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 During the Soviet period and actually up to now the ideology of equality between men and women has been a part of the official state rhetoric and has been guaranteed in the Constitutions of all CIS countries.
In addition to the constitutional provisions on equal rights, women’s rights at the workplace are as a rule well addressed in labour legislation based on the principal the ILO Conventions on working women. All the CIS countries of the region have ratified the ILO Convention No 100 on Equal Remuneration and No 111 on Discrimination in Employment and Occupation. The principle of equal pay for equal work is established in the Labour Codes of the CIS countries, which prohibits any reduction of pay for equal work on the gender basis (in practice women and men are paid equally for the same kind of work, however, as men prevail in leading positions and dominate among well-paid experts, their average wage is higher than that of women and this difference is likely to increase). Russia has also ratified the ILO Convention No 156 on Workers with Family Responsibilities, and preparations for ratification of the ILO Convention No 183 on Maternity Protection is viewed as one of the priorities for 2004-05.
 However, there is a huge gap between theory and practice of implementation of basic equality standards. Access to justice for women is deficient in the region, as is the information about rights and legislation. There are several crucial trends in all the CIS countries in terms of legal culture: women are not aware of their rights or how they can improve their daily lives; women do not have access to law enforcement system; and finally – the vast majority of women do not even trust the very structures that claim to protect them. There are no specific sanctions stipulated in case the relevant provisions of law are violated. In practice it is very difficult to prove a case of gender-based discrimination and when making their decisions, the courts move away from the principle of equality of evidence towards the detrimental testimonies of the parties and witnesses concerned. Priority is given to documentary proof, which is extremely difficult to present in cases of gender-based discrimination.
There is neither specialized anti-discriminatory legislation existing nor the institutions to make justice accessible. Some countries have started creating a legal framework addressing equal rights and opportunities for men and women (Russia, Tajikistan), but this process takes plenty of time and efforts. In Russia, for example, the draft law on State Guarantees of Equal Opportunities and Equal Rights for Women and Men in the Russian Federation has been discussed in the State Duma for almost two years, but is not adopted yet.
Ukraine is the first CIS country that has developed and adopted the national Gender Strategy. The Draft Gender Strategy elaborated by the Ministry of Labour and Social Development of the Russian Federation has been presented to the key ministries for consideration and approval. Hopefully this experience will be expanded to other CIS countries.
In most CIS countries, the institutional mechanism dealing with women’s issues (and, as it is sometimes presumed, with gender equality) consists of the state committees on women and family issues; relevant committees in the parliamentary structures; departments on women, family, children and youth created within the Ministries of Labour. However, there is no official structure that deals specifically with the matters concerning discrimination and equal opportunities.
Obviously, good laws and strategies are not enough to change or improve gender inequalities. The CIS countries should establish a new legal culture by adopting laws that shape society to view equal rights and opportunities as a legitimate and essential component of the overall legal framework. Besides, equal opportunities legislation should be supplemented by the development of an independent monitoring mechanism, such as ombudspersons or similar institution, with the power to recommend corrective actions concerning any existing or anticipated shortcomings.
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