This Equinet Report on the Application of Directive 2004/113/EC touches upon an area which is less known and often newer for equality bodies working on gender equality: access to and supply of goods and services.

On 16-17 October 2014 in Belgrade, Equinet, with the support and hosting of the Serbian Commission for the Protection of Equality, is organising a training event on positive action measures.

In the European Union, women earn around 16% less than men. Roma people face very high levels of social exclusion. One third of LGBT persons have already felt discriminated because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Racism and discrimination on the grounds of age, disability, religion and belief persist. In this challenging context, national equality bodies and Members of the European Parliament play a fundamental role in the non-discrimination architecture of the EU.

On Wednesday 10th September 2014, Equinet organised a roundtable event at the European Parliament. The event provided a platform for exchange between high-level representatives of National Equality Bodies and Members of the European Parliament on policy priorities in the area of equality and antidiscrimination, and on the learning from the work of equality bodies in implementing equal treatment legislation at national level.

On 23-24 September 2014 in Warsaw, Equinet, with the support and hosting of the Polish Human Rights Defender, is organising a training event on harassment and sexual harassment on the basis of gender.

The reconciliation of work and family life includes statutory leave arrangements, flexible work organisation and working time arrangements that enable employees with caring responsibilities to have both a career and a satisfying private and family life. It further includes opportunities to return to paid employment for those who have left the labour market to raise children and/or care for family members. It also includes provisions to protect against discrimination. It is a focus for equality bodies in their work on the ground of gender and, in some instances, on the ground of family status.

Behind the all-important social indicators – from public attitudes towards immigration to incidence of hate crimes – is the question of why. Why do people hold such attitudes, or behave in such ways? Research has revealed a consistent and often overlooked factor in answering this question: our values.

Significant social and legislative progress has been achieved in Europe over the years and equality bodies have played and continue to play an active role in the advancement of diversity in the workplace and services. Their work, often in collaboration with employers, service providers and other actors in the field is key to making diversity in the workplace and in service provision a reality.

On 17-18 June 2014 in Stockholm, Equinet, with the support and hosting of the Swedish Equality Ombudsman, organised a training event on LGBTI issues.