Making women more equally involved in decision making processes requires the securing of certain preconditions, with experience showing that the most successful companies are those enabling a reconciliation of family and professional life, Mateja Cotman, state secretary at the Slovenian Labour Ministry, said after an informal meeting of EU ministers responsible for the equality of sexes on Saturday.
Summing up the findings of the two-day meeting, Cotman said that in most European countries the share of highly educated women is relatively high, above 50%, which however is not reflected in their representation in leading positions.
Some countries secure a bigger presence of women in politics and leading economic positions through legally prescribed quotas. But what also needs to be encouraged at European level is social responsibility in companies, Cotman said.
She added that the European Commission has also proposed the setting up of an EU-wide network of women in leading positions which would serve as a platform for the exchange of good practice.
According to her, Slovenia has already adopted some measures in this field. A law on equal opportunities has been passed and several measures are being adopted in the field of family and labour legislation.
"These changes aim at reconciling family and professional life, but we also want to encourage men to do more when it comes to the care for children and household duties," the Labour, Family and Social Affairs Ministry state secretary explained.
On the margins of the conference entitled "Men and Gender Equality", which was organised as part of the Finnish EU presidency, the Slovenian delegation also participated in three bilateral meetings.
In the focus of the talks with Italian, Austrian and Hungarian representatives was Slovenia's candidacy for the chair of the European Institute for Gender Equality.
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