THE FOLLOWING IS THE SPEECH OF THE SPEAKER OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA IN ITS ENTIRETY:

Honourable colleagues,

Dear guests,

Allow me to welcome you on behalf of the National Assembly and that I am very interested in the results of the research which brings us here today. I hope that these results will give us at least some answers to questions that are, unfortunately, pushed in the background in our society, although they concern almost every one of our families and each job, no matter what we do.

The focus is the position of women in the work environment and especially the obstacles that still stand in their way to expressing their full potential, knowledge and creativity. Sometimes these obstacles are visible, but often they are invisible and stand as a kind of barrier that is little talked or known about, and yet they represent an insurmountable obstacle for many women in their professional careers. The term "glass ceiling" perfectly describes the phenomenon that many of our women encounter in their working life - the seemingly open path to advancement and improvement is for some reason hindered or completely closed by a variety of barriers.

I hope that this research will help us see what these obstacles so they can be removed more easily. Sometimes it is the most basic prejudice against women and their ability to do the most responsible jobs, sometimes it is an informal influence on the promotion process where men have the main say and women are on the sidelines. I expect we will get a real picture of where these "glass ceilings" can be found in our society, in our companies, public institutions, even in politics, so that we know how to remove them. There is no doubt in my mind that this can only benefit society as a whole, because the work and creative potential of our women is insufficiently used in all spheres, it is not an exaggeration, we need to find ways to encourage it and enable it to be realised.

I am aware that there still are some systemic limitations in this sense in our society, not to mention the deep-rooted patriarchal mentality which makes it far more difficult for women to move to the top of the professional hierarchy than men. Speaking of state institutions, it took years and great persistence to ensure a certain representation of women by our laws and other regulations, so that today anyone who wants to enter parliament must make sure to put forward a minimum of 40% of women candidates. The situation in the Government is similar, so that today we have about 45% of women in the two highest state bodies. I have been persistently advocating for such solutions for years, not because we want to meet a quota, but because I know very well how important it is to have as many women as possible in the decision-making process, professionals ready to invest their creativity and life experience into public and social interest.

I hope that today's conference, and especially the research we will be presented, will give important answers to the problem in question and give us a possible direction in which to change our society to encourage the full professional affirmation of women in their and our business environment.

Once again, I wish you a warm welcome and successful work.

Thank you!