The topic of this paper is the protection of gender equality. The paper indicates the problems that women have encountered throughout history and it argues that gender discrimination has existed since the very beginning of human life and is, to some extent, present to this day. The paper presents the more profound importance of women throughout history, seeing as men have been portrayed as more dominant in all aspects of life. Various roles that a woman embodies throughout her life are cited, including the roles of mother, wife, housewife and an employee. Today, gender equality is protected by various laws, the Constitution of Republic of Croatia and international acts which the Republic of Croatia applied; the implementation of these acts is monitored by institutional mechanisms. Nevertheless, gender discrimination frequently occurs in the workplace, whether it is direct or not. In most industries, women are paid less than men for equally executed work. Since economic benefits can be gained from it, such discrimination is difficult to combat. The equal position of women and men in the labour market is, therefore, a key prerequisite for the development of modern society.