Equality is not the privilege of an individual, but an indispensable foundation of every fair society, and its true reach is best measured in our daily lives, in the family, the classroom, the workplace, health centers, on the street, in sports halls, and on social media, said the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, Milan Antonijević, on the occasion of marking International Women’s Day.

Congratulating everyone on 8 March, the Commissioner emphasized that genuine equality implies substantive equality and the removal of all structural barriers, beginning with small, everyday decisions at the local level. Although women today are present in almost all areas of modern society, they are still insufficiently represented in the places where key decisions are made. Often intangible barriers, stereotypes, and prejudices continue to shape power relations, because the legacy of traditional gender roles is not easy to eradicate. These barriers affect all aspects of life, from education and employment to healthcare and property management, and their consequences are, unfortunately, felt most strongly by generations of women. Progress is visible, but there is still a considerable path ahead of us before full equality is achieved, Antonijević said.

Financial independence is considered one of the key conditions for achieving real equality. That is precisely why the importance of pay transparency is being discussed ever more loudly, as well as the necessity of greater and fairer support for women who decide to start their own businesses. In order for these goals to be achieved, institutions need to consistently apply the existing laws, employers must fully respect equality standards, and women must be provided with all the conditions necessary to exercise in practice the rights guaranteed to them by law, the Commissioner emphasized.

To that end, the Commissioner’s institution launched last year an initiative to introduce quotas of at least 40 percent for the less represented sex in governing bodies. Such quotas are not merely the formal fulfillment of an obligation, but a concrete way to ensure a fairer decision-making structure on issues that are of essential importance to society as a whole, Antonijević said.