CIG

The Programme Operator: Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality

Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality (CIG) aims to ensure the implementation of public policies in the field of citizenship and the promotion of equality between women and men, in particular by promoting actions aimed at the civic awareness regarding the identification of discrimination situations and of forms to eliminate them, and on the prevention and fight against domestic and gender-based violence and trafficking in human beings.

CIG belongs to the public administration. Its head office is in Lisbon and it has got an office in Oporto. It is part of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and falls under the authority of the Secretary of State of Citizenship and Equality, pursuant to sub-delegation of powers ordinance no. 660/2016, 5th of January of the Minister Assistant, published in Diário da República – II série, n.º 10, 5th of January 2016.

CIG succeeded the Commission for the Equality and Rights of Women (CIDM) and, in turn, the Commission on the Status of Women (CCF).

CIG is a central service directly administered by the state. It has got administrative and financial independence and it is restricted to the management of programmes funded by resources from the EU or similar international bodies. Its mission is to implement public policies on citizenship and the defence of gender equality.

CIG main tasks are:

• Promotion of equality between women and men;
• Promotion of education for gender equality and citizenship;
• Protection of motherhood and fatherhood;
• Promotion of equality between women and men in various domains of life;
• Reconciliation of professional, personal and family life of women and men;
• Preventing and combating domestic and gender-based violence and trafficking in human beings and support for their victims;
• Develop legal information services and psychosocial support, especially in situations of discrimination and gender-based violence;
• Receive complaints relating to situations of discrimination or gender-based violence and present them, where appropriate, by issuing opinions and recommendations, with the competent authorities or entities involved;
• Cooperate with international organizations, and other international agencies and foreign counterparts, in order to participate at international level in main forum relating to citizenship and gender equality and promoting their implementation at national level.

CIG was appointed Programme Operator of the Programme Area PT07 Mainstreaming Gender Equality and Promoting Work-Life Balance in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Portuguese Government (represented by the Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Affairs, the Environment and Spatial Planning) and the Donor Countries (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein), which was signed in Sintra on 28th of March 2012. The PT07 Programme Proposal was submitted on 21st of November 2012, the Programme Agreement was signed on 12th of November 2013 and the Programme Implementation Agreement on 29th of November 2013.

CIG has got a programme management team made up of a coordinator, a technician, a financial manager, a legal manager, a communication and advertising manager and an accountant. This unit reports directly to the CIG President and Vice-President.