Elza Pais (born 1958) is an academic specialising in
sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
, who is a member of the
Assembly of the Republic of Portugal and a former Secretary of State for Equality.
Academic training
Elza Maria Henriques Deus Pais was born in
Mangualde
Mangualde () is a municipality in the subregion of Dão-Lafões (historical Beira Interior), central region of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 19,880, in an area of 219.26 km2.
History
The region of Mangualde has been a crossroads of ma ...
in the north of
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
on 22 November 1958. She obtained Undergraduate and master's degrees in sociology and studied for a PhD in the same subject. She became a researcher and lecturer at the ''Centro de Estudos de Sociologia'' (CES.NOVA) of the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences at the
NOVA University Lisbon
NOVA University Lisbon ( pt, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, ), or just NOVA, is a Portuguese public university whose rectorate is located in Campolide, Lisbon. Founded in 1973, it is the newest of the public universities in the Portuguese capital ...
, which in 2015 became part of ''Centro Interdisciplinar de Ciências Sociais'' (Interdisciplinary Centre of Social Sciences – CICS.NOVA). She has also been a lecturer at the
Catholic University of Portugal
The Catholic University of Portugal (Portuguese: ''Universidade Católica Portuguesa'', pronounced nivɨɾsiˈðad(ɨ) kɐˈtɔlikɐ puɾtuˈɣezɐ, also referred to as Católica or UCP for short, is a concordat university (non-state-run univers ...
and at the Higher Institute of Social Service in Lisbon. She also served as President of the Portuguese Drugs and Drug Addiction Institute, now the ''Serviço de Intervenção nos Comportamentos Aditivos e nas Dependências'' (SICAD). Portugal has had a very successful programme of addressing addiction, based on decriminalisation of drug use
In 2007, Pais was the Portuguese national coordinator for the
European Year of Equal Opportunities for All.
Political activities
Pais is a member of the
Portuguese Socialist Party (PS). She became a Deputy in the 11th Legislature of the
Assembly of the Republic in 2009, representing
Leria and was re-elected in 2011, in 2015 (representing
Coimbra
Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of .
The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto Metropolitan Area, Porto, and Bra ...
), and in 2019 (representing
Viseu
Viseu () is a city and municipality in the Centro Region of Portugal and the capital of the district of the same name, with a population of 100,000 inhabitants, and center of the Viseu Dão Lafões intermunipical community, with 267,633 inhabita ...
). She was not a candidate in the 2022 election. Between 2009 and 2011 she served as Secretary of State for Equality in the
18th Constitutional Government. Within the National Assembly, Pais is President of the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality, which replaced the Commission for Equality and Women's Rights. She is a member of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees and of the Subcommittee on Equality and Non-Discrimination. She is the Coordinator of the Assembly's Working Group on Medically Assisted Procreation
[ Pais also writes articles for the Portuguese media, including Público.]
Publications
* ''Uma Década pela Igualdade e Contra a Violência de Género'' (A Decade for Equality and Against Gender Violence). Edições EsgotadasIdioma. ISBN 9789898801241. 2015.
Awards and honours
In 2007 Pais received the ''Arco-Íris'' (Rainbow) Award from ''Intervenção Lésbica, Gay, Bissexual, Trans e Intersexo'' (ILGA
for her active fight against homophobia and for the recognition of LGBTI rights.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pais, Elza
1958 births
Living people
People from Mangualde
Government ministers of Portugal
Women government ministers of Portugal
Socialist Party (Portugal) politicians
Members of the Assembly of the Republic (Portugal)
Women members of the Assembly of the Republic (Portugal)
Academic staff of the Catholic University of Portugal