Quality in Gender+ Equality Policies: State of the Art and Mapping of Competences Report: Bulgaria

Authors: 
Elena Stoykova
Language: 
English
Publication Type: 
Report
Year: 
2007
Pages: 
41
Publisher: 
CEU
Place of Publication: 
Budapest
Abstract: 
At the end of the 1990s, a few non-governmental organizations (NGOs) began to work actively in the field of gender equality in Bulgaria. With funding made available from various international organizations, a large number of policy analyses of gender issues were published. In academia, meanwhile, scholars working in different areas began to integrate gender into their research, particularly in the fields of economics, demography, and sociology. A great deal of work by NGOs and academics has been about the need for improved legislation on gender equality and the importance of creating new institutional mechanisms to ensure the implementation of newly adopted laws. In light of EU Accession, comparative reports appeared, looking at the state of gender equality policy and legislation in Bulgaria and in EU countries. In this regard, many relevant studies were written during debates on and the adoption of the Law on Protection against Discrimination, of 2004, and the Draft Act on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men of 2005 in Bulgaria. There are earlier works that are of relevance, too, appearing during debates on proposed and rejected equal opportunities legislation (e.g. a Bill on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, elaborated in 2000 and submitted to the National Assembly in 2001, and rejected on the grounds that a comprehensive anti-discrimination law was on its way to be drafted). During the process of harmonizing gender equality legislation in Bulgaria and the EU, more attention is paid to building the institutional mechanisms needed for effective policies. Studies on gender equality policies in general rarely deal with intersections of gender and other socially excluded categories, such as disability, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Nevertheless, as part of their projects and programs, some Bulgarian NGOs have produced, reports on gender and ethnicity. Among these, reports on Roma women are prevalent.
Short Description: 

This State of the Art report has the goal of assuring that the QUING researchers start their research using the knowledge that is already available on gender equality policies in a country. In this sense, the State of the Art is a classic literature review, relevant to the different building blocks of the QUING project (LARG, WHY and STRIQ). Added to this, some information is included that facilitates the preparation of the activities in FRAGEN. This report is structured the following way: In the first part a short assessment is made of the annotated bibliography that can be found in the second part of this report. In the second part of the report one will find the actual annotated bibliography. This part maps the most important relevant academic studies and other policy-related literature (reports by IO, INGOs, experts etc.) about each country. The annotated bibliography has been divided into four separate sections. One section covers studies relating to gender equality policies, the following one is on non-employment related articles, the next one is on intimate citizenship related articles and the final one is on gendered violence related articles. In all sections, the accent is on studies that focus on the gender equality aspects of policies relating to these issues. The four sections themselves have been divided into country language studies and English language studies. Comparative studies can be found under a separate heading within these language groups. Next to the bibliography, this part also contains a section relating to the OPERA part of the QUING project in which the most relevant gender training literature that has been produced in the country (e.g. gender equality manuals, gender mainstreaming manuals, gender impact assessment guides) is listed. There is a section related to the FRAGEN part in the QUING project listing the archives or documentation centers specialized in gender equality policies on national level.

Unit: 
Center for Policy Studies (CPS)
Academic Area: 
Equality and Social Justice
Attachment: 
PDF icon cps-research-report-quing-bulgaria-2007.pdf

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