, version I 3.6. Table 7 shows the estimates of the impact of the increase in the female participation in the labour market by 1 to 6 percentage points on poverty (at risk of poverty rate - AROP) by gender, as well as on different types of households, using the definition of relative poverty provided by Eurostat (population with income below 60% of the median 84 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 equivalised disposable income in the baseline scenario). The reduction of the poverty rate for the total population of the country is estimated to range from 0.4 percentage points in the first scenario and to 2 percentage points in the fourth scenario. The largest reductions in poverty are estimated to affect families with children as well as multi- member households. Table 7. Impact of increased female labour market participation on poverty by gender and household type baseline Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 Scenario 4 AROP (%) difference difference difference difference gender women 18.0 -0.4 -0.5 -1.3 -2.0 men 17.4 -0.3 -0.4 -1.2 -1.9 household type 1 adult < 65, no children 17.9 -0.1 0.0 -0.5 -0.8 1 adult ≥ 65, no children 21.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2 adults with children 28.3 0.0 0.0 -1.1 -3.4 2 adults < 65, no children 14.7 -0.5 -0.5 -1.1 -1.7 2 adults, at least one ≥ 65 without children 13.4 0.0 -0.2 -0.4 -0.5 2 adults with 1 child 13.3 -0.2 -0.4 -1.1 -1.5 2 adults with 2 children 14.8 -0.4 -0.4 -0.8 -1.6 2 adults with 3+ children 22.8 0.0 -0.9 -2.8 -6.0 3+ adults without children 17.3 -0.7 -0.6 -1.4 -2.2 3+ adults with children 27.0 -0.7 -0.6 -2.4 -3.4 total population 17.7 -0.4 -0.5 -1.2 -2.0 Note: The differences in poverty rates are calculated in percentage points in relation to the baseline scenario. Children are defined as persons under 18 years of age. Source: Council of Economic Advisers, using the micro-simulation model EUROMOD, version I 3.6. Finally, Table 8 shows the results of the increase in the female labour market participation in two main indicators of inequality. The first is the Gini index, whose values range from 0 (full equality: all persons have the same income) to 1 (maximum inequality: total disposable income in an economy belongs to only one person). It is worth noting that the Gini index is more sensitive to changes to the middle of the income distribution than to the ends. The second is the S80/S20 index, which corresponds to the ratio of the disposable income of the richest population quintile to the disposable income of the poorest quintile. By definition, this indicator is sensitive only to changes in the ends of the income distribution. According to our estimates, an increase in female labour market 85 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 participation by one or two percentage points (scenarios 1 and 2) will bring about relatively small changes in the indicators of inequality (decrease below 1%), since the changes caused by this development in the disposable income of households at the lower end of the income distribution are limited. On the other hand, an increase in female labour market participation by four or six percentage points (scenarios 3 and 4) is estimated to lead to significantly greater reductions in the calculated indicators of inequality, which will reach up to 4% for the S80/S20 index. Table 8. Impact of increased female labour market participation on inequality Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 Scenario 4 Baseline % change % change % change % change Gini index 0.308 -0.5 -0.7 -1.7 -2.6 S80/S20 4,897 -0.8 -0.6 -2.4 -4.0 Note: The percentage changes in the indicators are calculated in comparison with the baseline scenario. Source: Council of Economic Advisers, using the micro-simulation model EUROMOD, version I 3.6. Conclusions The actions provided in the National Action Plan for Gender Equality (ESDIF) are aimed, inter alia, at enhancing women's access to the labour market, strengthening their position in the political and social life of the country, ensuring equal treatment of women and equal prospects in positions of responsibility, reducing gender pay gap, improving access to pre-school care and balancing work and private life, raising awareness and promoting actions to eliminate stereotypes and violence against women and integrate them into the labour market. Based on the international literature, the above categories of actions can potentially increase the participation of women in the labour market. The empirical investigation of the issue, using data from the Quarterly labour Force Survey (LFS) for the period from 2006 to 2020, seems to confirm that: (a) increases in the gender pay gap tend to reduce the participation of women in the labour force; (b) the participation of women in the labour market is reduced when the proportion of women facing problems with the care of dependent children is increased; (c) the participation of women in the labour force increases as the proportion of women participating in educational and training programmes increases; and (d) the percentage of self-employed women is positively linked to the participation of women in the labour market. 86 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 The macroeconomic impact of the ESDIF actions were investigated in the context of a Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) Model. In particular, the macroeconomic model of the European Commission, QUEST III R & D, was used for the Greek economy. Initially, as part of the evaluation of the macroeconomic impact of the Plan the scenario of an increase in public expenditure was examined, more specifically an increase of approximately 20 million euros each year for the period 2021 to 2025, as well as a marginal increase in the female labour force participation rate by 1 percentage point, gradually and linearly, over a period of 10 years, as an indicative measure of the impact of the ESDIF actions. The model estimates an increase in the potential real GDP by 0.16% after 5 years, by 0.34% after 10 years, while in the long term the positive effects on the GDP reach up to 0.42% in relation to the initial long-run equilibrium, i.e. in relation to the scenario in which the Plan is not implemented. Then, an analysis of three scenarios was carried out. Those scenarios involved a reduction in the gap between the female labour market participation rate in Greece and the euro area average, i.e. we assumed that there is a partial convergence of the country to the average practices of the 19 euro area countries by 25%, 50% and 75% in relation to the current situation. Scenarios translate into an increase in the proportion of women in labour force by 2, 4 and 6 percentage points respectively. The impact of this convergence on the real GDP of the country is estimated to range from 0.31% to 0.9% at the end of the implementation of the Plan, in 2025, between convergence scenarios, by 25% and 75% respectively. Also, the potential distributional effects of the increase in the participation of women in the labour market from 1 to 6 percentage points were examined based on the four scenarios mentioned above. The estimates were made using EUROMOD tax-benefit microsimulation model which is the official micro-simulation model of the European Union. Based on the current data, the model estimates that such a development will lead to a percentage increase in the median equivalised disposable income of the Greek population by 0.5% to 2.5%. The increase in the income is estimated to be significantly higher at the lower end of the income distribution. The reduction of the poverty rate for the total population of the country is estimated to range from 0.4 to 2 percentage points. The largest reductions in poverty will affect families with children as well as multi- member households. Finally, an increase in female labour market participation by one or two percentage points is estimated to lead to a relatively small decrease in the basic indicators of inequality, while an increase in female participation by four or six percentage points is estimated to lead to significantly greater reductions in the calculated indicators. 87 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025

3. ESDIF Structure 2021-2025 The National Action Plan for Gender Equality (ESDIF) 2021-2025 is structured around four (4) Priority Axes each of which focuses on a specific thematic dimension of gender equality policies. The subject of the prevention and control of stereotypes and prejudices is incorporated in all axes as it must be taken into account and highlighted in all individual thematic policies and actions. The thematic Priority Axes are the following: Priority Axis 1 ‘Preventing and combatting gender-based and domestic violence’ focuses on: measures to protect women from all forms of violence; training and education of officials of the competent authorities; informing and raising awareness of the parties 88 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 involved and the public. It is governed by the principles and guidelines of the Istanbul Convention. ‘Priority Axis 2: Equal participation of women in the labour market’ concerns the reduction of the work-related inequality gap in terms of employment and occupational segregation, remuneration and discrimination on the grounds of maternity and childcare, by introducing interventions initiated in the field of basic education and extended to training, further education and lifelong learning but also to actions aimed at harmonising professional, private and family life. Priority Axis 3 ‘Equal participation of women in decision-making and leadership focuses on enhancing the presence of women in positions of power and representation in political and social life, their stronger civic participation and empowering girls through education, informative events, and promoting as role models successful women who have been active and have excelled in all sectors. ‘Priority Axis 4: Mainstreaming the gender perspective into sectoral policies’ refers to the integration of gender perspective into all perspectives of sectoral policies, where close cooperation with relevant ministries, public bodies and local government is required. Through this axis, efforts are being made to promote gender equality in budgets and policy-making, in specific vulnerable social groups and populations, in the fields of education, health, sport, culture and media. Finally, Priority Axis4 includes the enhancement of gender-based production of statistical data and research to support the monitoring, planning and refinement of gender equality promotion actions. Each thematic axis is then broken down into objectives, which to the extent possible fulfill all or some of the key qualitative characteristics of good goal-setting: they are specific, measurable, relevant, realistic and achievable within a timetable. Their refinement (specification) was initially based on the analysis of the Strategy Framework as defined by the UN Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development, the Council of Europe Gender Equality Strategy 2018-2023, the European Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025, the Development Plan for the Greek Economy and the Gender Equality requirements under the new programming period 2021-2027. 89 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 It is important to mention the link between gender equality policies and actions and all European policies that set gender mainstreaming as a requirement for their activation. Emphasis was also placed on highlighting new challenges at the European and international level in the light of modern technological developments and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which creates new demands in the fields of economy, education, labour and technology, in order to understand the importance of activation of women in this new environment, as well as the multiple benefits that are expected to result from increasing the presence of women in all of the above areas. They were further specified based on the priorities of the General Secretariat for Demography and Family Policy and Gender Equality and its sub-directorates, the consultation that took place at the level of the National Council on Gender Equality and the integration of the proposals of government bodies, reflected for the first time in a single text. The proposals submitted by the relevant Ministries and listed in the previous chapter, are part of ESDIF in the context of monitoring sectoral policies and actions in order to evaluate gender mainstreaming and will be gradually integrated into its operational plan according to the implementation readiness. The structure of the National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 is summarised in the following diagram, which lists the four Priority Axes. Each Priority Axis is broken down into objectives and then the objectives are further reflected in actions. Each objective leads to specific results (to be) produced , which have either been finalised and will be opted for implementation (mature projects) or are in the process of being finalised and will be implemented at a second stage. Priority Axis Objective 1: Preventing and combatting 1.1: Implementing the provisions of the Istanbul gender-based Convention (Law 4531/2018) and domestic violence 1.2: Combatting violence in the workplace 90 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 1.3: Strengthening and upgrading the network of structures to combat violence against women 1.4: Combatting other forms of violence 2.1: Strengthening female employment 2.2: Reconciling work and family life 2.3: Reducing the gender pay and pension gap 2: Equal participation of women in the labour market. 2.4: Promoting female entrepreneurship 2.5: Enhancing education and training of girls and women in research and technology 3.1: Increasing the number of women in politics 3.2: Increasing the number of women in positions of 3: Equal participation of women responsibility in the public and private sector in decision-making and leadership 3.3: Strengthening education and training of girls and women aiming at them assuming leadership roles 4: Mainstreaming the gender 4.1: Mainstreaming the gender perspective into all perspective into sectoral policies policies (gender mainstreaming) 4.2: Strengthening the cross-sectoral approach to gender equality issues 4.3: Improving the position of women who are subject to multiple discrimination and eliminating their social exclusion 4.4: Promoting gender equality in education – science – research 4.5: Promoting gender equality in health 4.6: Promoting gender equality in sport 91 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 4.7 Promoting gender equality in culture - mass media 4.8: Enhancing statistics, research and access to knowledge taking into account the gender perspective 92 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Priority Axis 1: Preventing and combatting gender-based and domestic violence. Objective 1.1: Implementing the provisions of the Istanbul Convention (Law 4531/2018) Indicators for Objective 1.1: ➢ Number of articles for which legislative or other measures have been taken ➢ Intimate partner violence Indicators of the GSDFPGE Observatory - Action 1.1.1: Introducing legislative measures to achieve the objectives of the Istanbul Convention o Proposal for legislative interventions. - Action 1.1.2: Introducing other measures to achieve the objectives of the Istanbul Convention (MP) o Programmes for gender and domestic violence perpetrators and offenders aimed at preventing incidents of violence o identifying and recording the specific needs of children who witness domestic violence; setting up a relevant tool. o Interconnecting the Hellenic Police Information Systems and the Integrated System of Civil and Criminal Justice Case Management (OSDDY- PP) of the Greek Courts o Setup of a cross-cutting tool for assessing the risk of domestic violence (Risk Assessment Tool) - Action 1.1.3. Monitoring the implementation of the Istanbul Convention (MP) o Coordinating relevant State bodies o Preparing reports to be submitted to the Istanbul Convention GREVIO Committee o Collection of statistical data according to the GREVIO questionnaire and the 13 indicators of EIGE intimate partner violence to monitor the implementation of the Istanbul Convention - Action 1.1.4 Preparation of the Annual Report on Violence against Women (MP) 93 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 - Action 1.1.5: Training professionals and public sector executives on the subject of violence against women Development of training materials and implementation of training programmes on the obligations arising from the Istanbul Convention on violence against women and domestic violence: o Creation of seminars o Implementation of training o Issuance of a Guide to the Implementation of the Istanbul Convention - Action 1.1.6: Actions providing information and raising awareness (Information and Awareness Actions) under Article 13 of the IstanbulConvention (MP) o Creation of material for the Information and Awareness Actions, accessible by people with disabilities o In cooperation with institutions: ▪ Creation-implementation of informative actions ▪ Creation-implementation of awareness actions - Action 1.1.7: Informing and raising awareness of the general population about gender equality and preventing and combatting violence against women (MP) Implementing an awareness-raising campaign on violence against women and domestic violence in target groups such as: o Students o Men/boys 94 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Objective 1.2: Combatting violence in the workplace Indicators for Objective 1.2: ➢ Number of complaints from women who are harassed in the workplace - Action 1.2.1: The ratification of the ILO Violence and Harassment Convention (MP) o Law 4808/2021 Part I and II including measures to prevent and combat the phenomenon - Introduction of legislative interventions for amendments to the Penal Code o Institutional strengthening of the Labour Inspectorate to deal with and monitor incidents. o Establishing business-level policies to tackle violence and harassment and to handle internal complaints (reporting). o Providing for relevant employer obligations to prevent and deal with incidents under a sanctions system. - Action 1.2.2: Implementing a pilot programme entitled ‘Eleni Topaloudi’ on sexual harassment of female students at universities Creating and implementing a pilot programme that will deal with sexual harassment suffered by female students at universities, which includes the following individual actions: o Developing cooperation with the Equality Committees within the Universities o Operation of sexual violence reporting offices o Providing psychological support - Action 1.2.3: Conducting an awareness-raising campaign on sexual harassment in the workplace in the public and private sectors o Actions to inform and raise public awareness of the phenomenon in question and to inform victims about support services and structures (information leaflets, television/radio/internet messages, posters, etc.) 95 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Objective 1.3: Strengthening and upgrading the network of structures to combat violence against women Indicators for Objective 1.3: ➢ Intimate partner violence Indicators of the GSDFPGE Observatory - Action 1.3.1: Supporting coordination and networking of structures o Preparing newsletters and informative documents on a periodic basis regarding the actions implemented by the GSDFPGE KY and the network of structures o Providing informative material o Organising meetings - workshops o Training the staff of the network of structures, GSDFPGE and KETHI in the database tool, mediation in criminal cases and programmes for perpetrators implemented in Greece and across Europe. o Lifelong learning training programme for the staff of the network of structures, GSDFPGE and KETHI in the context of gender social theory - Action 1.3.2: Upgrading infrastructure and services of the network of structures o Upgrading the technological equipment of the network of structures and supporting new digital platforms and applications o Updating - upgrading the database to collect statistical data o Entrepreneurial consultancy by the network of structures o Implementing programmes to provide free legal aid - representation to victims of violence o Designing and implementing a programme of creative activities for children accommodated in guest houses (shelters) and creating child- friendly spaces in counseling centres o Equipping counseling centres of the major urban centrers of Athens and Thessaloniki with 1 additional social worker who will work exclusively for the accommodation of asylum seekers and refugee women o Setting up a tool for the (e)valuation of services by those who benefit from the network of structures 96 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 o Upgrading the GSDFPGE website - Action 1.3.3. Reinforcing the network of structures (MP) o Preparing a plan on the transition and sustainability of the network of structures o Provision of a framework for the operation of new structures (counseling centres and shelters) by first level local authorities o Exploring the possible extension of the network of structures - Action 1.3.4: Preventing and combatting violence against women and girls withdisabilities o Campaign to inform women and girls with disabilities, their families and their carers about preventing, identifying and reporting incidents of gender-based violence and about existing support services, in cooperation with the National Confederation of Persons with Disabilities (ESAmeA). o Training medical personnel, social workers, GSDFPGE staff and the police in methods of combatting violence against women with disabilities in cooperation with KETHI and the National School of Public Administration and Local Government (EKDDA). o Establishing protocols and rules of conduct for professionals who care for and support women with disabilities, with a view to preventing gender- based violence and abuse, in cooperation with ESAmeA. o Ensuring universal accessibility to buildings and communication with the services of the GSDFPGE network of structures. o Preventing and combatting forced abortion and sterilisation. 97 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Objective 1.4: Combatting other forms of violence Indicators for Objective 1.4: ➢ Number of women who have been or are being subjected to online violence or intimidation - Action 1.4.1: Preventing and tackling gender-based violence in cyberspace (MP) o Preparation of a survey on the magnitude and forms of gender-based violence in cyberspace in Greece o Setting up indicators for recording and measuring it. o Actions to raise awareness and inform about educational institutions and collective bodies - Action 1.4.2: Preventing and tacking stalking, FGM - female genital mutilation, early and forced marriages, sextortion and revenge porn (MP) o Annual specific information and awareness-raising campaign on all forms of violence against women, as provided in Action 1.4.2. o Meetings with target groups on FGM and early marriages with a view to eliminating them o Information on the sexual and reproductive rights of women refugees, migrants, asylum seekers and their children o Informing Romani populations about early and forced marriages and the provisions of Greek law,as well as the rights of the child o Issuing an information sheet on stalking o Legislative proposals for a stricter legal framework against stalking - Action 1.4.3: Preventing and tackling trafficking and prostitution - survival sex o Campaign to prevent, address and eradicate trafficking in human beings for sexual and labour exploitation in moving populations (migrant women, refugee women) o Campaign to inform mainly foreign population about the risks of ‘survival sex’ and information about organisations that a person can contact for help o Preparing a pilot study on the magnitude of ‘survival sex’ in Greece in refugee and migrant populations in the Athens region o Meetings with civil society organisations active with populations driven to ‘survival sex’ 98 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Priority Axis 2: Equal participation of women in the labour market. Objective 2.1: Strengthening female employment Indicators for Objective 2.1: ➢ Female employment rate ➢ Female unemployment rate ➢ Number of complaints on gender discrimination in the workplace - Action 2.1.1 Developing and promoting the ‘Equality Label’ for Businesses (MP) o Implementing SHARE pilot label o Evaluating SHARE pilot label o Developing methodology o Drafting of an MD proposal o Business support for label award o Networking of certified undertakings - Action 2.1.2 Informing and raising awareness about gender discrimination in employment o Training business executives through a programme o Distributing information material to employers o Distributing information material to employees o Information events and trainings o Conducting information and awareness-raising programmes for employers on issues of gender discrimination in employment in the event room of the Historical Archive - Action 2.1.3. Monitoring of female employment and discrimination in the workplace o Networking with competent bodies to monitor employment and discrimination o Issuance of an annual Briefing Note o Updating relevant indicators of the Observatory - Action 2.1.4. Support of unemployed women 99 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 o Cooperation with OAED for the integration into the labour market of victims of domestic and gender-based violence o Reskilling, upskilling and developing digital skills for women outside the labour market - Action 2.1.5: Implementing the ‘Diversity Awareness’ programme to incorporate the concept of diversity into the workplace (MP) o Reform ‘Statistical representation / comprehensive reports on equal opportunities - Diversity award - Certification methodology for organisations and pilot application’ o Related investment ‘Training and certification of workers and employers on diversity’ 100 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Objective 2.2: Reconciling work and family life Indicators for Objective 2.2: ➢ Non-active population due to care responsibilities by gender ➢ Number of mothers/guardians used by the ‘Neighbourhood Nannies’ programme - Action 2.2.1: Transposition into the national law of the Directive on work-life balance and other legislative interventions (MP) o Monitoring of the transposition process (EU/2019/1158) - Action 2.2.2: Informing and raising awareness of employers about promoting facilities for employees o Training employers on how to obtain maternity, paternity, parental and carers’ leave, and in work arrangements to facilitate care responsibilities o Distributing information material to employers o Distributing information material to employees o Information events and trainings o Conducting information and awareness-raising programmes for employers in the event room of the Historical Archive - Action 2.2.3. Improving access to pre-school education and care (MP) o ‘Neighbourhood Nannies’ programme for the care of infants from two months to 2.5 years old o Establishing infant care facilities in medium and large enterprises o Follow-up and suggestions for access to pre-school care 101 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Objective 2.3: Reducing the gender pay and pension gap Indicators for Objective 2.3: ➢ Pay by gender ➢ Pensions by gender - Action 2.3.1: Legislative interventions o Monitoring of the recommendation on pay transparency (2014/124/EU). o Mainstreaming the gender perspective into collective bargaining - Action 2.3.2. Informing and raising awareness about pay and pension equality o Establishing an equal pay or pension day according to the EU standard o Disseminating policy proposals generated in the PEGASUS project on the gender pension gap o Implementing the Memorandum of Cooperation to combat the pension gap (PEGASUS) o Informative events 102 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Objective 2.4: Promoting female entrepreneurship Indicators for Objective 2.4: ➢ Employment by gender and occupation - Action 2.4.1: Supporting participation of women in business acceleration programmes (MP) o Creating Greek Innovation Lab for Women # GIL4W in collaboration with the European Centre for Women and Technology (ECWT Norway) to support women in the field of new technologies, research and innovation through actions ranging from education to activation of entrepreneurship based on the United Nations model for sustainable development - Action 2.4.2: Female Entrepreneurship Financing Programmes o Enhancing the digital transformation of women’s businesses - Action 2.4.3. Training girls and women in entrepreneurship o Cooperation with the Ministry of Interior-EKDDA o Seminars for strengthening and empowering women entrepreneurs with the aim of enhancing female entrepreneurship and fostering skills 103 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Objective 2.5: Enhancing education and training of girls and women in research and technology Indicators for Objective 2.1: ➢ Employment by gender and occupation ➢ Percentage of women - graduates of higher education by field of study ➢ Percentage of ICT usage per gender ➢ Percentage of employment of recent graduates per gender - Action 2.5.1: Encouraging women and girls to engage in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and ICT. o Exploring incentives and quotas for the participation of female researchers in research projects o Continuing and upgrading the pilot cooperation with the ambassadors team of ‘EU Code Week’ in our country. Co-organising seminars aimed at enhancing the digital skills of women and girls - Action 2.5.2: Informing and raising awareness of the gender perspective in science andtechnology o Support of the networking of female university researchers o Workshops - working meetings o Participation in the R & I Peers Project with a view to implementing an equality plan in research and university institutions and transfer of know- how (MP) 104 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Priority Axis 3: Equal participation of women in decision-making and leadership Objective 3.1: Increasing the number of women in politics ➢ Indicators for Objective 3.1: Percentage of women in the European Parliament ➢ Percentage of positions held by women in the national parliament ➢ Percentage of positions held by women in local government councils ➢ Percentage of women in government - Action 3.1.1: Legislative interventions for the quota of women in political bodies o Determining a quota for the participation of women in political bodies (e.g. Youth Councils) o Reward for exceeding a mandatory quota - Action 3.1.2: Informing - raising awareness of women's participation in electoralprocesses (MP) o Highlighting the work of elected women o Campaign to encourage women to run for political office o Campaign to promote women to positions of responsibility in central, regional and local government o Updating nosexism.gr page and information material for elected women, female candidates and journalists - Action 3.1.3. Operation of an observatory for women in politics o Monitoring the implementation of a gender quota of at least 40% in the total number of candidates for municipal and regional councils o Monitoring the implementation of a quota of at least 40% for each gender on the total number of candidates in the parliamentary elections throughout the Territory o Record of elected women and renewal per year o Drafting and issuing a relevant Breafing Note in each electoral process 105 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 - Action 3.1.4. Support of civic participation of women o Women's skills development programmes aimed at promoting female civic participation o Supporting elected women networks; cooperation with the Greek Parliament o Providing Drivers for Elected Women and Women-Candidates to combat sexism in public discourse; Conference on combatting sexism in public discourse (Planning, January 2021) and signing of a relevant memorandum o Conducting empowerment seminars for Elected Women and Women- Candidates in the event hall of the Historical Archive 106 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Objective 3.2: Increase in the number of women in positions of responsibility in the public and private sector Indicators for Objective 3.2: ➢ Rates of participation of women in the Boards of Directors of listed companies ➢ Rates of participation of women in administrative and departmental boards of public bodies ➢ Percentages of women in positions of responsibility in the public sector - Action 3.2.1: Legislative interventions to promote women to positions of responsibility o Linkage to corporate social responsibility (Equality Label) o Participation in other Boards of Directors (Chambers, sports confederations, etc.) - Action 3.2.2: Informing and raising awareness on the promotion of women to positions of responsibility o In-house business programmes to promote women to a position of responsibility o Training women entrepreneurs in management matters o Conducting training programmes for women entrepreneurs on management issues in the event hall of the Historical Archive - Action 3.2.3. Monitoring the participation of women in positions of responsibility o Monitoring quotas for the participation of women in BoDs of companies listed on the ATHEX (25%) o Application for registering women in positions of responsibility in the public sector o Updating the application posostosi.isotita.gr in order to comply with the legislation on the gender quota in the collective bodies of the State and monitoring by GSDFPGE o Issuance of a relevant briefing note - Action 3.2.4. Promoting networking of women in positions of responsibility o Networking of women - manager o Networking of women in positions of responsibility in public bodies 107 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 o Cooperation with institutions Objective 3.3: Strengthening education and training of girls aiming at them assuming leadership roles - Action 3.3.1. Promoting women’s leadership in primary and secondary education o Days for show-cases and promotion of role models of female entrepreneurs or politicians o Student competitions 108 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Priority Axis 4: Mainstreaming the gender perspective into sectoral policies This section specifies the indicative objectives of the thematic axis and the indicative content of the actions contributing to their achievement. Objective 4.1: Mainstreaming the gender perspective into all policies (gender mainstreaming) Indicators for Objective 4.1: ➢ Percentage of General Government budgets contributing to the promotion of gender equality - Action 4.1.1: Analysis and design of policies, measures, programmes from the gender perspective (MP) o Informing the Ministries on the obligation of Article 10 of Law 4604/2019 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 50) o Monitoring annual progress reports of Ministries on elimination of gender discrimination o Monitoring gender impact assessment reports of bills o Digital Equality Map (platform) - Action 4.1.2: Promoting ‘gender-based budgets’ (MP) o Collection and utilisation of annual reports by ministries in accordance with Article 10 of Law 4604/2019 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 50) so that their annual budgets reflect the gender perspective (gender mainstreaming) o Cooperation with the Ministries of Finance and Interior for the issuance of a JMC and gender mainstreaming. - Action 4.1.3. Design and implementation of educational programmes for gender mainstreaming o Training programme for the implementation of gender mainstreaming, gender impact assessment and gender budgeting in the training Institute (INEP) pursuant to Law 4604/2019 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 50) o Conducting educational programmes on ‘gender mainstreaming’ in the event hall of the Historical Archive - Action 4.1.4. Promoting non-sexist language in public documents 109 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 o Monitoring sexist language in legislative bills o Monitoring sexist language in departmental correspondence o Monitoring recommendation decisions of the Municipal Committees on Gender Equality (DEPIS) and Regional Committees on Gender Equality (PEPIS) o Informing civil servants of the importance of the language used in public documents by conducting training programmes in groups of 50 people in the event hall of the Historical Archive - Action 4.1.5: Preparing and Implementing a National Action Plan for Women, Peace and Security o Participating in an Inter-Ministerial Monitoring Committee o Implementing actions - Action 4.1.6. Participating in National Action Plans of other bodies (MP) o Participating in the National Action Plan on the Rights of the Child o Participating in the National Action Plan on Racism and Intolerance o Participating in the National Strategy for the Social Integration of Migrants - Refugees o European Green Deal - women who are climate refugees and women and energy poverty o Participating in the National Action Plan on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 110 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Objective 4.2: Strengthening the cross-sectoral approach to gender equality issues Indicators for Objective 4.2: ➢ Number of public entities having Equality Plans - Action 4.2.1: Promoting equality in Local Government (implementation of Law 4604/2019) (MP) o GSDFPGE to Local Authorities Helpdesk o Working meetings for the preparation of Local Action Plans for Gender Equality o Municipal and Regional Authorities Information Days regarding the implementation of Law 4604/2019 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 50) in the local government o Regular cooperation with all municipal and regional authorities, identification of specific characteristics and formulation of specific proposals in line with the profile of the local community. o Training, offered by INEP/EKDDA, of executives of the Regions and Municipalities on subjects related to gender equality. o Monitoring the establishment of Equality Offices of the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece (KEDE) and Association of Greek Regions (ENPE) and Regions o Digital Equality Map (platform) - Action 4.2.2: Annual reports on equality in municipalities o Conducting a primary survey (questionnaire) in the local authorities to record equality actions o Formulation of policy proposals o Production of report forms and dissemination - Action 4.2.3. Cooperation with other Ministries o Improving the legal framework governing family law, in particular as regards the provisions of the Civil Code, which still include provisions that are contrary to the constitutional principle of gender equality (for instance, Article 1350 of the Civil Code marriage age, Article 1505 children’ s surname) [Ministry of Justice] 111 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 o Updating the Codification of Gender Equality legislation following the codification of July 2013 (as updated in December 2018) o Updating existing Cooperation Protocols with Ministries and Bodies o Signing new Cooperation Protocols with Ministries and Bodies o Monitoring the implementation of the international ‘Torture Convention’ o Establishment and operation of a platform to inform the public about the prevention and response to incidents of violence (#MeToo) (MP) - Action 4.2.4. Cooperation with other international and European organisations o Updating Cooperation Protocols with International Organisations o References to European and international organisations o Compiling national reports on gender equality (CEDAW Committee, Beijing Platform) 112 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Objective 4.3: Improving the position of women who are subject to multiple discrimination and eliminating their social exclusion - Action 4.3.1: Protecting the rights of migrants, female refugees and asylum seekers and girls o Registering female immigration organisations for continuous information on the rights of female immigrants and bodies which they can contact for help o Empowering immigrant women, strengthening their skills and certifying their professional qualifications o Planning an information action on gender equality, combatting stereotypes and eliminating discrimination against immigrant organisations and secondary and tertiary trade unions with a target group of immigrants o Publication of a Guide for professionals, to provide information to migrant women, with an emphasis on education, access to the labour market and participation in social and cultural life. Special care for protection against gender-based violence and access to justice o Training seminars for professionals in the field and civil servants working with migrant women in order to combat discrimination against them. o Setting up a tool for the adoption of common referral procedures by all relevant state bodies for refugee women and asylum-seeking victims of gender-based or domestic violence o Preparing, in cooperation with EKDDA, awareness-raising and training seminars for civil servants, on gender-based violence and the intercultural approach, protocols of procedures and referrals to tackle gender-based violence, and guidelines for the protection of female asylum seekers or refugees o Designing social integration and preparation programmes for the autonomous living of female refugees and migrants living in shelters (learning Greek, acquiring skills, etc.) 113 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 o Exploring the possibility of strengthening housing facilities by establishing, in cooperation with EKKA, in Athens, an accommodation facility (shelter) with a capacity of 40 beds for female refugees, female vulnerable asylum seekers, and equipping the facility with carers, social workers, psychologists, interpreters and security staff o Equipping counseling centres of the major urban centres of Athens and Thessaloniki with one (1) additional social worker who will work exclusively for the accommodation of asylum seekers and refugee women o Designing and producing a fact sheet on the protection against gender- based violence, rights and support services at the local/national/European level, the principle of non-discrimination, their rights in the event of racist violence against female refugees and migrants o Organising Greek language learning programmes for female migrants/refugees (Library) o Drawing up a handbook of guidelines on women and girls with disabilities in all agencies involved in the reception of asylum seekers. - Action 4.3.2: Mainstreaming disability into gender equality policies and programmes o Signing Cooperation Protocol with ESAmeA o Establishing protocols and rules of conduct for professionals who care for and support women with disabilities, with a view to preventing gender- based violence and abuse o Training aimed at health workers, social workers, staff of the GSDFPGE structures and the police on how to identify and tackle violence against women with disabilities o Campaign to inform girls and women with disabilities, their families and carers about how to prevent, identify and report cases of exploitation, violence and abuse, and about existing support services and the institutional framework, using fact sheets, a website, television and radio spots 114 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 o Research on the situation of women with disabilities. Recording and examining the needs of mothers with children with disabilities, especially in the light of the harmonisation of family life and work. (MP) o Elabourating a legal framework to ensure the criminalisation of intentional operations which have as a purpose or result the cessation of the ability of women to reproduce in a natural way without their prior and explicit consent or understanding of the procedure, taking into account the cases of women under judicial support. o Elabourating a regulatory framework on the termination of pregnancy in cases where the pregnant woman is under judicial support o Completing a regulatory framework on gender equality o Enhancing the services provided by the GSDFPGE network of structures to women with disabilities who are victims of gender-based violence, based on their specific needs and with the aim of informing and achieving universal accessibility. - Action 4.3.3. Eliminating social exclusion of Romani women o Registering female Romani organisations for continuous information on the rights of female immigrants and bodies which they can contact for help o Cooperation of the network of structures with branches of the community centres of first level local authorities for Romani people, for gender-based or domestic violence incident referral. o Awareness-raising campaign through the production of relevant fact sheets, websites and TV spots to reduce the school drop-out by Romani girls. o Training officials of the network of structures for the provision of services to Romani women o Preparing, in cooperation with OAED, training and lifelong learning programmes for the female workforce, aimed at Romani women, and directly connecting them to the labour market o Educational campaigns in the Romani communities on the effects of early/forced marriages. 115 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 o Participating in the National Strategy for the Social Integration of Romani people - Action 4.3.4: Supporting mothers in prison and released from prison o Investigation for mothers in prison o Driver update for female prisoners o Establishment of a pilot family counseling office in selected detention facilities - Action 4.3.5: Supporting women at risk of poverty and social exclusion o Cooperation with the Secretary-General for Social Solidarity and Fight against Poverty to take measures for women at risk of poverty and social exclusion o Cooperation with the National Coordination Network of the bodies that implemented the Fund for Aid to the Most Deprived Operational Programme 2014 2020 to take measures for women at risk of poverty and social exclusion, mainly in terms of continuing to provide food and other basic assistance as well as accompanying services o Training sessions for the staff of Social Structures for Immediate Eradication of Poverty on the subject of tackling gender-based violence and domestic violence - Action 4.3.6. Support of elderly women o Cooperation with the Secretary-General for Social Solidarity and Fight against Poverty to take measures for elderly women o Cooperation with the Ministry of Health on targeted measures for primary health care for elderly women o Encouraging and supporting older women (over 65) with the aim of strengthening: A) employment: o Seminars on upgrading digital skills to improve women’s access to the labour market in cooperation with OAED, with a view to extending their working life if they so wish. B) their participation in society: 116 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 o Training programmes on basic digital skills for women’s access to digital health services, employment, e-commerce, banking, etc. and their familiarisation with the use of devices and applications on a daily basis (mobile phone usage, internet browsing, social media, communication applications e.g. whatsapp, viber, navigation / GPS, online shopping) in cooperation with Open Care Centres for the Elderly (KAPI) o Conducting intergenerational educational programmes with the participation of elderly women in primary and secondary education in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, the Institute of Educational Policy (IEP), KAPI and the Secretariat-General for Social Solidarity and Fight against Poverty o Encouraging the public and private sector stakeholders to involve women who have retired as educators in mentoring programmes for young workers (financial incentives, increased scoring, quota) C) health: o Awareness-raising sessions for elderly women, on the importance of nutrition, exercise, smoking cessation and the proper use of medicines as well as prevention, early diagnosis and management of sensory disturbances of vision and hearing in women over 65, the detection and treatment of serious diseases of vision and hearing, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health (Directorate for Primary Health Care) and the Hellenic Association of Geriatrics and Gerontology, as part of the National Pilot Programme for the Prevention and Promotion of Health of the Elderly (IPIONI). D) autonomous living: o Cooperation with the elderly care structures (Day Care Centres for the Elderly-KIFI), Housing Assistance Programme provided by local authorities. 117 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Objective 4.4: Promoting gender equality in education – science – research Indicators for Objective 4.4: ➢ Number of University Institutions with Equality Plans - Action 4.4.1: Mainstreaming the gender perspective into all levels of education (gender-sensitive education) o Training of vocational secondary education counselors on gender stereotypes. o Training, offered by INEP/EKDDA, of primary and secondary school teachers on subjects related to gender equality. o Other educational interventions from a gender perspective (contests, thematic days, visits). o Design and assistance in the implementation of sex education programmes in primary and secondary schools. - Action 4.4.2: Strengthening institutional structures to promote equality in universities o Monitoring the progress of setting up Equality Committees. o Monitoring the drafting of the Equality Action Plans (Article 33 of Law 4589/2019 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 13) o University information o Cooperation with a Network of the Gender Equality Committees of the Universities. 118 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Objective 4.5: Promoting gender equality in health - Action 4.5.1: Improve women’s access to health services o Signing a memorandum of cooperation with the Ministry of Health. o Designing information, awareness-raising and education actions for the medical and nursing staff of the country on the approach and care of women who are victims of violence. - Action 4.5.2: Informing and raising awareness to eliminate gender stereotypes in health o Implementing informative conferences on ‘Women and Health’. Objective 4.6: Promoting gender equality in sport - Action 4.6.1: Enhancing the participation of women in sports programmes o Signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Culture and Sports on our cooperation in education, promotion of gender equality in sport, strengthening of the participation of women in coaching positions and in decision-making centres, but also on combatting all forms of violence, abuse of power and racism in sports. o Enhancing the participation of women in sports programmes through information, awareness-raising and cooperation with local authorities o Safe and accessible sports facilities for women (Cooperation with GGA) 119 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 120 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 Objective 4.7 Promoting gender equality in culture - mass media Indicators for Objective 4.7: ➢ Number of annual reports of mass media on the promotion of gender equality - Action 4.7.1: Strengthening cultural creation that promotes gender equality o Provision of aid and support for projects and various actions of artistic interest that are in line with the mission of GGOPIF and promote gender equality o Student competitions o Supporting the MCS in the context of representation of our country in the working group of the European Commission ‘Gender Equality in Cultural and Creative Sector’ o Cooperation with competent bodies (Ministry of Culture, Hellenic Film Centre, Ministry of Digital Governance) in support of the implementation of the Council of Europe Recommendation on Gender Equality in the Audiovisual. Sector (CM/REC 2017/9) o Proposal for the introduction of a gender quota in all public sector committees, which take decisions approving the financing of cultural projects, as well as in all judging committees which select artistic works (MCS, State festivals) o Proposal for continuation - and establishment - of the integration of the gender perspective (mainstreaming) into award criteria, as part of notices for subsidising proposals, issued by the MCS. o Supporting artistic associations and related professional associations of women. Cooperating with the artistic associations for every issue related to the mission and responsibilities of GGOPIF. o Book presentations o Organisation of events for acquaintance with the traditions in Greece as well as intercultural events for acquaintance with customs and traditions of migrants/refugees in the event hall of the Historical Archive open to the public (Library) o Exhibitions of women's artistic work and/or handicrafts open to the public (Library) 121 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 - Action 4.7.2: Eliminating gender stereotypes from public discourse o Dissemination of the Council of Europe Recommendation PREVENTING AND COMBATTING SEXISM, CM / Rec (2019) 1 o Cooperation with ESR and the Secretariat-General for Information and Communication on the obligations arising from Law 4604/2019 Objective 4.8: Enhancing statistics, research and access to knowledge taking into account the gender perspective - Action 4.8.1: Observatory upgrade - Upgrading the information system and switching to government cloud - Enrichment of Observatory indicators - Observatory staffing - Conducting targeted surveys for indicators of the Action Plan - ESIDIF Monitoring - Documentation of Annual Reports - Action 4.8.2: Digital Library Upgrade (MP) - Library catalogue upgrade, hardware digitisation - Provision of remote services through the GSDFPGE website, via e-mail and through the lending service to users, students, workers, researchers, business executives and decision-making bodies, for direct access to information sources on reconciliation 122 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 - Action 4.8.3. Preparing studies and surveys for the development and improvement of gender equality actions - Survey on the violence against women (to be carried out by ELSTAT) - Preparation of a study on the extent of the crime of femicide in Greece in the last ten years - Preparing a pilot study on the magnitude of ‘survival sex’ in Greece in refugee and migrant populations in the Athens region - Research on harassment in the workplace and in particular on the COVID 19 period - Research on good practices of other countries to increase the proportion of women in positions subject to election - Study on female employment and in particular on the period of COVID- 19 - Survey of undeclared and unpaid work of women in Greece and the levels of remuneration in cooperation with the Hellenic Statistical Authority and the National Centre for Social Research - Survey of professionals in the areas of health, justice, security, armed forces, etc. on gender equality issues and stereotypes - Research on the approach to the life cycle of accumulated inequalities - Conducting specific surveys with a view to collecting and processing statistical data on the phenomenon of gender-based violence in groups of women who are subject to multiple discrimination - Registering women and girls with disabilities in refugee, asylum-seeking populations and those whose situation is similar to that of the asylum-seekers. (MP) - Research in primary, secondary and tertiary education on students’ perceptions regarding gender equality and stereotypes - Survey and production of statistical data on gender activity / representation in the broad spectrum of artistic creation and production 123 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 - Study on the profile of perpetrators of domestic violence, evaluation of treatment programmes for perpetrators, proposals for improving treatment programmes aimed at preventing domestic violence (MP) - Survey of the special needs of children who witness domestic violence and live in shelters of the Network in cooperation with UNICEF (MP) - Study on the sexual and reproductive rights of female refugees in reception centrers / accommodation structures - Study on the recording and mapping of forms of violence against women in the Identification and Reception Centres (IRCs) and in the Open Accommodation Facilities (OAFs) for the refugee population - Research on the situation of women with disabilities. Recording and examining the needs of mothers with children with disabilities, especially in the light of the harmonisation of family life and work. (MP) - Study of the emotional connection of the parental pattern with the family upbringing, in the context of the elimination of intergenerational transmission of domestic violence to young family members - Study focused on incarcerated mothers and the particular needs they have during incarceration - Study on sexual violence in prisons - Conducting a study on the social structures for immediate treatment of poverty (homeless dormitories, open day care centres, breadlines, social grocery stores, social pharmacies) to record how they work to address specific needs (psychosocial support, healthcare, personal care and hygiene) of women residing at them, and good practices in other countries with a view to making proposals for the reform of their operating framework and their digital interconnection with other housing, feeding, psychological support, legal aid, counseling, health, welfare and social reintegration services and institutions - Gender evaluation study for the programmes ‘Aid at Home’ and ‘Day Care Centres for the Elderly’ in cooperation with the Social Services of Local Authorities and Community Centres - Study on the role of women in the recovery from the COVID 19 pandemic. - Study on empowering women regarding the transition to green growth in Greece (GREEN JOBS FOR WOMEN) (MP) 124 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025

4. ESDIF Follow-up procedure In order to better implement and monitor the projects and actions to be implemented by both GSDFPGE and the governmental and social stakeholders involved, a specific scheme is proposed that will function at the central, regional and local level. The implementation of ESDIF at the political level shall be monitored at two stages: By the special offices of the Deputy Minister for Labour and Social Affairs, responsible for Demographic Policy and Family and the General Secretariat for Demography and Family Policy and Gender Equality. At the central-administrative level, the department responsible for monitoring shall be the Department for Monitoring Gender Equality Policies of the Directorate for Planning, Standard-setting and Development of Gender Equality Policies, in cooperation with the other GSDFPGE Directorates and, as the case may be, with Equality Committees and contact points at the level of ministries designated as representatives for equality issues. As part of following up ESDIF and encouraging the GSDFPGE local and regional mechanisms and the networking between them, the creation of a communication platform is being promoted; that platform shall be accessed by accredited users-DEPIS and PEPIS members. The above platform aims to promote initiatives and actions that contribute to the promotion of gender equality and have a positive impact on members of local communities who wish to either simply be informed or to use the advisory and support services of the GSDFPGE network of structures. In order to facilitate the local authorities, DEPIS and PEPIS, a helpdesk will be set up, which will be responsible for strengthening the networking and establishing a sοlid cooperation between the entire institutional equality mechanism at the central and local level. Furthermore, the monitoring for the evaluation and implementation of the existing equality policies shall be carried out at the institutional level, within the framework of the National Gender Equality Council (ESIF). In order to enhance the consultation and further encourage the dialogue of the stakeholders involved, the extension of its scope has already been stipulated by Article 20 of Law 4808/2021 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 101). The aim is to fully activate all its members, as well as to enable it to hold thematic meetings with the participation of representatives of institutions, academics, experts and gender-specific consultants, as appropriate. 125 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 The Gender Equality Observatory, which operates within the GSDFPGE Department of Documentation, Research and Digital Support, plays a particularly important role in monitoring the new ESDIF. In order to improve the operation of the Observatory, the upgrading of the information system has already been foreseen, as there is a need for further enrichment of the data kept and the indicators that are monitored on an annual basis. This need arises both from the requirements of the Istanbul Convention and from the mainstreaming of the gender perspective into all sectoral policies at the European level. For this purpose, the dialogue has already started, in cooperation with ELSTAT, for the certification of the Equality Observatory (and its staff) as an official statistical data provider. Promoting communication with relevant European and international bodies will provide GSDFPGE with the credibility and recognition that a government agency responsible for gender issues should have. Finally, it is planned to create an internal database (platform) to monitor the progress of the implemented projects and the ESDIF operational plan. The operational plan is an internal tool developed to describe the subject-matter, the interconnection with other implemented projects and the correlation with monitoring indicators, the stakeholders involved, the implementation timetable, the budget and the source of financing for each project included in ESDIF. In order to facilitate the understanding of the monitoring procedure of ESDIF 2021-2025, guidelines will be issued by GSDFPGE regarding its functioning and the obligations of the ministries according to the provisions of Article 10 of Law 4604/2019. Subsequently, the contact details of the contact points of all Ministries will be requested and coordinated communication will be initiated with all bodies to determine the exact timetable for the implementation of the proposed actions by the end of 2022. Relevant instructions will also be sent to DEPIS and PEPIS, on establishing communication and interaction through the communication platform, in order for GSDFPGE to be regularly informed on actions at the local level. Finally, ESDIF can be revised annually, except for the first year of implementation, i.e.

2021. The need for revision and the relevant proposed corrections shall be examined at the first level by ESIF in an enlarged meeting followed by consultation on a smaller scale. The exact revised timetable shall be defined by the guidelines following its finalisation. 126 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025

5. Procedure for the ESDIF preparation The General Secretariat for Demography and Family Policy and Gender Equality has drafted the New National Action Plan for Gender Equality (ESDIF) 2021-2025, which updates ESDIF 2016-2020 reflecting the priorities of the new period, following consultation with the National Gender Equality Council. Special mention should be made of the contribution of the seventeen ministries, which submitted specialised projects and actions, and the impact report prepared by the Council of Economic Advisers of the Ministry of Finance, which (report) is incorporated in this text. It is the first time that efforts have been made to capture the result of horizontal equality policies in economic and social terms, in order to further highlight the contribution of coordinated and inclusive policies to the economic and social development of the country. The special office of Ms Maria Syrengela, Deputy Minister for Labour and Social Affairs and responsible for the Demographic Policy and the Family, coordinated the ESDIF 2021- 2025 preparation. ESDIF 2021-2025 was prepared by the special office of the DOPIF Secretary-General and the Department for Planning, Standard-setting and Development of Gender Equality Policies of the Directorate for Planning, Standard-setting and Monitoring of Gender Equality Policies, assisted by the following departments and directorates of the General Secretariat for Demography and Family Policy and Gender Equality: • Directorate for Planning, Standard-Setting and Monitoring Gender Equality Policies, with the following departments: − Department for Monitoring Gender Equality Policies − Department for Documentation, Research and Digital Support (Observatory) − Department of Library and Historical Archive • Directorate for Social Protection and Counseling Services − Department for Combatting Violence against Women − Department of Social Protection and Combatting Multiple Discrimination − Department of Legal Documentation and Procedure Support • Independent Department for European and International Cooperation The GSDFPGE agencies were assisted by a contractor company within the framework of the co-financed project ‘SUPPORT OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS OF THE SECRETARIAT- GENERAL FOR GENDER EQUALITY (GIIF)’ of the O.P. ‘Reform of the Public Sector 2014- 2020’ aimed at supporting the ‘Preparation of a new National Action Plan (ESDIF) and an Operational Plan for Equality for the five-year period 2021-2025’. 127 National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025 The Contractor contributed to the monitoring of the procedures and recorded the results of the consultation, while transferring the know-how to capture the objectives in measurable actions. In particular, the role of the Contractor was to provide advisory and ancillary services to the competent GSDFPGE Directorate, to make the thematic axes of the Plan more specific, based on the priorities of GSDFPGE and the guidelines of European and international organisations, use documented data and the organise (in cooperation with the contracting authority), implement and record - in relevant reports - the results of the consultation for the Plan between public bodies, social partners and civil society bodies. 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