A Day of Collaboration Among Female Leaders in Diplomacy, Business, and Wellness
On the 3rd of April, the Women’s CEO Summit organized by Color Media was held in the company of women from the state administration, diplomatic corps, media, cultural institutions and marketing agencies
Those present had the opportunity to be part of an authentic experience because the conference program included a handful of interesting and important topics. Women, although increasingly present in all social fields, still face challenges in achieving leadership. This conference provided an opportunity to hear inspiring stories of successful women, exchange experiences and acquire key skills for professional growth. Through education, networking and support, the aim is to encourage women to take the initiative and increase their influence in making important decisions. The conference was realized with the support of the companies Fitpass, A1 Serbia, Ploom, VodaVoda and Grand Cafe.
At the opening of the conference, Tatjana Macura, minister without portfolio in charge of coordinating activities in the field of gender equality, prevention of violence against women and economic and political empowerment of women in the Government of the Republic of Serbia, and Brankica Janković, commissioner for equality protection, spoke.
At the opening of the event, Minister Tatjana Macura said, “It is a great pleasure to be in the company of so many successful women today. This meeting is an opportunity to inspire each other, exchange experiences and strengthen the network of solidarity among women leaders.”
Brankica Janković, commissioner for equality, said: “When we talk about the position of women in diplomacy, the situation here is certainly significantly better than it used to be, but when I read how we made great progress and that we have 35% among female ambassadors, for me that is far from progress, or far from enough, than 50%.”
Women’s Voice in Diplomacy is the first panel in which H.E. Anne Lugon Moulin, Ambassador of Switzerland to Serbia; Milana Rikanović, director of UN Women in Serbia; H.E. Avivit Bar-Ilan, Ambassador of Israel to Serbia; Andrea Pavukova, president of IWC in Serbia; Giulia Sykopetrites, Deputy Ambassador of Cyprus in Belgrade; Plamena Halačeva, deputy head of the EU Delegation in Serbia and Aleksandra Joksimović, director of the Center for Foreign Policy and former ambassador of Serbia in London, the panel was moderated by Robert Čoban.
The panel discussed the position of women in diplomacy and the comparison of the experiences of different countries on the topic of equal representation of the sexes in the positions of ambassadors and similar positions.
H.E. Anne Lugon Moulin, ambassador of Switzerland in Serbia, said that in Serbia, despite the more patriarchal values compared to Switzerland, there is a trend of progress in this field, both in the companies themselves, state bodies and the work of the NGO sector, as well as in society itself.
“In Cyprus, we have not fully established gender equality in all fields, traditional values and gender roles in the family are still very present in our society, despite this, there is legislation that regulates these issues. In a way, even though we are not a Balkan country, we are quite similar to you in that respect.” said Giulia Sykopetrites, deputy ambassador of Cyprus in Belgrade.
Milana Rikanović, director of UN Women in Serbia, noted that the realization of women’s rights should not depend on ideological commitments, but that they are fully in line with basic human rights: “The fight for women’s rights is the same as the fight for human rights.”
Ambassador of Israel in Belgrade, H.E. Avivit Bar-Ilan, spoke about her personal experience during her military service in Israel, which is mandatory for both men and women for 2 years. She pointed out that 95% of combat positions in the army are available to both men and women. She noted that there is certainly room for progress in other sectors in Israel: “Out of 32 ministries, only 5 of them are headed by women. Out of 98 ambassadors, 27 of them are female. I strongly support the further and more intensive inclusion of women in these positions.”
During the discussion about today’s perception of the term “woke”, Plamena Halacheva, deputy head of the EU Delegation in Serbia, pointed out that she believes that this term has progressively become “toxic” and that over time it has started to be associated with the idea of moral superiority, instead of something positive. She emphasized that it is important for everyone to participate in the fight for change in the field of women’s rights: “From Afghanistan to America, we have noticed the erosion of women’s rights. Countries around the world report that they face various obstacles in establishing full gender equality.”
Aleksandra Joksimović, director of the Center for Foreign Policy and former ambassador of Serbia in London, added that she also believes that everyone must participate in solving such issues, including men, and that things like networking and discussions on such topics are a crucial step in encouraging young women.
All the participants of the panel agreed with this, including Andrea Pavukova, the president of the IWC in Serbia, an organization that largely participates precisely in the networking of women who participate in diplomatic life.
CEO Talks: BUSINESS is the second panel in which Biljana Braithwaite, Founding Partner & CEO, Sustineri Partners participated; Branka Pudrlja Durbaba, director of sales and customer satisfaction, A1 Serbia; Kathrine Decorzant, CEO of JTI for the Western Balkans; Branka Conić, founder of Valiant communications and the first private museum in Serbia, Home of Jevrem Grujic and Đurđa Kovač, Deputy Country Head, Rio Sava Exploration, the panel was moderated by Dragana Milačak, Red Communications.
The panel discussed different approaches of companies towards gender equality and socially responsible business, which contributes to the further improvement of women’s representation in the business sector.
Speaking about this topic, Branka Pudrlja Durbaba shared positive practices from company A1: “We are a company that is a leader in our group in many parameters. We are a company that promotes values both towards the market and towards its employees. We offer employees a balance of private and business life, we do not condition employees to choose between work and home, when children go to the first grade we offer the option of not coming to work on that day, as well as various other benefits for parents. Among other things, for several years we have held a gender certificate the most sensitive company”.
Kathrine Decorzant, CEO of JTI for the Western Balkans followed up with similar examples from their company: “Within our company, of course, there is also the option of working from home, but also health insurance for the entire employee’s family. Maternity leave with us lasts 20 weeks. In addition, even a third of the women who work for us managed to get a promotion in just one year.”
“In our company, there is no difference between the culture of women and men. Although it is often assumed in the industry where I work that the prototype of an employee is a male engineer, and not a woman, I see that in the last few years there has been substantial progress, and not just declarative progress, on paper,” said Đurđa Kovač, Deputy Country Head, Rio Sava Exploration.
Aleksandra Martinović, director of the Multimedia Directorate of Telekom Serbia, held a great presentation entitled “From Desperate Housewives to James Bond”. In which she talked about the new role of women in the production of TV content and everything that will await viewers in the future. Among other things, Aleksandra Martinović talked about how there is an increasingly present need for different female roles that break out of the usual mold, therefore numerous series and films are being produced that aim to do just that and which our viewers will soon be able to watch on their channels, including numerous hits from Netflix, such as Emily in Paris, Yellowjackets, Queens Gambit and others…
CEO Talks: FITNESS & WELL-BEING (Discussions by female directors about physical activity and general well-being) is a panel where Milica Stevanović, lifecoach, gave inspiring speeches; Jovana Tomić, lawyer, CT Legal; Igor Tonković, Yettel Serbia; Bojan Marić, Mountain Rescue Service of Serbia, the panel was moderated by Jelena Radović, FitPass.
The panel discussed the importance of physical activities in our everyday life, but also how the benefits of a healthy life “spill over” to success in the business sector.
Milica Stevanović pointed out that there must be discipline and pushing yourself beyond the limits of comfort: “Strengthening the will through physical activity is really transferred to every segment of our life.”
Igor Tonković also agreed with this: “Discipline in physical activities also applies to the business world, and you will certainly be more efficient and successful in those goals.”
Jovana Tomić mentioned that physical activity helped her a lot in dealing with the stress caused by her job: “I think I’ve succeeded in everything I’ve succeeded in thanks to sports. I’ve been able to look at the biggest challenges rationally thanks to physical activities.”
Bojan Marić followed up on this by saying that “mental and physical health go hand in hand.”
At the end of the last panel, the participants, together with the audience, marked the end of the event with a cocktail served in the halls of the magnificent Madeleine Palace of Art.