Women’s entrepreneurship in rural areas and local communities should be strengthened, because there is a growing number of women who decide to take matters into their own hands, to combine their skills, knowledge, natural resources and traditions to start a joint business, said Commissioner for Protection. Equality, Brankica Jankovic, at the conference “Empowerment of women from rural areas of the municipality of Arandjelovac in the social and entrepreneurial context.”

Women in rural areas of Serbia are often officially unemployed, but they work hard to run and maintain a household, for which they do not receive a salary or have adequately regulated pension and health insurance. Traveling around Serbia, I often see how difficult it is for women in smaller places, not only because of misunderstandings and various expectations of the environment, but also because they themselves are slow in giving up gender-assigned roles. That is why we must actively work on changing inadequate social models of behavior, which make life difficult for women and men, Commissioner said. She emphasized that they need the support to these efforts from those who are ready to share their examples and practices, but also the support of institutions, local governments, associations, which can provide them with free training, work space or help with the placement of their products.

The municipality of Arandjelovac is an example of good practice, as evidenced by a significant number of women entrepreneurs and associations dealing with women’s empowerment and gender equality. That is why Arandjelovac received the Commissioner’s award for “City / Municipality of equal opportunities”, in 2019, concluded Commissioner Jankovic.