OPINION

The opinion was issued regarding the complaint of A. A. from … against company B. B, due to discrimination of fathers based on gender. In the complaint, it was stated that on the packaging of the products of the company B. B. there is an inscription “Serbia – info center for moms: 08000-10-20-10”. It was further stated that in this way, men were discriminated based on gender because it was specified that the info center is for moms and not also for dads, and that, in this way, the company sends a message that it does not want to talk to fathers. In the statement of the company B. B., it was stated that in the desire to provide all interested parties with information about the products, the manufacturer established an info center for consumers that was marked on the original packaging as an info center for moms, and that the user’s interest in it was very low, due to which the center was discontinued in 2019, and the information about its existence was removed from the packaging. It was further stated that currently, as a rule, packaging without the said information is on sale, and that exceptionally, finished products in old packaging that have yet to be sold can be found on the shelves. The company also stated that all interested persons were enabled to call the center, regardless of their gender and whether they were parents or not, and that the manufacturer neither explicitly nor implicitly excluded parents of the other sex and other interested persons, nor did they belittle them in any way. During the procedure, it was established that it was indisputable that on the packaging of the baby food product it was written: “Serbia – info center for moms: 08000-10-20-10”. Furthermore, it was established that the inscription that the information center is an “info center for moms” put fathers in a disadvantageous position, who, as parents, are excluded or could be excluded from the possibility of using this service, as well as that labeling the info center for baby food and toddlers as a “center for moms”, encourages gender stereotypes and stereotypical gender roles according to which the care of infants and toddlers is exclusively the role of the mother, i.e., the woman. Although the label on the packaging does not explicitly state that calling the info center is prohibited for those who are not a child’s mother, in terms of patriarchal gender roles and stereotypes the disputed label “info center for moms” sends a message that is in line with stereotypical gender roles. Following the above, the Commissioner issued the opinion that by placing the inscription “Serbia info center for moms number: 08000-10-20-10” on the packaging for children’s food, the company B. B. violated the provisions of Art. 6 and 20 of the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination. Consequently, the Commissioner gave the recommendation to the company B. B. to remove the inscription “Serbia info center for moms number: 08000-10-20-10” from the packaging for children’s food, as well as not to violate the provisions of anti-discrimination regulations in the future when carrying out work from their activity.

COMMISSIONER FOR THE PROTECTION OF EQUALITY
Brankica Janković