Bahrain-27th Session May 2017-Gender equality

Para 49) The implementation of the National Plan for the Advancement of Bahraini Women (2013–2022) is being monitored. It seeks to ensure family stability for women in the context of family cohesion, to enable women to contribute competitively to the development process on the basis of the principle of equality of opportunity, to integrate women’s needs into development by providing them with opportunities for outstanding performance, and to achieve progress in their aspirations to improve their quality of life and to promote lifelong learning. Provision is also made for integration with partners and allies in institutional work. Steps are being taken to develop a plan for the next phase (2023–2030) in line with the progress achieved by Bahraini women. Para 50) The National Plan for the Advancement of Bahraini Women was included in the Government’s work programme for 2019–2022, which provides for continuous monitoring of the integration of Bahraini women’s needs into all comprehensive development programmes and for action to ensure the sustainability of national action to promote the advancement of women. Para 51) A total of 54 equality of opportunity committees have been established in the public sector. Their key responsibilities include the integration of women’s needs into the equality of opportunity framework in all areas of work, and promotion of the principle of equality of opportunity and gender balance. Para 52) In line with the principles enshrined in the Constitution, the Kingdom of Bahrain enacted a number of laws providing support for women, in particular the following: • Act No. 13 of 2022 amended some provisions of Act No. 13 of 1975 concerning the Regulation of Pensions and Retirement Benefits for Government Employees. It grants both men and women, after reaching the normal retirement age, the right to continue working until the age of 65. • Circular No. 4 of 2017 issued by the Minister of Finance and National Economy concerning allocations, regulations and instructions for implementing the general State budget for the fiscal years 2017 and 2018 contains a special provision concerning application of the principle of equality of opportunity and implementation of a budget that is responsive to women’s needs. • Decree No. 97 of 2017 amended article 4 of Decree No. 84 of 2017 regulating the activity of business incubators and accelerators with a view to promoting women’s entry into the field of entrepreneurship. • The Council of Ministers has adopted a decision regarding the preparation of a national report on the gender balance index every two years with effect from 2018. According to the national report on gender balance in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the gender balance index increased from 0.65 during the period 2017–2018 to 0.69 during the period 2019–2020. • Royal Decree No. 59 of 2014 specifying the regulations governing the appointment of members to the Shura Council includes a provision in article 2 (2) requiring appropriate representation of women. • Royal Decree No. 17 of 2017 specifying the regulations governing the appointment of members of the Board of Commissioners of the National Human Rights Institution provides for the appropriate representation of women. Para 53) A number of policies and measures have been adopted with a view to enhancing women’s economic participation in the labour market. The most important are listed below: • Establishment of the Bahraini Women’s Capacity Development Centre (Riyadat), which is the first institution in the region that focuses on investment in the area of entrepreneurship in order to provide a range of supportive services for future businesswomen; • Launching of the portfolio of Her Royal Highness Princess Sabika Bint Ibrahim AlKhalifa aimed at supporting women’s commercial activities; • Launching of the Bahraini women’s development portfolio for commercial activities, which targets small and medium-sized enterprises in cooperation with the Bahrain Development Bank. It is worth BD 37,700,000 (US$ 100 million) and provides multiple benefits to women entrepreneurs; • Implementation of the third version of the National Guidance Programme for Bahraini Women with a view to supporting the Government’s financial balance initiative and thereby supporting a smooth and safe transition for beneficiaries of the Voluntary Retirement Scheme, if they so wish, from a governmental position to entrepreneurship or private-sector institutions through the establishment of innovative and high-quality pioneering projects in the local market, ensuring their continuity, and raising awareness of the options and opportunities available in the labour market; • Establishment of a Women in Financial Technology Committee to support the sustainability of Bahraini women’s participation in that area, to enhance their competitive potential in order to meet national requirements and priorities in shifting to a digital economy and boosting the national development industry, and to achieve gender balance in the financial technology sector. Para 54) The experience of the Kingdom of Bahrain in implementing the national model for gender balance has encouraged decision-makers to take decisions and introduce services and initiatives aimed at supporting women’s economic participation and enhancing their ability to reconcile family and professional responsibilities. A prime example of such action was the issuance of Civil Service Directives No. 4 of 2020 concerning the application of the work from-home policy to employees of government agencies. Preference is given to pregnant employees, employees entitled to two hours of care, elderly employees and those who suffer from chronic diseases and underlying health conditions. Para 55) An integrated framework was devised for the Women’s Political Participation Programme, which is based on five main themes: partnership and networking; high-quality training and development; awareness-raising and media advocacy; monitoring and assessment; and knowledge management (studies and documentation). Para 56) The Women’s Electoral Consultation Programme has been launched. It aims to achieve a number of goals, such as enabling women to play a role in the formulation of public policies, and enabling them to review and develop national legislation through their political participation. Para 57) The Women’s Political Participation Programme is one of the pivotal initiatives and programmes launched under the National Plan for the Advancement of Bahraini Women. It promotes the electoral participation of women in order to prepare them to join legislative and municipal councils and to assess their contributions in that area. Para 58) The Kingdom underscores that its legislation contains no provisions that discriminate against women, and that the achievement of gender balance and the prohibition of gender-based discrimination in all areas constitute core provisions of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain for both men and women. Para 60) Prime importance is attached in national education and training plans to women’s education. They include the National Strategy for the Advancement of Education, the National Strategy for Child Welfare and Advancement (2006–2020), the National Higher Education Strategy (2014–2024), the National Scientific Research Strategy (2014–2024) and others. Para 61) According to the annual Global Gender Gap Report 2021 issued by the World Economic Forum (Davos), closure of the gender gap in the field of education reached 98.5 per cent. Accordingly, the Kingdom of Bahrain ranked first in the world in terms of closure of the enrolment gap in both secondary and higher education. Para 62) Continuous action is being taken to expand girls’ enrolment in technical and vocational education and training and to update school plans and curricula so that they are in line with gender balance. With that end in view, a number of technical and vocational education establishments for girls were opened, most recently in 2021. Female students in technical and vocational education accounted for 10 per cent of the total number of students in 2020. The percentage of female students in the commercial branch of technical and vocational education, compared to the total number of students specializing in multimedia, increased from 49 per cent in 2013 to 66 per cent in 2020. Para 63) Labour Fund (Tamkeen) programmes have been established to support the development of women’s professional skills by identifying appropriate learning and training opportunities and options for women. The Fund created 28,500 training opportunities with basic and professional certificates, and the proportion of beneficiaries of the training platform totalled 75 per cent. Para 64) The proportion of women deans of Bahraini university faculties increased from 7 per cent in 2016 to 33 per cent in 2020. During the same period, the proportion of women heads of Bahraini university departments rose to 55 per cent, which represents an increase of 5 per cent. In addition, the proportion of Bahraini women in leadership positions in higher education reached 46 per cent in 2020, which represents an increase of 9 per cent. The proportion of Bahraini female academics rose to 49 per cent, which represents an increase of 3 per cent during the period from 2014 to 2020. Para 76) Act No. 18 of 2006 on Social Security defines groups entitled to benefit from social security assistance as those without an adequate source of income for their livelihood. Such assistance is provided by the State to individuals or families belonging to the categories defined in the Act (widows, divorced women, women who have been deserted, families of prisoners, unmarried girls, orphans, persons with disabilities, persons who are unfit for work, older persons). The amount of assistance granted to beneficiaries was increased by 10 per cent from January 2022. Para 84) According to official statistics, the percentage of Bahraini women in the public sector increased from 38 per cent to 56 per cent during the period from 2010 to 2021, which represents an increase of 18 per cent. The proportion of women in the private sector increased from 24 per cent to 35 per cent during the period from 2021 to 2021, which represents an increase of 11 per cent. Para 85) The following laws and decrees were adopted: • Legislative Decree No. 16 of 2021 amended some provisions of the Private Sector Labour Code promulgated by Act No. 36 of 2012. A second paragraph was added to article 39 of the Private Sector Labour Code prohibiting wage discrimination between male and female employees for work of equal value. In addition, Decree No. 52 of 2020 prohibited wage discrimination between male and female employees and repealed articles 30 and 31 that permitted the Minister of Labour to prohibit the employment of women at night. Decree No. 51 of 2020 contained provisions concerning the employment of women at night. • Legislative Decree No. 59 of 2018 amended the Private Sector Labour Code in order to prohibit discrimination between employees and the offence of sexual harassment. • The Council of Ministers decided in 2019 to submit a bill amending article 8 of the General Budget Act with a view to rendering the budget more responsive to the integration of women’s needs into development programmes, in line with the principle of justice and equality of opportunity, and with a view to allocating resources to achieve the goal of participation and justice for both sexes. • Act No. 13 of 2022 amended some provisions of Act No. 13 of 1975 concerning pensions and retirement benefits for public-sector employees in order to grant the right to both men and women, after they reach the normal retirement age, to continue working until the age of 65.