GENDER EQUALITY IN SELF-GOVERNING BODIES OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

Despite undeniable progress in the field of equality between men and women in the Slovak Republic, inequalities persist in almost all areas of private and public life. Gender inequality in the labour force, as well as in other areas in Slovakia cause a number of mutually influencing factors. These include for example traditional division of gender roles, poor knowledge of rights and gender equality agenda, and last but not least the lack of services for reconciling work and family life. The aim of the following paper is to present the differences in the representation of women and men in elected positions of selected municipal entities in Slovak Republic. Local government is spatially defined functional unit, which has the right to control their own affairs. An example of local government in Slovakia are municipalities, as the basic territorial self-governing units. Their right to self-government is entrenched in the Constitution of the Slovak Republic and more particularly defined in the law on municipalities. Government units generate their own bodies through which the exercise of self-government is implemented. Title no. 4 of the Constitution also states that municipality and higher territorial unit in Slovakia forms the local self-government.