Women MPs in Serbia Form Cross-Party Caucus; Designed to Promote the Cause of Gender Equality

Women parliamentarians of the Serbian parliament plan to form a cross-party women's caucus in parliament to promote the cause of gender equality, the Balkan Insight website reports today (January 30, 2013).

Dubravka Filipovski -- a member of t he New Serbian Party -- said the caucus would focus on women's poverty, the empowerment of women in the business world, and health care for women.

"We must work to address women's issues," Filipovski said, noting that women currently hold only 82 of the 250 seats in the Serbian parliament.

According to the 2011 census, women make up 51.4 percent of the population of Serbia. Some 61 percent of women in Serbia are jobless, which is disproportionate to the average unemployment rate of 27 percent.