28/01/2020: The Basque Government increases parental leave in single-parent families up to 24 weeks for 70,000 people working in the General Administration of Euskadi, Ertzaintza, Osakidetza, education and justice, enabling its extension to the entire autonomous public sector: entities, societies, foundations, consortia, ...

04/02/2020: The Basque Government and the social agents CONFEBASK, CCOO and UGT approve the agreements reached during 2019 by the five Working Groups of the Social Dialogue Table among which is the Gender Equality group establishing the work plan for 2020 : voluntary implementation in companies of equality plans, specific training aimed at the members of the equality commissions, ...

03/03/2020: The Governing Council gives its approval to the aid promoted by Lanbide for the reconciliation of family and working life and replacing working people under a work leave or reduction for the care of sons and daughters or relatives in situation of dependence or extreme health severity. Amount for the year 2020: 2,200,000 euros

01/01/2019: Subsidy system for enrolment fees at infant schools for children from 0 to 2 years old of the Haurreskolak Consortium (free for families with income under €18,000) launched.

29/01/2019: The Gender Pay Gap Interministerial Panel was set up with the participation of the Ministries of Public Governance and Self-Government, Economic Development and Infrastructures, Employment and Social Policies, the Treasury and Economy, Work and Justice, in addition to Lehendakaritza and Emakunde.

19/02/2019: To mark the European Equal Pay on 22 February, the Basque Government ratified its commitment to effective gender equality in the work environment and its commitment to providing a comprehensive response to the problem of pay inequality and the implementation of five initiatives in the first quarter of 2019.

20/02/2019: The Basque Government passed an Inspection Plan to overcome the gender pay gap. The specific inspection units in that regard have implemented a pay audit system that intensifies the controlling of acts failing to meet the law in terms of pay discrimination of labour fraud.

28/02/2019: The Gender Equality Working Party of the Social Dialogue Roundtable was set up to act in four areas: 1) fostering conciliation based on shared responsibility, 2) equality plans of companies, 3) gender equality in collective bargaining and 4) implementation, contributions and monitoring of the Strategy and Operational Plan to reduce the Gender Pay Gap.

04/03/2019: The Ministry of Work and Justice approved a Specific Training Programme for Inspection Staff, with training in areas related to effective gender equality in the specific work and training sphere in the explanatory aspects of gender pay gap.

04/03/2019: The Ruling of the 4 March 2019, of the Deputy Minister for Education, approved the call for publicly-funded infant, primary and secondary education centres for STEAM innovation projects during the 2019-2020 academic year in publicly-funded centres.

05/03/2019: At the initiative of the Ministry of the Treasury and Economy, the Basque Government Cabinet approved an instruction to incorporate clauses for gender pay equality and measures against pay gaps in Basque public procurements.

06/03/2019: The II Coeducation Plan for the Basque Educational System was unveiled on the path towards Equality and Fair Treatment.

15/03/2019: A Emakunde-Basque Institute for the Women delegation, led by the Institute’s Director, Izaskun Landaida, took part in the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63) held in New York, along with attending the “Closing the gender pay gap” event, in which private entity, governmental and top tier representatives took part. During a working meeting with its representatives, Emakunde showcased the Strategy and Operational Action Plan to reduce the Gender Salary Gap in the Basque Country.

03/04/2019: Publication of the provisional rules for the new Basque Register for Equality Plans.

16/04/2019: The Government agreed to earmark €35 million for work-life balancegrants for the workers in the Basque Country (families will receive 5% more than in 2018).

07/05/2019: Approval of the ORDER convening the direct grant Infant, Primary and Secondary education centres of the Basque Country to implement action projects that will allow them to address Coeducation and prevent gender violence during the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 academic years (Total: €100,000 - Scope: 50 direct grant centres in the Basque Country).

08/05/2019: 2nd training session on gender equality for Social Security and Labour Inspectors of the Basque Country (Training focused on the equality plans that companies must prepare from the perspective of conducting inspections as part of the campaign to control compliance of equality plan legislation).

09/05/2019: RULING of 31 December 2018, of the Basque Government’s Education Office, publishing the list of subsidies for private infant schools for the 2018-2019 academic year (subsidies for private centres for children under 3) published.

10/05/2019: The Instruction for gender pay equality and measures against the Gender Pay Gap published in the BOPV (Official Gazette of the Basque Country).

14/05/2019: The Basque Government Cabinet approved the increase of the global amount allocated to the Education Department, aimed, among others, at the Haurreskolak Consortium service being free for people with income under €18,000.

16/05/2019: The Emakunde Director took part in the Ada Byron Award for Women in Technology prize ceremony.

16/05/2019: A total of 39 companies selected for Wage Audits to be conducted in the 2^nd quarter: 19 in Bizkaia, 11 in Gipuzkoa and 9 in Álava.

03/06/2019: The Lehendakari closed the meeting of the schoolchildren who had taken part in the 2017-2019 Nahiko programme ran by Emakunde (4,000 schoolchildren and over 900 teachers worked on coeducation in the last two years).

04/06/2019: Minister Arantxa Tapia opened the Industrial Week at the BEC and specifically stressed attracting women to industry.

05/06/2019: Minister Beatriz Artolazabal unveiled the outcome of the KONTZILIA 30 Programme (technical assistance pilot scheme for 30 SMEs).

11/06/2019: The Basque Government Cabinet approved the economic guidelines of the 2020 budget with a firm commitment to the gender perspective by backing measures to shrink the difference between salaries and which are in line with the government’s strategy to close the pay gap.

25/06/2019: Emakunde presented the “Gender Pay Gaps on the Labour Market in the Basque Country” Study.

23/07/2019: The Basque Country’s official application submitted for the EPIC – Equal Pay International Coalition international programme led by the ILO, UN-WOMEN and the OECD.

24/07/2019: Decree 110/2019, of 16 July, regarding the list of qualifications, studies and professional expertise leading the Early Care professional accreditation (health systems, education and social services), to obtain greater specialisation or accredited experience and working as a professional in that regard, published in the BOPV (Official Gazette of the Basque Country).

14/08/2019: The Basque Country is taking part in the new European project to drive STEM education, the EU STEM Coalition. Its goals include setting up a European STEM platform, along with facilitating the sharing of good practices, with special emphasis on the need to focus special attention on encouraging young people, particularly young women, to embark on careers in the sphere of science and technology.

01/09/2019: The Basque Government introduced the new paternity leave for workers of the Basque Public Sector: equal length for all, for both members of the couple, lasting 18 weeks, 100% remunerated and untransferable with a budgetary impact of €6.5 million (approx.) and a total of 70,000 beneficiaries (approx.) working for the General Administration of the Basque Country, Security, Osakidetza (Basque Health System), Education and Justice Administration.

03/09/2019: Emakunde released the “EAE-ko demokrazia patriarkala” Study, which distinguishes four intervention areas: paid work, unpaid work, the welfare system and the socio-political area.

17/09/2019: The Basque Government Cabinet authorised the Proposal of the Basque Government’s Civil Service Office approving the level playing field for work-life balance and family leave. Pending an instruction on the procedure to apply for and enjoy that leave.

30/09/2019: The Basque Government’s Ministry of Employment and Social Policies unveiled in Madrid, through the Union of Family Associations (UNAF), the initiatives regarding work-life balance and institutional joint responsibility with families through the network of care services (in the framework of the Basque Pact for Families and Children, along with the IV Family Support Plan 2018-2022).

03/10/2019: The Basque Government’s Ministry of Labour and Justice organised the I Congress on Domestic Employment, which analysed, among other issues, the shadow economy and the salary of household employees.

08/10/2019: The new call to award subsidies, EXTRAORDINARY for 2019, to companies and private entities to contract an approved consultancy firm to conduct an Appraisal of Gender Equality and produce an Equality Plan, published in the BOPV (Official Gazette of the Basque Country). Amount: €160.000

08/10/2019: Emakunde organised the Nahiko Programme Coeducation Session: Educating for Care.

15/10/2019: The Basque Government Cabinet approved the Order convening economic grants for private schools in the first cycle of Infant Education, during the 2019-2020 academic year to provide a fundamental education service facilitating the work-life balance of Basque families. Amount: €26.5 million

22/10/2019: The Basque Government Cabinet approved the Decree regarding Grants for Work-Life Balance to be awarded by the Basque Government, through its Ministry of Employment and Social Policies, from the following month of November, aimed at workers on leave of absence or reduced working hours to care for children; people who are on leave of absence or reduced working hours to care for relatives in situations of dependency or with extremely serious health problems; to replace workers on leave of absence or reduced working hours to care for children or relatives in situations of dependency or with extremely serious health problems; and to contract workers to care for minor children. TOTAL allocation to budget projects 2020: €53,145,650

29/10/2019: The Basque Government Cabinet agreed to expand credit to the Ministry of Education in order to embark on a series of measures and programmes related to research, development and innovation in the field of scientific research. The envisaged measures will include organising activities to foster scientific-technological vocations.

30/10/2019: The Basque Government Minister for Economic Development and Infrastructure, Arantza Tapia, took part in the “Challenges of Industry: Youth & Gender” conference.

31/10/2019: Decree 164/2019, of 22 October, regarding grants for work-life balance, published in the BOPV (Official Gazette of the Basque Country) of 31 October.

31/10/2019: Emakunde was in Geneva to take part in the Beijing+25 Regional Review Meeting of the challenges facing the women’s rights globally, such as, the gender divide in the economy.

05/11/2019: Published in the BOPV (Official Gazette of the Basque Country) of 5 November, the RULING of 29 July 2019, of the Basque Government’s Education Office, selecting direct grant Infant, Primary, Compulsory Secondary and Upper Secondary centres of the Basque Country, to conduct projects to address co-education and prevention of gender violence during the   2019-2020 and 2020-2021 academic years. Total centres selected: 45

05/11/2019: Emakunde organised the Equality in Companies: Amendments to the legislation and shared responsibilities session to disseminate the new obligations of companies after the approval in March of Legislative Royal Decree 6/2019 regarding urgent measures to guarantee equal treatment and opportunities between men and women amending the Equality Act 3/2007.

05/11/2019: Emakunde increased the amount of the ordinary call in December for companies to contract consultancy firms to conduct appraisals and produce Equality Plans. Amount: €200,000

12/11/2019: The Basque Government Cabinet approved the Lanbide agreement to increase grants to ensure a work-life balance (grants aimed at contracting, in the framework of the work-life balance policy, to replace workers on leave of absence or reduced working hours to care for children or relatives in situations of dependency or with extremely serious health problems, with whom they have a degree of kinship). Increase: €214,000 / Total: €1,914,000

12/11/2019: The Basque Government Cabinet approved the Order convening for the 2019-2020 academic year economic grants for local corporations owning nursery schools for 0 to 3 years olds (grant to finance the maintenance costs of children’s schools, which provide an essential service to facilitate the work-life balance of Basque families). Amount: €3.5 million

12/11/2019: The Basque Government’s Labour Inspectorate organised an Event on “The Public Control of the Gender Pay Gap” in Donostia-San Sebastián

13/11/2019: The IVAP, in conjunction with the EIPA-European Institute of Public Administration, organised the “Complying with Europe: Strategic Public Contracting in the 21^st Century” sessions, whose themes included instructing on the incorporation of clauses for gender pay equality and measures against the pay gap in public contracting.

13/11/2019: Start of the STEMsare programme, under the aegis of the Ministry for Education, aimed at setting up a network of science-technology schools, companies and stakeholders to drive STEM education to foster scientific calling in young women and girls. Total participating education centres: 37 / Total socio-economic stakeholders and companies: 21

14/11/2019: The Basque Government’s Ministry of Employment and Social Policies unveiled the Kontzilia30 programme during the Congress of the 25 European Advanced Management Week.

15/11/2019: ORDER of 16 October 2019, of the Basque Government’s Minister of Education, convening economic grants for private schools in the first cycle of Infant Education, during the 2019-2020 academic year published in the BOPV (Official Gazette of the Basque Country).

27/11/2019: The Basque Government’s Labour Inspectorate organised the Session on “Labour Inspection and its Role and Fighting the Pay Gap” in Bilbao

27/11/2019: The Basque Government’s Labour Inspectorate released the Study on “Jobs of Equal Value”.

28/11/2019: Emakunde organised the Session on “Occupational Health from the Gender and Pay Gap perspective” during the 2019 Equality Forum.

28/11/2019: The Basque Government’s Ministry of Public Governance and Self-Governance organised 3 Sessions on “Joint Responsibility and Change in the Uses of Time Policies – Challenges of the Public Administrations”.

28/11/2019: The Basque Government’s Ministry of Labour and Justice implemented the gender pay gap awareness raising campaign in the media.

12/12/2019: The Basque Government’s Labour Inspectorate organised the “Equality Plans, a Tool against the Pay Gap. Equality Actions by the Labour Inspectorate” session in Vitoria

12/12/2019: Emakunde unveiled the tools created to detect and address the pay gap in companies as part of the BAI SAREA programme.

13/12/2019: The Basque Government granted 10,200 clearances (professional accreditations) to people working as carers and looking after dependents (those who do not have the required professional certification).

19/12/2019: RULING of 10 December 2019, of the Director of Emakunde-Basque Institute for Women, regulating and convening the awarding of grants, for 2020, to private companies and entities to contract approved consultancy firm to conduct an Appraisal of Gender Equality and produce an Equality Plan published in the BOPV (Official Gazette of the Basque Country) Amount: €200,000

27/12/2019: ORDER of 13 November 2019, of the Basque Government’s Minister for Education, convening economic grants for Local Corporations owners of nursery schools for zero to three year olds for the 2019-2020 academic year

30/12/2019: The Basque Government Minister for Labour and Justice unveiled the actions implemented by the Labour Inspectorate regarding equality and the results of the inspection work against fraud in contracting during 2019.