The Estonian Gender Equality Commissioner – presently, Margit Sarv, is an independent expert, appointed by the Ministry of Social Affairs in 2005 with five years mandate  to monitor the compliance of the Gender Equality Act and to act for diminishing gender based discrimination in all spheres including labor market, education, social insurance, as well as to implement measures for encouragement of gender equality.

One of the main roles of the Commissioner is to analyze statistics on gender equality in the labor market gathered by the employers in Estonia according to the Gender Equality Act and to find out reasons for inequalities. Analysis shows in some cases that small groups of people who never addressed the gender equality bodies suffer most often from discrimination on several grounds. The work of the Commissioner is also oriented to possible ways for mentality change and raising the public awareness in order discriminative practices and behaviors to be escaped and limited to the minimum in the labor market. Furthermore, the Commissioner in Estonia provides methodological assistance to employers and advises them on the implementation of gender equality legislation.

More about the Estonian Gender Equality Commissioner’s functions and gender equality legislation and policies could be found at http://eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2004/05/inbrief/ee0405101n.html  and www.svv.ee .

The Swedish Equal Opportunities Ombudsman – presently headed by Claes Borgstrom is a specialized Ombudsman responsible for overseeing compliance with provisions of the Equal Opportunities Act, parts of the Act concerning the Equal Treatment of Students in Higher Education, of parts of the Act Prohibiting Discriminatory and Other Degrading Treatment of Children an Pupils and of parts of the Prohibition of Discrimination Act. The Equal Opportunities Ombudsman share its responsibilities with tree other specialized Ombudsmen on ethnicity, disabilities and sexual orientation.   

More about its duties could be found at:

http://www.jamombud.se/inenglish/docs/WhatarethedutiesoftheEqualOpportunitiesOmbudsman8FC.pdf 

http://www.jamombud.se/InEnglish/   

Finish Ombudsman for Equality is part of the Finish institutional mechanism on gender equality which includes legislative and executive bodies and independent body. More about institutional mechanism could be found at:

http://www.tasa-arvo.fi/Resource.phx/tasa-arvo/english/index.htx

http://www.gender-equality.webinfo.lt/results/finland.htm

Finland has had gender equality legislation for 20 years. The problem was that the application of positive measures had not been regulated by the national legislation until the year of the Finish membership in the EU. In 1995 Finland amended the legislation in introducing the obligator quota of 40-60% representation respectively for women and men in decision making appointed bodies. 

In addition, Finish legislation regulates an obligation for all employers hiring 30 and more employees to prepare annual gender equality plans. In 2005 the legislation introduced fines for those employers who do not observe the duty which was the reason for the substantial increase of correct employers. At present 70 % of them are preparing gender equality plans and 30 % are in process of preparation according to Mrs. Makinen. The employers should elaborate the annual gender equality plans in cooperation with employees and on the basis of a preliminary assessment of gender equality in recruitment procedures, training plans and possibilities for reconciliation of work and family life of employees.

Norwegian Equality and Antidiscrimination Ombud is an Agency established on 1 of January 2006. The Agency consists of two instances – the Equality and Antidiscrimination Ombud, headed by Beate Cangas and the Equality and Antidiscrimination Board of Appeals.  All about the agency, the national Norwegian gender equality legislation and policies could be found at: www.ldo.no and http://www.gender.no/