National Assembly Speaker Maja Gojkovic said that the Women’s Parliamentary Network is an excellent example of best practice in the region which has become a must topic of conversation in meetings with international guests.

“We have become more visible and a topic of conversation in the media and political communication, women’s rights and equality have become an unavoidable issue in political campaigns both at the local and national level”, said Gojkovic, stressing that what comes next is investing a lot more effort into boosting the political involvement of women at the local level.

“The task we need to tackle next is making sure that women receive equal pay for the same job as men do. I am pleased to say that our country has no such problem in the public sector, which is not the case in the private sector”, said Gojkovic.

Speaking of a new gender equality law, Gojkovic said that it should be drafted into a bill and submitted into regular Assembly procedure, be modern and European, and, most importantly, applicable state-wide.

Women’s Parliamentary Network coordinator Tatjana Macura said that meetings like this one are an ideal opportunity to launch new initiatives and find support for the ongoing ones.

“I hope this comes to fruition because as much as it is up to us to assist you, it is up to you to persuade us to do so”, said Macura.