Press Releases

Vilnius – forum for women empowerment ideas from around the globe

Thursday, June 30, Vilnius - Closing its two-year Presidency of the Community of Democracies, Lithuania is hosting a high-level conference Women Enhancing Democracy: Best Practices at the Presidential Palace, organized on the initiative of President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė in cooperation with President of Finland Tarja Halonen, the Council of Women World Leaders and the European Institute of Gender Equality.

During its Presidency of the Community of Democracies, Lithuania placed special focus on women empowerment. Today Lithuania has become an initiator of global ideas that will help protect women's and human rights around the globe, the President of Lithuania said opening the Conference.

According to the President, experiences and achievements of women world leaders gathered in Vilnius will stand as an inspiring example for all women of the world, and this Conference offers a unique opportunity to share their success stories, voice problems and suggestions about productive ways to strive for equal self-expression and career opportunities, for women's economic freedom, and for a society without violence and fear.

More and more women are involved in political life. But in order to become leaders women must make twice as much effort as men. Women still have to fight for their elementary rights because in many cases even laws cannot change the long-established perceptions. One way to change this is to use the power of example, the President said further.

The President noted that women encountered similar problems in any place of the world, be it emerging democracies or strong democratic communities.

As one of the most worrying problems, the President named women discrimination in the labor market. In Lithuania, women make less than 17 per cent among the CEOs in business and earn 20 per cent less than men doing the same job. This is not only discrimination but also an obstacle to economic growth. Research indicates that if salary discrimination is eliminated, GDP could rise by 30 per cent, the President said.

The President underlined that physical and psychological violence against women was one of the most painful and widespread violations of human rights and added that democracy was impossible in the atmosphere of fear and abuse and disrespect to human dignity.

The President mentioned the recent passage of a law on violence in the family environment in Lithuania as a profound step forward towards a society without fear.

The Lithuanian leader urged other women leaders and all active women in general to take more responsibility in policies for women's rights and opportunities and to disseminate good practices around the world.

Among the participants of this women's high-level conference hosted in Lithuania for the first time ever are President of Finland Tarja Halonen, President of Kosovo Atifete Jahjaga, President of Mongolia Elbegdorj Tsakhia, Speaker of Albania's Parliament Jozefina Çoba Topalli, Speaker of Latvia's Parliament Solvita Āboltiņa, Slovakia's Prime Minister Iveta Radičová, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, also EU, UN and OSCE representatives, members of foreign national parliaments and governments, human and women's rights activists, and NGOs.