Women's Congress: About Women, Not Only For Women
Platform for networking, inspiring and mobilising Czech women
Prague, 23 September 2014
The Women's Congress is a non-profit network of organizations, institutions and individuals from non-profits, the academia, the art world, public and private sectors.
The Women’s Congress aims to create a permanent platform to:
bring together women across professions, regions, age groups and political orientations
give voice to marginalised groups of women: migrants, those from ethnics minorities, disabled women, etc.,
give women space to network: share experiences, knowledge and skills across social groups,
provide a base for discussions about the situation of women in the Czech Republic, about problems, opportunities and solutions (including inspiration from abroad),
so that women will be inspired and mobilised towards formulating their own ideas about the next steps for society,
create a platform for women to be represented as a strong social group with shared interests and inalienable experiences and abilities, which Czech society has so far not taken full advantage of.
The Women's Congress is a non-partisan association, and its activities are not aligned with any political party.
Czech Women’s Congress about Women and Media in 2015
Following the great success of the first Czech Women’s Congress, we have started preparations of its follow-up. The second Czech Women’s Congress will take place in the National House of Vinohrady on June 20, 2015.
In this Congress, “Women and Media” will be the main theme. We believe women are often being portrayed in the media with use of sexism and prejudice, and that this has a significant impact on women’s status in society as a whole, and not just the Czech Republic. We will focus on the cause and effect of media portrayal of women, and its connection to the underrepresentation of women in the highest decision-making positions in media worldwide.
Congress will bring together up to 1000 women, as well as men, from diverse range of nationalities, professions, ages and political backgrounds. All-day program of the Congress will offer various debates and seminars devoted to the main theme: sexism in media; women and social media; women in decision making in media. Creative workshops will focus on soft-skills development: coaching; mentoring; rhetoric; presentation skills or presentation in media. Fair of NGOs, organizations, institutions and companies dealing with the issue of equality between women and men.
Cultural program including activities for kids and market of women’s entrepreneurs will be held on Náměstí Míru. As a part of the supporting program, a successful movie “Miss Representation” will be screened at the American Center Prague. More events organized in various towns across the country will complete the program of the Women’s Congress.
Most important outcomes of the Women’s Congress, formulated into resolutions, will be handed over to the political representation of the Czech Republic.
Whereas the 1st Women’s Congress activities took place in Prague during the first year, 2nd Women’s Congress will intend to cover target groups outside the capital. Preparatory meeting will take place on October 29, 2014 in Impact HUB Prague and on November 11, 2014 in Otevřená zahrada in Brno. While using the World Café method, the preparatory meeting will aim at collecting ideas, impulses and information as an important source of inspiration for the Women’s Congress 2015.
Key topics concerning role of women in the Czech media will be discussed with media representatives during round tables organized during January and February 2015.
Women in statistics
Women represent:
51 % of the total population (men 49 %)
61 % of university graduates (men 39 %)
8.9 % of the unemployed between the ages of 30 and 34 (men 4.3 %)
61 % of those in judicial roles (men 39 %)
9 % of those in judicial roles in the highest court of the Czech Republic (men 81 %)
0 % of members in 85 percent of the boards of directors of the 60 biggest organisations in the Czech Republic
22 % of members in the Parliament of the Czech Republic
18.8 % of members of Czech government
26 % of municipal representatives in Czech towns and villages
(sources: Czech Statistical Office, McKinsey&Company)
Facts about women in the labour market in the Czech Republic
Between the ages of 15 – 64, only 56 % of women are in paid work (Norway 73 %, Germany 66 %, Estonia 61 %, Poland 53 %).
In the Czech Republic, there are fewer employed women with small children between the ages of 0 and 6 than in all other EU states.
Less than 40 % of women, compared to nearly 95 % of men with two children are employed (across the EU the ratio is 65 : 91). Compared to all other EU countries, only a small percentage of the Czech Republic‘s working population are employed part time (2 % of employed men, 9 % of employed women).
At the same time, just over 30 % of all employed women in the EU are engaged in part time work (approximately 8% of employed men).
Women earn an average of a quarter less than men (the average monthly wage paid to women is 22 666 CZK, to men 30 192 CZK), and they are minimally represented in managerial roles and in the business world.
Research done by McKinsey & Company evaluating the potential of women in the Czech economy shows that on the management boards of the 60 biggest companies in the Czech Republic women represent only 4 % on boards of directors, and in 85 % of these companies there is no woman on directory boards at all.
For these reasons, women are generally more at risk of poverty than men.
The first Women's Congress in 2013 was supported by:
Vladimíra Dvořáková, professor of political science, VŠE in Prague
Simona Babčáková, actress
Zuzana Brzobohatá, member of European Parliament
Vera Budway-Strobach, programme manager for diversity and equal opportunities in Česká spořitelna
Petra Janíčková, founder of Agender, former director of British Chamber of Commerce
Helena Langšádlová, member of Czech Parliament Chamber of Deputies, member of Central Bohemian regions council
Ondřej Liška, Green Party leader
Karolína Peake, Deputy Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
Daniela Retková, curator and manager of DOX – Centre for Contemporary Art
Olga Sehnalová, member of European Parliament
Eva Syková, director of Institute of Experimental Medicine AS CR, senator
Vladimír Špidla, director of Masaryk Democratic Acedemy, former EU Commissioner for employment, social affairs and equal opportunities
Eliška Wagnerová, senator and former Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic’s justice
Jana Černochová, member of Czech Parliament Chamber of Deputies, Mayor of Prague 2 district
David Beránek, director of BIO OKO cinema
Organizations, companies and institutions supporting Women's Congress in 2013
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Organizations participating on the programme |
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Část koučovací zóny bude vyhrazena:
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Organization Committee
Anna Kárníková, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Czech Republic
Monika Klimentová, Fórum 50 %
Marcela Linková, National Contact Centre for Women and Science, Institute of Sociology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
