Any activity aimed at increasing the employability and employment of women, especially those over 45, deserves strong support. Women are in a less favorable position than men in the labor market and are often exposed to multiple discrimination, especially if they are among those who the labor market perceives as older, insufficiently productive, and unprepared for new knowledge, which is just one of the entrenched stereotypes. On the contrary, they are women with a lot of knowledge, skills, and willingness to respond to many challenges, said Commissioner for the Protection of Equality Brankica Janković in Čačak at the final conference of the “Strong and important again” project, organized by the Association “Laris” from that city.

The position of women in the labor market, especially those over 45, is also shown by the data of the National Employment Service, according to which only that group does not record a decrease in unemployment. The total number of unemployed in April 2022 was about 20 percent lower than the number of unemployed in April 2019, but the number of unemployed women over 45 is still the same – 125 thousand, the Commissioner pointed out.

The organization of trainings, support in the acquisition of equipment for starting a business, and networking of female farmers or entrepreneurs are concrete activities that lead to employment and self-employment of women who have fewer chances on the market, said Janković. That’s why activities like the ones that the association “Laris” from Čačak carries out together with the association “Putokaz” from Kragujevac and the association “Evgenija” from Ježevica, are very significant. At the conference in Čačak, contracts were handed over on the allocation of equipment to participants in the project financed by the European Union.