Economic independence of women, investment in education and the availability of health care, zero tolerance towards discriminatory conduct and work on combating gender-based violence are concrete actions to which we must commit, thereby ensuring that equality does not remain only words. Women must have an equal voice in shaping decisions that affect all of us, Commissioner @antonmilan emphasized at the opening of the Global Conference of Women Parliamentarians under the auspices of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), hosted by the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia.
The theme of this year’s conference is “Advancing equality: breaking down the barriers of gender stereotypes and negative social norms”, and over the course of three days, 427 participants from 65 countries will take part in panels, discussions and the exchange of good practices and international cooperation.
In his introductory address, the Commissioner pointed out that over the past decade Serbia has achieved significant progress in legislative and institutional terms towards achieving gender equality, in line with the acquis of the European Union and within the framework of the process of accession to the European Union.
Serbia is today above the global average when it comes to formal political representation. However, only 4.6% of women believe that gender equality has been “fully achieved”, which indicates a dominant sense that equality is still far from being fully achieved. Also, leadership positions, especially within party structures, remain predominantly in the hands of men, and this inequality does not reflect a lack of competence or ambition among women, but rather shows the persistence of norms that define leadership through a narrow and gender-colored prism, the Commissioner added.
The presence of stereotypes that still portray women as more “suitable” for roles outside the public sphere, as well as the view that a man should have the “final say” on important issues, is also indicated by the results of the just completed research on the perception of gender equality among men, which the Commissioner will present in local communities in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government and Minister Snežana Paunović, who is also the president of the Coordination Body for Gender Equality. At the same time, we are continuing our work with primary and secondary school students because education plays the most important role in breaking down stereotypes that limit both women and men.
Everything we are also speaking about today is not an issue that concerns only women, but a question of democracy. Serbia remains committed to aligning its policies and practices with international standards, but that commitment must continuously be translated into concrete action by all relevant political and social actors, Antonijević concluded.
The conference was officially opened by the Speaker of the National Assembly Ana Brnabić and Snežana Paunović, Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, while the introductory part also featured addresses by Tulia Ackson, President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Martin Chungong, Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and Cynthia López Castro, President of the Bureau of Women Parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, who comes from Mexico – the host country of the previous conference.
