United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

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United Nations Economic Commission

for Europe

Workshop on Enhancing Women Entrepreneurs in

SEESarajevo, 1 October

2009

Malinka Koparanova, Senior Social Affairs Officer, UNECE

2

Main activities of the UNECE in support to mainstreaming gender in national policies: Data collection•Gender impact of various policies related to gender equality• Raising awareness of issues and problems • Supporting regional dialogue and exchange of best practices • Preparation of policy recommendations to assist governments in implementing their commitments expressed in the Beijing Declaration.

UNECE involvement in promoting women’s entrepreneurship

3

Long and sustained phase of economic expansion Increasing macroeconomic stability Limited inflationContained budget deficits Structural reformsOn the European Integration path

SEE economic overview: Positive trends over the past years

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In autumn of 2008 the Balkan economies began to slump:•Collapse of credit, income and corporate profits • Growth performance for 2008 and 2009 deteriorated significantly• Rising unemployment

When the global crisis strikes…

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Slowdown of economic growth in 2008

Real GDP

6.6

5.5

6.9

5.95.4

2.5

6.1

4.9

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Bosnia andHerzegovina

Croatia Serbia The former YugoslavRepublic ofMacedonia

(%) 2007

2008

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The crisis should be looked at as an opportunity for a development path:

To consider SMEs as the backbone of the SEE economies and a survival strategy for business women in the region

Microentreprises and SMEs the most affected

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UN Economic and Social Council’s Resolution 49/8 of 2005 on “Economic advancement of women”:improving women’s economic status also improves the economic status of their families and their communities and thereby creates a multiplier effect for economic growth.

Women -fundamental agents of economic growth and development

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Women's enterprises are often small and micro enterprises Low growth sectors Typically operate at a subsistence level

Positive trends in women’s entrepreneurship in the UNECE region

but many challenges remain:

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Under-represented in the labour market

Over-represented in some (traditionally "female") more precarious jobs

Gender pay gap persists

Women in SEE countries:

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Low female employment rates in SEE - far from the Lisbon’s target of 60%.

Women Employment rate 2007

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Croatia Macedonia Turkey Bosnia andHerzegovina

Montenegro Serbia Netherlands Slovenia France

(%)

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Accessing finance Information and networks Markets Trainings Gender-specific barriers

Main difficulties:

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To support the creation of a better business environment• To support the organization of special credit programs targeting female-owned or led SMEs• To facilitate the organization of networking opportunities• To facilitate the transfer of knowledge and skills through capacity building events • To provide technical and financial assistance to projects and programmes

Areas of action for Governments, Donors and International Community