Press Releases

Lithuania and Scandinavian women are active nation builders

The President said that Lithuania and Finland were among the first countries in Europe where women's movements emerged one hundred years ago and where women were granted the right to vote. Now, a century on, women's rights and equal opportunities have become a universal norm.

Dalia Grybauskaitė underscored the enormous progress achieved in the world in approving and implementing gender equality: women's employment was growing and women became active participants in state management, business and public life. However, there is still a lot of inequality and security problems, the President said. Women are not paid equally with men for the same job, they face gender-based violence at home, and gender stereotypes prevail in public life, hindering further change.

"The stronger human and women's rights in society, the more of democracy and well-being there is in our countries. This makes us, men and women, equally responsible to do more and not less to advance the cause of equal opportunities for all despite gender, ethnicity, religion, education or health," the President said.

Dalia Grybauskaitė pointed out that even the best of change needed time. It was only this year that the law on domestic violence was passed in Lithuania.

She further said that the personal example of successful women, women world leaders and their achievements were the best encouragement for other women to seek education, professional and political careers.

Dalia Grybauskaitė and Tarja Halonen closely cooperate on women's rights and democracy issues in the Council of Women World Leaders. At the initiative of the two presidents, a major women leaders event ("Women Enhancing Democracy: Best Practices") was held in Vilnius on June 30. This year, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her input to the cause of peace and women's rights around the world.