Who are we?

The Gender Equality Observatory is a non-governmental initiative that analyses, monitors and promotes gender equality in Poland since 2009. Based in Warsaw, the Observatory is a program in the renowned Institute of Public Affairs, a leading Polish think-tank, established in 1995.

 

Research. We explore topics such as

We take great care to present research findings not only in the form of reports, but also useful infographics, and well-targeted expert seminars.

 

Monitoring: we monitor Polish legislation influencing the issues of gender equality, especially connected to issues of reproductive rights, violence, family policy (parental leaves etc), electoral system. We monitor the work of the Polish parliament and provide information on the gender consequences of proposed legislative acts. We are the only Polish institution, public or private, to regularly monitor the gender aspect of the electoral process including elections of the representatives at the European Parliament, national parliament and local government bodies by publishing reports on the number of female candidates, their position on the electoral lists, the efforts of each party to include women and women’s issues, and the way women are portrayed in the media throughout the campaign.

 

Advocacy: we help shape and influence evidence-based public policy by organizing expert seminars for key decision makers, publishing policy papers, recommendations and reports. Being part of the esteemed Institute of Public Affairs enables us to involve top public officials in our campaigns. We engage social actors and top experts from each field in our advocacy for social issues. GEO was involved in such successful efforts as the introduction of gender quotas on candidate lists in Poland in 2010, or the campaign for ratification of the Istanbul Convention by the Polish state in 2015.

We provide commentary on current events by contributing to opinion-making magazines and talking to the media (radio and TV appearances).

 

The Gender Equality Observatory is open to international cooperation. We are inspired by feminist economy, and we would like to engage more with the topics of macro-economy, gender budgeting, global care chains.

Our partners

Our presentation