Equality between women and men is an important point when we talk about fundamental rights of people in our Community. We have to assure equal possibilities for personal and intellectual development, equal criteria for evaluation of achieved results, we need to form the same conditions for awarding, etc. These are just a few necessary steps to pursue our common democratic, sustainable and coherent goals.
What does the situation in Slovenia look like?
The situation in Slovenia is not brilliant, though it is not really bad either. The conditions are marked through a mix of different influences; from the old socialist times and modern European oriented steps that Slovenia took some years ago. Socialist era has marked our society with well-developed educational, health and kindergarten systems. These are the preliminary conditions for the creation of a good basis for equal development in the activities of women in all fields of society.
There are some relatively good Slovenian statistics in comparison with the average situation in the European Union:
Where are the problems we are facing now?
Statistics show that Slovenia is lacking behind the rest of Europe regarding the political participation of women. In the year 2000 Slovenia had only 16% of women elected to the National Assembly, the situation became even worse in year 2004 when it was 13,3%. The numbers are not encouraging at the local level either. In the year 1998 we had 4,2% female mayors, in the year 2002 it was 6,2%, and at the moment it has decreased to 3,6%. However, there is good and bad in everything. These numbers, after all, have moved Slovenian political leaders to make a step forward and to rethink the situation.
Which further steps need to be taken?
Slovenia is recognizing the importance of female participation at all levels. A special focus is given to the actions for a balanced gender participation in politics. The existing government prepared some very systematic documents to change this situation and to encourage more women to decide for a political carrier. In year 2005 Slovenia’s National Assembly adopted the so called 'Resolution about the National Program for equal rights between women and men' (2005-2013). This resolution tries to build a solid long-term base to improve the position of women in our society.
Another measure I consider very important is the introduction of the so called 'Gender quota' for local, national as well as for European elections. They enable successful political progress of women in political life. The outcomes are very encouraging. In the European Parliament there are three women out of seven Members of the European Parliament, which represents almost a 43% share. The second very encouraging statistical data is the percentage of female participation on the local level. In town councils we have increased the percentage from 13,5% in the year 2002 to the 21,5% at the last local elections in 2006. The situation has improved also on the ministerial level. Immediately after the last elections we only had one woman in Slovenian government. Today, three years later, we can proudly say that there are three of them.
To conclude, I am satisfied that in Slovenia in the last four years we have improved and raised the share of women in politics on all levels - regional, national and European. The forthcoming elections for the National Assembly in autumn 2008 will be our next challenge. I legitimately expect that we will be able to raise the level of elected women and consequently raise the equality index in the field of political involvement of women in Slovenia. Not only involvement, but active participation of women in politics is what we need. And how do we know we are on the right track? When also in practice everybody has equal opportunities for personal growth, then we can be sure Slovenia is moving in the right direction - towards a more open, democratic society.
Dr. Romana Jordan Cizelj, Member of the European Parliament