About us

INSTITUTE OF GENDER EQUALITY AND FAMILY CARE IN ALL POLICIES OF BBSGR has been working in the present form since November 2008 with its main goal to support the principles of the gender and opportunities equality and family in Banská Bystrica Self-Governing Region through creation of the institutional mechanisms of applied research and social intervention. Public education and awareness of the gender equality problems and family support are another goals of the institute.

These goals are being achieved mostly by:

• public education activities
• project activities
• research activities
• education

The main tasks of the institute are:

• the facilitator of the implementation of the gender equality principles in the policies of BBSGR
• knowledge centre making research, collecting data and disseminating of the information serving the goals of the regional policy of the gender equality and family care
• coordinating body managing the network and partnering cooperation among various players in the region (state and self-governing administration bodies, nonprofit organisations, academic institutions..)
• methodical body managing the creation of the systematic procedures, tools and indicators applicable in the area of the regional policies of the gender equality and family care

The Institute operates in three directions:

• towards the Office of BBSGR and its employees
• towards the employees of the institutions falling within the authority of BBSGR (social, health, school and cultural institutions)
• towards specific target groups such as women, youth, employers...
• towards the wide public (mostly but not only towards the citizens of Banská Bystrica region)

The institute of gender equality and family care research is included in the structure of Banská Bystrica Self-Governing Region's Office of the Governor. Currently there are three employees coordinated by the head of the Office of the Governor Ing. Jana Nová, PhD., MBA. The institute was established thanks to the project “Establishing the Institute of gender equality and family care research in all policies of BBSGR” supported by the Norwegian financial mechanism and the state budget of the Slovak Republic. The Department of the family support taking care of the pro-family, gender and opportunities equality agenda through the initial education activities was the predecessor of the institute.

Banská Bystrica Self-Governing Region is the only self-governing region not only formally but practically too trying to solve the questions of gender equality in the form of the institutional platform building in the are of the region. At the same time it supports and enforces gender and opportunities equality and includes them in its development strategies. BBSGR understands the problems of gender and opportunities equality as the primary prerequisite of the sustainable development of the society.