Serbia - Country Gender Assessment

Promoting gender equality and enhancing women’s involvement in the economy are crucial for Serbia’s growth trajectory. It’s vital to actively engage, cultivate, and fully utilize the diverse skills and potential of the population, especially those currently inactive in the workforce, to reduce poverty and foster shared prosperity. Over the past decade, Serbia has made strides in gender equality, evident in reduced educational disparities, improved life expectancy for women, increased political engagement among women, and lower birth rates. However, significant gaps persist in areas such as employment, business ownership, wage disparities, gender-segregated jobs, unpaid domestic work, and instances of gender-based violence. This Country Gender Assessment provides empirical evidence and analyzes gender equality in Serbia. Methodologically, the report adopts the Gender Assessment framework proposed by the World Development Report on Gender Equality and Development (WDR 2012). Through this framework, the report examines recent progress and ongoing challenges across three critical dimensions: Endowments, Economic Opportunities, and Voice and Agency. Extensive research was conducted, drawing from various data sources to assess indicators such as health, education, labor market dynamics, and gender-based violence, among others. The structure of the report is as follows. Section 2 delves into the legal and institutional framework. Section 3 assesses gender equality from the perspective of human endowments. Section 4 discusses progress and challenges in economic opportunities. Section 5 focuses on issues related to voice and agency.