A/HRC/23/14 53. Equality of women and men in the workplace was an issue to which the Government attached very high importance. Over the past decades, the general trend had clearly been towards increasing employment of women and accordingly more similarities with the employment patterns of men. The Government was focusing its work on the promotion of the compatibility of family and work. For the future, day-care facilities for children would be further increased. 54. To the question from Iceland on extending the paid parental leave to fathers, the Minister responded that mothers had 20 weeks paid maternal leave after birth (during that time, they received 80 per cent of their normal income). Additionally, both mothers and fathers of children under 3 years were entitled to four months unpaid leave. This unpaid parental leave had been increased from three to four months only recently. 55. On the use of temporary special measures in all areas where women were underrepresented, in particular for appointed political bodies and decision-making processes, the Government had decided in 1997 that all appointed political bodies such as Government commissions, working groups, etc., should have equal representation of women and men and that at least one third of the members of each of these bodies would be women. 56. Regarding the question on the women’s rights from the Netherlands and other States, the Senior Advisor to the Office of Equal Opportunity explained that, over the last few years, a set of measures had targeted the career guidance and vocational orientation of girls and young women and of boys and young men in order to inform girls and young women of the importance of a sound foundation of training and professional development, broaden the scope of their career choices, encourage both girls and boys to question traditional gender roles and raise the awareness of parents and teachers regarding equal opportunity in career choices. 57. On the wage gap between men and women, the Senior Advisor continued that it had declined from 19.5 per cent to 17.8 per cent since 2009. The gross monthly wage of women was 17.8 per cent lower than that of men in 2010. Since 2008, women’s wages had risen while those of men had fallen. Wages were a particularly sensitive area in which various measures had been taken in 2012, including the wage inequality survey in the National Public Administration. The most important findings of the survey were: (a) the analysis of the wage data in the National Public Administration did not provide a direct indication of gender discrimination; and (b) it appears that equality in the National Public Administration had nearly been achieved for younger employees. 58. On the situation of the foreign population, the competent Liechtenstein authorities were in the process of examining all the recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which examined the report of Liechtenstein in August 2012. The coexistence of the domestic and foreign population had been largely peaceful. In principle, citizens of third countries had access to the same quality education, health services and housing, labour rights and processes to naturalization. The special laws did not differentiate in that regard. Many individuals with non-Liechtenstein nationality have taken on high- and mid-level positions in the private sector and also within the national administration. 59. The Director of the Immigration and Passport Office furthermore explained the integration of foreigners and asylum procedures. Migration secured the prosperity of Liechtenstein through targeted immigration of qualified workers, promoted integration of those immigrants and granted protection to persecuted persons, according to the Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. In 2012, 623 residence permits were granted to foreign citizens for the purpose of employment, residence without employment, and family reunification. 74 people had requested asylum and 18 people had been granted 10