Advancing women’s economic empowerment for a just society and a strong economy
AmCham Serbia has joined the EMPOWER HER initiative, which aims at promoting the economic empowerment of women in the workplace, women in leadership positions, and women entrepreneurs, and is based on a partnership between the US Department of Commerce, the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU (AmCham EU), and AmChams Europe (ACE), with the involvement of American businesses operating in Europe.
Having recognised the importance of women’s economic empowerment to growth, as part of the global EMPOWER HER project AmCham Serbia has committed to working with its member companies to continuously promote gender equality in business. ‘Economic empowerment of women is necessary for a just society, and respecting women’s rights is a prerequisite for that, because there can be no developed society without equality’, said Ivan Miletić, First Vice President of AmCham Serbia at an event to launch the project.
The gathering focused on ways to incentivise firms to do more to enhance the business environment for women, promote women’s entrepreneurship, ensure more women can access leadership roles, and raise awareness of the importance of equal pay for equal work for both women and men. In addition to Ivan Miletić, the event also heard from Serbian Equality Commissioner Brankica Janković, whilst Pamela Ward, Regional Senior Commercial Officer Southeast Europe at the US Department of Trade, and Susan Danger, CEO of AmCham EU, spoke via video messages.
The event included a panel discussion moderated by Vera Nikolić Dimić, AmCham Serbia Executive Director, with Jasmina Knežević, CEO of Acibadem Bel Medic, Violeta Jovanović, Executive Director at the National Alliance for Local Development (NALED), Vesna Damjanić, Editor-in-Chief of Bloomberg Adria TV, and Nina Čaprić, Government Relations Manager at NCR.
‘With EMPOWER HER, AmCham will continue to dedicate itself to raising awareness of the need for more women in leadership roles, developing skills through mentoring and programmes aimed at businesswomen, identifying chances for bridging the gender pay gap, creating opportunities for greater work-life balance, and addressing other issues that are vital for economic equality. In doing so AmCham will remain committed to working with businesses, government, and the civil sector to exchange experiences and best practices in this area’, said Vera Nikolić Dimić, AmCham Serbia Executive Director.
Ambassadors of gender equality in business
As part of EMPOWER HER, AmCham will seek to identify companies already recognised for gender equality and name them ambassadors for the project. These firms will continue raising awareness of this topic and engaging in concrete actions to economically empower women, including workshops, lectures, company visits, and the like, to ensure that the number of these businesses grows steadily.
