Equal Treatment Office Bolstered by Norwegian Funds
Having long been strapped for resources, the office of the gender equality and equal treatment commissioner is finally getting the workforce it needs, thanks to a Norwegian aid program.
For years a two-person team consisting of the commissioner and an adviser, the discrimination-fighting office will in a few months have eight employees, including a gender equality specialist, media adviser, project coordinator, secretary and two lawyers, Postimees reported.
In her annual report last year, Commissioner Mari-Liis Sepper called for expanding the institution, saying she was struggling with the workload. The number of cases review by the office increased from below 50 five years ago to 358 in 2011.
Sepper's next annual report is due in June.
Estonia has been found to have one of the EU's highest salary discrepancies between men and women who hold the same job. Indeed, half of the cases reviewed by Sepper in 2011 were related to alleged gender discrimination.