By Gordana Basovic

Without a peer, the gender equality is one of the common values European Union (EU) wants its current and the future members, as well as its neighbours, to stimulate, cherish and promote. However, gender equality is the goal that even the old members have not managed to achieve to the full. Therefore, the European Parliament members have asked the European Commission to prepare the new Directive according to which men and women would be equally paid for the same jobs. Until now, men in the EU, unlike women, have mainly been paid bigger monthly salaries. The same problems are also shaking Serbia since not only the salaries of women and men are unequal but also there are fewer women in the Parliament.

In the European Parliament, it is considered that the current laws that have been in force for some thirty years have become obsolete and now Commission has been asked to offer the Parliament the changed version of the existing regulation by the end of 2009, at the latest. Upon the law being adopted, the Parliament members also want regular surveys to be made in the European companies and the results to be published periodically. They all agree an end should be put to discrimination of any kind, adding those who do not observe this law provisions should be fined.

Moreover, the European Commission (EC) has recently passed an opinion on insufficient enforcement of already existing European Directive on employment and work gender discrimination ban in six member states - Austria, Lithuania, Slovenia, Hungary, Italy, and Malta. These countries have been given two months available to reply to the EC remarks and in case they do not or give an unsatisfactory answer the Commission will take these countries to the European Court of Justice.

According to the European Commissioner for equal opportunities, Vladimir Spidla this Directive is the key one for the gender discrimination and an important goal of the EU.

"Directive has been unanimously adopted and brought in line by member states in 2002 but the EU instructions cannot be in full applied in case they are fully and concretely transferred to the national laws," said Spidla.

According to the Commission, main problems are direct or indirect discrimination, women`s right to maternity leave, and functioning of the bodies that take care of equality. Women in Europe earn averagely 15 percent less than men do and even 25 percent less in case of jobs which are not in a public sector. In case of the Union members, this discrepancy is between four and 25 percent while the biggest difference in men`s and women`s salaries is observed in Estonia, Cyprus, and Slovakia and the least in Belgium, and Malta.

The data showing the difference in Serbia between an average men`s and women`s salary growing bigger in favour of men - 1.8 percent in 2003 and 3.7 in 2007 - is just one of the statistical data that describe conditions in Serbia.

Beside the fact that women in Serbia earn less money than men do, they also are not equal when managing positions in political life are in question - this has been the conclusion of the recently organised round table on gender equality in Belgrade.

On that occasion Natalija Micunovic, the Gender Equality Administration Director, has said that the conditions for the women in Serbia position improvement will be fulfilled upon adoption of the National Strategy in that sphere and enacting of law on gender equality. By the end of the year, the Serbian Government will adopt the National Strategy for the Women Position Improvement and Promotion of Gender Equality while the law regulating this area should be on the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia agenda in mid-2009.

"Goals of the National Strategy for Gender Equality mean the improvement of the economic status of women, their active participation in political life, as well as greater number of women in executive government organs and managing positions, government and public services," pointed out Micunovic.

The EU Integration Office Advisor Sanja Mesanovic has emphasised that the gender equality was one of the priority requirements that Brussels posed in front of Serbia in the process of the European integrations.

However, in the current session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia there are some 20 percent of female parliament members while in the EU member states` parliaments the percentage of the female members varies between 60 percent (Sweden) and 13 percent (Poland).

According to the draft of the National Strategy for the Women Status Improvement, there are more women unemployed than men are and women in Serbia have wages 16 percent less than men have at the same positions. In the CEO positions there are some 21 percent of female while managing positions in boards of directors are occupied by some 14 percent of women.

Even in the region, the situation is not significantly better. According to the Monstat data, an average women`s salary in Montenegro comparing to the men`s is some 23 percent less.

The biggest gender equality is recorded in Norway that is at the top of the list of countries that have erased the gender difference, states the World Economic Forum survey. The Norwegians can brag about the biggest rate of women at the helm of the Board of Directors than any other country in the world and the result of such a state is the existence of the gender equality law.

Direct impact of the law in Norway is reflected in the fact that it has improved and opened new possibilities for women to find themselves at the helm of companies and therefore increased the number of female candidates.

"Since the law has been adopted there have been many who have contacted me," says Mary Thømøe, 45-year-old executive having her seats in six Boards of Directors and in the four of them she has been since 2006.

"I have had five or six invitations to join Boards of Directors in 2007. There are definitely more possibilities and things are moving on faster since the existence of the law. Many doors have opened for women, including me," says Mary Thømøe, writes the British Guardian.

Founder and the Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab said that there were even more women heading financial institutions and governments pointing out that that fact had been "vital" for finding solution for current economic mess as well as preventing similar crises in future.

On the list marking the size of the gap between men and women Norway is followed by Finland, Sweden, Iceland, and New Zealand, while from the 11th last year place Great Britain has fallen to the 13th place. France is among those countries that have made progress sharply thanks to what it has moved from the 51st to the 15th place with the help of gains realised in the sphere of economic engagement and women participating in politics.

According to the Forum, the advancement in overcoming the gender equality gap is not only possible but also can be achieved in relatively short period.

For the index determination considered were economic involvement, educational achievements, political authorisations, health care, and existence. According to the mentioned, at the bottom of the list are Benin, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Chad, and Yemen. Serbia has not been included in the rating.

In the report stated have been proofs on the gender gap connection with economic participation of countries. In other words, "the countries incompletely and ineffectively taking advantage of one half of their human resources are in danger of weakening their competitive potential."