Minister Hoxha in Vienna at the ministers’ conference: Kosovo progress concerning gender equality

Vienna, 14 May 2018 – At the meeting of the ministers of the Western Balkans, organized by the World Bank in Vienna, with the topic Economic Growth Potential in the Western Balkans, Improving Gender Equality in Access and Economic Opportunities, Minister of European Integration, Dhurata Hoxha, discussed the Promotion of Equality in Entrepreneurship, Property and Finance.

Minister Hoxha focused on empowering women as an issue that requires a lot of attention and work, pointing out that Kosovo has a proactive approach towards empowering women.

“The biggest challenge we are facing today is the fight against corruption, which has a direct impact on property and financial rights as well” said Minister Hoxha, quoting a World Bank statement “more support should be given to women in politics and workforce as they would be an effective force for good governance and job reliability”, as well as the tendency of women to not be corrupted – is the reason they often kept them out of politics.

Promoting the inclusion of women in property rights and finance, in general, is a very important mission for me and the Kosovo Government, emphasized Minister Hoxha, who further quoted the former UN secretary, Mr Anan “Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance”.

We are actively working on women’s property rights promotion campaigns and there is a considerable progress in this regard, but there is still much left to be done, said Minister Hoxha. She also added that there are many programs and subsidies to support women in business as well as the Credit Guarantee Fund which provides loan guarantees for women-owned businesses and this is one of the efforts of the Government of Kosovo to strengthen the role of women in finance and entrepreneurship.

In the conference, it was stressed that policy changes can contribute by laying down legal obligations that become customary in time. This is the only way to help change the perception that women and men are not equal. Every effort must start from families, workplaces, politicians and the whole society.

Last modified: August 9, 2022