The Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia Maja Gojkovic opened the public debate on the Draft Law on Gender Equality at the National Assembly by saying that the new law’s chief objective is to employ modern means to achieve full gender equality, advance the fight against violence against women, boost the representation and the economic empowerment of women, as well as prevent employment and promotion discrimination in the workplace.
Gojkovic said that Serbia passed a Gender Equality Law in 2009 but in the meantime there have been significant advancements in the field and now it is time to go a step further and, by examining the best practices of the countries in the region and the experience of other European states, pass the best possible legislation to ensure a better social standing for women.
In 2000 a mere 12.4% of the MPs were women, in 2007 21.2% and now they make up 36.8% of the legislative body for which our Parliament has been recognized in the region and beyond and women are also at the head of the National Assembly, Government, National Bank of Serbia, Constitutional Court and many other important institutions.
“That goes to show that we only needed the time to fight for our chance to show that we are able and responsible enough to assume these important decision-making positions in the state and society”, said Gojkovic adding that the draft law raises the standards and demands no less that 40% of candidates of the less represented gender on the electoral lists, while the public authorities are obliged to ensure gender representation when choosing standing delegations to international bodies and appointing representatives to collegial republic and other bodies.
The Serbian Assembly Speaker said that the new law on gender equality is a new opportunity to further the status of women and prevent discrimination against women across the board - employment and pay, social and health care, as well as in the media which should not promote gender discrimination, bias and stereotypes.
Gojkovic said that it is paramount to make sure that the ban on asking women about their marital status, family life or plans in job interviews be consistently implemented. The draft law also prohibits using pregnancy and maternity leave as reason to end employment which goes to reaffirm the state’s policy on the family and its protection, as these are essential since the employment rate of women in Serbia is still lower than that of men.
Gojkovic said that an important segment of the law deals with violence against women and focuses on the victims and their support, adding that the state has clearly shown that it would not tolerate violence against women and would hand harsh punishments to the perpetrators.
“Achieving full gender equality is a task for the society as a whole, both men and women, because that is the only way to achieve development and progress. I expect the new law, its quality and enforcement in practice, to contribute to this common goal” said Gojkovic adding that this new law needs to be more than just a dead letter, that has come into practice across the country, not just in Belgrade, but in every town and municipality. Gojkovic urged everyone to take active part in the debate and help draft such a piece of legislation.
Minister of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs Zoran Djordjevic said that since the adoption of the Gender Equality Law in 2009 there has been a need to improve the legislation in this most important area, stressing that the draft law is very important for Serbia in view of its clear commitment to prevent and suppress discrimination in all its forms, achieve equality and protect human rights.
Djordjevic said that the matter at hand is also very important for EU Negotiation Chapter 23, adding that the new law is adjusted to all the EU directives in the field, and stressed that finding compromise solutions is paramount to make sure the gender equality law once it comes into force is implemented to its fullest at the benefit of all the people of Serbia.
