On 30 May the Gender Equality Committee held a sitting attended by members of the Serbia-Montenegro Women Flyers Association. The Association is one of the thirty groups that have hailed the Committee’s efforts in drafting the Gender Equality Bill.

The Association’s chairperson, Zorica Boljanovic, and members Ana Segedinski and Marija Milatovic, acquainted Committee members with issues faced by women flyers in Serbia, both when enrolling at the Vrsac Flight Academy and in finding work. Two women currently hold valid flying permits in Serbia, but none are employed in the aviation industry. On the other hand, a number of Serbian women are employed as pilots by several foreign airlines.

The Director of the Safety and Oversight Division at the Civil Aviation Directorate, Velibor Vukasinovic, backed the initiative launched by women flyers, adding that there was no reason why women in aviation should not be treated the same as their male colleagues.

After discussing the issue, the Gender Equality Committee unanimously concluded that the treatment of women flyers was a signal example of gender-based discrimination, and one of the examples justifying the urgent adoption of the Gender Equality Bill. The Committee is to inform the Gender Equality Council and the Minister of Capital Investment of the conclusions of its sitting, and is to call for adherence to provisions of the Labour Law.