The Social Pillar of the “SDGs for ALL” Platform held a public debate on Friday, October 4, 2024, during which recommendations for integrating a gender perspective into the work of socio-economic councils were presented to representatives of the public, private, and civil sectors. Participants in the public debate included representatives from the Employers’ Union of Serbia, the Employers’ Union of Vojvodina, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities, the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue, and representatives from the civil sector.

Within the framework of the 2030 Agenda, social dialogue plays a central role and, as one of the foundations of a democratic society, it represents a key mechanism for reconciling the interests of different social partners, including public authorities, employers’ associations, and trade unions. Consultations, coordination, and negotiations between governments, workers, and employers, create the necessary conditions and policies for achieving SDGs and contribute to inclusive and participatory decision-making at all levels.

“Achieving gender equality is one of the most important development goals in every democratic and progressive society. The idea of gender equality cannot be realized without ensuring that men and women have equal rights and equal opportunities to use and benefit from all resources (material, financial, human, social, political, etc.) that society has at its disposal. Therefore, it is of great importance to integrate the gender equality perspective into all institutions where dialogue takes place, where development priorities and public policies are harmonized, including socio-economic councils (as independent bodies) and the carriers of social dialogue at all levels. In this context, it is necessary to encourage all social partners to adopt a new approach to their work, based on the obligations established by the Law on Gender Equality and the goals of the National Strategy for Gender Equality for the period 2021-2030.” highlighted Ivona Gvozdenović, Project Manager at the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation

“It is highly commendable that the activity of drafting guidelines was carried out by the Foundation and is now published. If you decide to open a broader social dialogue on this topic, our ministry is at your disposal, to invite new partners and consider new ideas that such a large gathering could generate,” said Biljana Stojković, Senior Advisor at the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue.