The Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, Milan Antonijević, participated in the regional dialogue “Women Lead: Economy, Alliances and the Future of Integration”, which was held in Montenegro.

Discrimination against women often represents a pattern that persists thanks to prejudice and “invisible” barriers that continue to shape power relations in our societies. Gender equality, therefore, is not merely a matter of a single law or a single institution. It is measured by the equal participation of women in decision-making positions, their economic empowerment, and their real opportunities and access to resources: from education and employment to healthcare and property management, Milan Antonijević emphasized.

Speaking on the panel “The Architecture of (In)equality,” the Commissioner highlighted the key findings of the Special Report on the Discrimination of Women. He also presented initiatives and recommendations for measures to improve equality and the systemic response to gender discrimination that have contributed to institutional progress in Serbia. The Commissioner also spoke about the importance of independent institutions and regional cooperation and knowledge exchange in the Western Balkans, in the context of reforms and alignment with international and European standards.

The conference, organized by the Ministry of European Affairs of Montenegro and UNDP in Montenegro, aimed to encourage strategic dialogue on the role of women in economic development, strengthening regional cooperation, and the process of European integration, with a focus on the economic empowerment of women, political accountability for gender equality, and the development of regional alliances of women leaders.