Discriminatory Manifestations against Women in the Field of Employment – Risks, Profiles and Protection

The study examines especially the current problems related to the establishment and protection of women against discrimination in the field of employment.The main objective of the study is to synthesize the following: based on an assessment of the degree of transposition of the European legislation into the Bulgarian legislation and its actual implementation, as well as of the positions of women in employment, to identify the threatened to discriminatory risk women in different profiles and mainstreaming the main policies/measures to protect them.The study points out that the Bulgarian legislation is highly harmonized with the European legislation, which allows the efforts to be directed towards its observance and application, incl. through monitoring control. It has been pointed out that the highest legal weight in the country's legislation is the Protection against Discrimination Act and the Law on Equality between Women and Men.As a result of relevant analyzes and evaluations it is summarized that in the sphere of employment, the qualitative characteristics of the female workforce are clearly outlined as the main factor for its positioning in horizontal and vertical terms. The prerequisites for the occurrence of horizontal and vertical segregation of women, often at the limit of discrimination, result from this.The main communities of women at higher discriminatory risk in the employment field are defined. Multi-profile analysis and employment assessments of women have been conducted revealing the differences between women and men in terms of employment, the employment status and the payment.The study recommends that the gender policies and measures be directed primarily towards limiting/overcoming the differences in the level of quality assessment of human resources by gender. The need to combine them with policies and measures for prevention and protection against discrimination is highlighted. In this context, it underlines that substantial importance have the actions of the Commission for Protection against Discrimination which applying the Law achieves real protection against discrimination, incl. also for women in the field of employment.