Women make up more than half of the population in Serbia, but many of them have not realized their full potential, which is why it is essential to change the business and corporate culture in the direction of greater gender equality and create an inclusive work environment, without stereotypes and prejudices, said the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, Brankica Janković, at the event on the occasion of the start of the project “Economic Empowerment of Women – She Knows” implemented by the American Chamber of Commerce.

Greater participation of women in the economy is an important condition for sustainable development, but strategies and regulations are insufficient to ensure an equal position for women in work and employment, the Commissioner stated. As a result of traditional gender roles and stereotypes women have much more difficulty balancing private and professional obligations, which hinders their opportunities for employment and career advancement. This is how the “broken ladder” phenomenon that affects many women arises, which can only be overcome if employers pay attention to flexible working conditions and create workplaces that provide equal opportunities for advancement and professional development, regardless of gender and other personal characteristics, said Janković.

The Commissioner moderated a panel discussion entitled “Developing an inclusive work environment that enables women to progress”, in which Gaia Montelatici, CEO & Co-Founder of Impact Hub Belgrade, Sonja Konakov Svirčev, Manager for Corporate Social Responsibility, Diversity and Inclusion at Erste Bank, Manja Bogićević, Founder and CEO of Kagera.ai, Dragana Belenzada, Director of the Center for Development of Jablanica and Pčinj District and Jelena Isaković, Director of Publishing, Ringier, also pariticipated.

Brooke Isham, Director of the USAID mission in Serbia, Stefan Lazarevic, President of AmCham Serbia, Tomislav Žigmanov, Minister for Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue, and Andrijana Jovanović, State Secretary in the Ministry of Economy, also spoke at the opening of the meeting.  As part of the event, AmCham’s research conducted with companies, “Women’s empowerment policies, initiatives, and challenges in the business world”, was presented, as well as the Analysis of Context, the Position of Women and Companies in Jablanica and Pčinj district.