Brussels, 6 of May 2014 poslovnezene.rs

1. Association of Business Women in Serbia The current state of play in Serbia/Western Balkans on women's participation in business/politics32nd meeting of the Western Balkans Follow-up Committee Brussels, 6 of May 2014 www.poslovnezene.org.rs

2. The current state of play in Serbia/Western Balkans on women's participation in business/politics Business • Among total number of active (private) businesses and shops, women’s entrepreneurship1) accounts for only 26% • Gender differences in the characteristics of entrepreneurship: - trade 36.4% women and 28.4% men - “other services” sectors - 44% of women and 41.6% of men • Started to engage in entrepreneurship later than men, • Simpler legal forms - shops rather than companies • 47% of the shops and companies started and run by women have closed down, compared to 38% of the companies opened and run by men. • Women are especially exposed to the risk of failure in the early business phase - within the first 42 months of operation according to GEM methodology 1) Definition of women entrepreneur: all women who own (any share of) a company and at the same time, perform a lead managerial role in the company 2) Baseline Study on Women's Entrepreneurship in Serbia, which was done by SeConS, Group for Development Initiative, and the Gender Impact Analysis of Selected Support Measures for Entrepreneurship in Serbia, conducted by the Foundation for the Advancement of Economics (FREN), www.poslovnezene.org.rs

3. The current state of play in Serbia/Western Balkans on women's participation in business/politicsPolitics After election • National Parliament – 83/250 women members (33.3%) • Women is the Speaker of National Parliament • Government: - 2 Deputy Prime Ministers are women - only 4 women ministers among 18 www.poslovnezene.org.rs

4. The current state of play in Serbia/Western Balkans on women's participation in business/politicsPolitics Women’s Parliamentary Networkwas establish for the first time two years ago • It is organized as informal group represented by the “Collegium”, consisting of 15 coordinators, presided by one of the coordinators over the period of three months MAIN GOALS OF THE WOMEN’S PARLIAMENTARY NETWORK IN SERBIA ARE: • Adopting new laws and politics as well as supervision of implementation of existing laws, especially in following areas:  -Women’s and family health -Suppression of violence against women and children as well as of domestic violence -Economic empowerment of women -Education of women and promotion of women’s knowledge ACHIEVED RESULTS OF THE SERBIAN WOMEN’S PARLIAMENTARY NETWORK:  • Criminal Law was amended thus preventing obsolescence of sexual criminal offences against children. Serbia became second European country, after UK to do this • More then 40 women’s councillors’ networks were formed within municipalities in Serbia www.poslovnezene.org.rs

5. Association of Business Women in Serbia The role of ABW organisation in fighting for legislation/mentality changes32nd meeting of the Western Balkans Follow-up Committee Brussels, 6 of May 2014 www.poslovnezene.org.rs

6. The role of ABW organisation in fighting for legislation/mentality changes ABW ID • ABW in Serbia was founded in 1998 as a not–for-profit, non-political, non-governmental organization • ABW Serbia boasts nearly 250 members. The companies run by our members are employing over 3.000 people mostly in the processing industry, services and trade. 32% of the companies have more than 20 employees. • Up to now a strong network of 9 local partners has been developed – local associations of business women with nearly 900 members. For linking all these women ABW Serbia received the “Special Mention Award 2013” granted by the European Commission. • 120 successfully realized projects financed by (Delegation of the European Union, Serbian Ministry of Finance, GIZ, US Embassy in Serbia, EBRD/BAS etc.) • Since 2007 nearly 300 women entrepreneurs were promoted and 68 have been grantedwiththe annual Success Flower Award, which is involved in the official agenda of SME week , and acknowledged by EU who is celebrating SME week in more than 40 countries. • WE COMUNICATE (www.poslovnezene.org.rs), YouTube (30.000 views), FB, LinkedIn www.poslovnezene.org.rs

7. The role of ABW organisation in fighting for legislation/mentality changes Mission Association of Business Women in Serbia strives for: • Continuous improvement of conditions for private businesses in the local communities in Serbia • Creation of equal opportunities for those companies which are run by women • Promotion of local, regional and international links among businesswomen and other relevant business organizations www.poslovnezene.org.rs

8. The role of ABW organisation in fighting for legislation/mentality changes Objestives • Increase the number of women start-ups • Raise awareness and reinforce the visibility of women business owners • Encourage existing women-owned companies to expand their businesses • Provide a forum where women entrepreneurs can exchange ideas and increase their business contacts • Influence the development of public policies which are favorable for SMEs • Strengthen local, regional, and international ties among women entrepreneurs through the exchange of experiences and ideas • Promote social responsibility and a high standard of ethics in business www.poslovnezene.org.rs

9. The role of ABW organisation in fighting for legislation/mentality changes Activities • Training for women entrepreneurs, owners of currently active businesses • Training for women would-be entrepreneurs/start-ups • Mentoring programs • Monthly networking meetings • Regional and international networking (Conferences, B2B, Business Speed Datings etc.) • Advocacy with policy makers and cooperation with state institutions on SME issues • Annual awards for best women entrepreneurs (Success Flower Awards) • Research and publications www.poslovnezene.org.rs

10. The role of ABW organisation in fighting for legislation/mentality changes Advocacy Advocacy Committee - 5 priorities • Inclusion of women in the supply chain • Amendments to the Law on Privatization: For the subjects of privatization (defined under art. 3 of the Law on Privatization) which have unsettled obligations towards the SMEs, the state (Central Registry of Securities) issues a payment instrument which SME can use to settle their obligations towards the state (taxes, contributions, …) • Integrating of private healthcare into the healthcare system of Serbia, • Unique methodology of collecting local communal taxes (specifically – tax on company name display) on the territory of the Republic of Serbia • ABW joins the campaign "Rights for moms" initiated by three CSO with the goal of transferring the obligation to compensate women on maternity leave from the employer to the state www.poslovnezene.org.rs

11. The role of ABW organisation in fighting for legislation/mentality changes Advocacy Project: Women Entrepreneurs contribute to development of economic policy in new political context: • Business women in Serbia will be given the opportunity to present their priorities, which need to be worked on and need to be supported by the Parliament • Conclusions from panel discussions to be organized in all Boards, will be included in the Platform for support Women’s entrepreneurship by the Parliament www.poslovnezene.org.rs

12. The role of ABW organisation in fighting for legislation/mentality changes Success Flower Awards The Association of Business Women in Serbia established in 2007 the Success Flower Awards for the best women entrepreneurs • The aim of these awards is to make women’s achievements in Serbian economic development more visible as well as to give women entrepreneurship the greatest promotion as possible • These annual awards have become a “brand”, as they have gained considerable media attention www.poslovnezene.org.rs

13. The role of ABW organisation in fighting for legislation/mentality changes Success Flower Awards The two main categories: • “Most European Company” • “Best Model for Employing Women” Additional categories: • “Best Model for Self-employment”, Essentially for start-ups in business for three years or less • “Most Innovative”, aim to promote the diversity of businesses which are run by women in Serbia. www.poslovnezene.org.rs

14. Association of Business Women in Serbia ABW expectations on the role of EU integration in bringing further progress in Serbia32nd meeting of the Western Balkans Follow-up Committee Brussels, 6 of May 2014 www.poslovnezene.org.rs

15. ABW expectations on the role of EU integration in bringing further progress in Serbia • Our expectations regarding the EU integration process is • to get the systematic institutional support for development of female entrepreneurship which will be based on the regularly run gender statistics in entrepreneurship • We expect that the EU integration will launch the obligation of gender budgeting for our policy makers, as the tool to map the gaps in women’s needs. www.poslovnezene.org.rs

16. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ATTENTION Olivera Popovic, Vice President Association of Business Women in Serbia Volgina 15, 11060 Belgrade, Serbia Phone/Fax : +381 11 6776801office@poslovnezene.org.rswww.poslovnezene.org.rs