The management of an organization affects the quality of life of all its employees, and the organization has a legal and moral responsibility to implement equal opportunities policies. Equal opportunities must be guaranteed to all persons, service users and workers, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, belief, language, origin, social status, convictions or opinions, or citizenship. The list of prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Labour Code is supplemented by marital status and the intention to have a child/children. The list of prohibited grounds of discrimination need not be exhaustive. The employer has the discretion to add to the list on grounds that are not covered by the law, such as appearance, gender identity, place of residence etc.

Incorporating equal opportunities and diversity into the management of a public or private sector organization allows it to ensure greater efficiency, superiority and the highest standards of performance in its functions. It should be noted, however, that a general declaration of the principle of equality in an organization’s statutes is not sufficient to effectively combat cases of discrimination. All organisations (including those with fewer than 50 employees) are recommended to carry out an Equal Opportunities Analysis/Diagnosis of their organization and to adopt an internal Equal Opportunities Strategy and Action Plan. It is also important to keep these documents under constant review and to monitor and evaluate their impact:

The Equal Opportunities Strategy must cover the obligations set out in the above-mentioned laws: the use of an Equal Opportunities Strategy in the workplace would ensure the smooth application of the principle of equal opportunities and the implementation of the provisions of the Labour Code, the Law on Equal Opportunities and the Law on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men.

1) Employers must apply the same selection criteria and conditions when recruiting;

2) provide equal working conditions, opportunities for further training, professional development, retraining, practical work experience and equal benefits;

3) use the same criteria for performance appraisal and the same criteria for dismissal from work;

4) ensure equal pay for work of equal value;

5) take measures to ensure that the worker is not subjected to harassment, sexual harassment or instructions to discriminate in the workplace, and is not victimized and is protected from hostile treatment or adverse consequences if he or she makes a complaint of discrimination or is involved in a discrimination case;

6) take appropriate measures to enable persons with disabilities to access employment, work, careers or training, including reasonable accommodation, provided that such measures do not result in a disproportionate burden on the employer.

The development of an equal opportunities strategy is the responsibility of the organization’s management and implementation can be managed by the responsible employee(s).

The Strategy is implemented through an Action Plan with specific annual targets and target indicators, which are continuously monitored and evaluated.

The Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson provides examples of how this policy could be applied in private and public sector organisations, as well as the elements that could form the content of the strategy:

• A survey(situation diagnosis) is a tool for analyzing the situation of equality (or lack thereof) in an organization. The questions are formulated in such a way as to reveal the needs, well-being and microclimate between the employees at work. Surveys can be conducted at team, divisional, departmental, unit or organization-wide level, targeting employers and/or employees. Surveys may be carried out by the Human resources Department or by another unit or person designated by management. One example of a survey is the Equal Opportunities Ruler. The survey provides data to set the objectives of the strategy and the indicators of the action plan, as well as to check whether the indicators have been achieved and decide how to improve the situation.
• Wage gap audit. The purpose of this measure is to check whether all workers are entitled to equal pay for work of same or equal value. The aim of a pay gap audit is to assess posts and jobs on the basis of neutral criteria, completely disconnected from the person doing the job. It can also prevent unequal pay, which can be unduly influenced by a worker’s gender, age, disability or other characteristics. For example, the methodology for assessing jobs and positions developed for the Ministry of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania, the tool developed by the Swiss Federal Office for Gender Equality, or other measures can be used to audit the wage gap. The audit examines staff procedures, including recruitment, selection, promotion, training, discipline and complaints handling. The result is a harmonization and clarification of the pay system. Foreign practitioners recommend that these audits should be carried out at least every four years under the supervision of a third party.
• Policies to close the wage gap. Organisations set a target to reduce the pay gap for the same work or work of equal value within a given timeframe. To achieve this goal, indicators are set for the percentage of the gap that will be closed. While forming this policy, a strategy for closing the gap, a budget and other policy elements should be planned for. The specific measures of this policy are set out in the Action Plan. Closing the pay gap brings tangible benefits to the organization, reducing staff turnover and improving the microclimate at work. According to the latest statistics, women in Lithuania earn on average 13% less than men.
• Public (or open to employees only) publication of average salaries for women and men by job group. Publicizing information on the average monthly salary (including bonuses and increments) of women and men contributes to closing the gender pay gap. This increases women’s bargaining power, encourages them to assess the value of their work more adequately, and enables employers themselves to spot gender pay gaps. It is particularly important that average salaries for women and men are published by job title or category (e.g. the average salary of all male and female consultants in an organization, etc.). In order to protect the privacy of employees, this measure should be applied in medium and large organisations where employees of the same category represent a significant number, so that it is not possible to easily identify a specific person and his/her income.
• Flexible working– Flexible working time arrangements make it easier to balance work and family life, reduce stress, improve the microclimate and extend the organization’s service hours.

• Groups (clubs, teams) – the aim of this measure is to ensure equal participation in the organization’s activities. Employees are organized into groups that share a common goal (e.g. women’s group, age groups, etc.). The main purpose of such groups is to represent the interests of the group in the management of the organization and in policy-making. The group meets to raise issues that are important to the members and to find ways to address them. It’s a safe place for people to raise their concerns.
• A contact person (or a permanently active group, committee) to whom employees can safely report a problem related to a breach of equal opportunities at work. The contact person, at the employee’s request, personalizes the situation and raises the issue at management level.

• Mentoring – a mentoring program set up in an organization where employees in leadership positions encourage employees to develop by example. A manager may be assigned as one or more employees to whom the manager gives advice, and employees may consult the manager on career issues. Mentoring is an incentive for employees.

• Training – training on equal opportunities empowers employees and helps them to understand the meaning and essence of equal opportunities at work and its benefits. Training is both educational and informative – it is an effective tool for raising legal awareness and consciousness among staff, helping them to avoid potential conflicts over job roles, rights and opportunities. Training can include information on anti-discrimination legislation that guarantees equal opportunities at work regardless of gender, age, nationality, religion or belief, sexual orientation, disability, marital or social status, etc., on the right to parental leave, special rights for pregnant women, safeguards for pre-retirement age workers, etc. Training should be organized for teams or departments – groups of no more than 15 people. It is important to include training on harassment and bullying at work (“mobbing”), as well as tolerance of sexual and other harassment at work.
• Retraining parents preparing to re-enter the labor market. Special refresher training on the latest workplace practices for workers returning from parental leave.
• A set of publicly available rules on how to prevent harassment or sexual harassment at work. Such rules shall be published in a place accessible to employees and should be made available to every employee.
• Adapted working conditions – adapting workplace infrastructure for disabled workers. Also for older people and other workers who face various challenges at work, such as the use of information technology, etc. The organization is committed to creating a working and administrative culture that is free from harassment and bullying, and that takes into account the impact on different social groups.

• Child’s rooms  (kindergarten) – a space in the workplace for the care and education of employees’ children during working hours. Employers providing childcare services find it easier to retain skilled workers, attract more potential job candidates, increase productivity and reduce absenteeism. Organisations may also consider organizing leisure activities for children, e.g. summer camps, etc.

In addition to adopting and publishing measures to implement equal opportunities policies in the workplace, the management of organisations must decide how the measures will be monitored.

Once the Equal Opportunities Strategy and the Annual Action Plan have been developed and adopted, it is important to set goals and targets and to monitor the indicators on an ongoing basis, i.e. to monitor the equal opportunities policy.

The main oversight of the implementation of the strategy and the action plan lies with the organization’s management, but it is recommended to set up a strategy steering group responsible for the implementation of the strategy’s individual areas, as well as for the continuous monitoring and control of the objectives and indicators. Conduct an impact assessment of the strategy and the action plan measures at the end of the action plan period.

The strategy should be reviewed and improved on an ongoing basis (at least once a year).

Employee participation in decision-making is also important. In order to create a transparent equal opportunities policy in the organization, it is recommended to involve employees from different social groups in the consideration of the company’s equality plans, results and decision-making.