1 United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Workshop on Enhancing Women Entrepreneurs in SEE...
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Transcript of 1 United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Workshop on Enhancing Women Entrepreneurs in SEE...
11
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
4
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…
5
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
6
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
7
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:
9
Under-represented in the labour market
Over-represented in some (traditionally "female") more precarious jobs
Gender pay gap persists
Women in SEE countries:
10
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