Gender and Feminism

The concept of "gender backlash" encompasses too activities pursued by a multitude of different local initiatives all over Central and Eastern Europe, which strongly promote tradition over equality. In many cases these groups appear to be backed and inspired both by influential US-American “pro life” organisations as well as the Kremlin’s "Gay-rope" propaganda, which aims to discredit the European Union as a place of moral decline. The contributors to this publication express grave concern about the current situation of gender equality and LGBTI rights in Central and Eastern Europe but give reason for hope too.  

The publication was elaborated within the framework of the Regional Program “Gender Democracy/ Women’s Politics”. It contains contributions presented at the regional conference “Gender in the EU. The Future of Gender Policies in the European Union” which took place in Warsaw on 28 October, 2009.

Politics can only succeed when it is inclusive of all genders. Gender justice is an ambitious goal, one that the Heinrich Böll Foundation is pursuing together with many different allies worldwide. This publication gives an overview of their work.

In the face of the lack of public debate on the role of women in the time of transformation, the publication of the Heinrich Böll Foundation Regional Office in Warsaw attempts to present a multidimensional dialogue about the transformation experiences, giving voice to women. The Authors of the publication judge the past twenty years of reforms from the point of view of women from the former countries of the Eastern Bloc: the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine and former East Germany.

Assuming that it is important not only to implement the “hard core” EU legislation concerning the equality policy, but to implement it in the areas within competences of EU member countries as well, in 2008 the Warsaw Office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, in cooperation with partner organisations from the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine, implemented a project analysing the system of education in individual countries in the context of gender equality.

Climate change is real, it is happening already, and its impacts on people are not gender-neutral.  It is affecting men and women all over the world differently, especially in the world’s poorest countries and amongst the most vulnerable people and communities.

It is a great pleasure to present to you the newest publication of the Heinrich Böll Foundation Regional Office in Warsaw, devoted to the issues of gender equality. With this publication, we launch a new series aiming to develop in depth analyses of selected gender issues.