2nd International Forum for Women’s Entrepreneurship – Georgiadis: Network of measures

The Labour and Social Security Ministry is planning a comprehensive network of measures and actions for the faster absorption of women in the labour market, Adonis Georgiadis said speaking at the 2nd International Forum on Women’s Entrepreneurship on Saturday. The Forum is organised by the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the National Chamber Network of Women Entrepreneurs, under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Region of Attica and the Municipality of Athens.

As Georgiadis noted, women are underrepresented in the labour market and the wage gap between men and women is real. According to the minister, the goal is to reduce women’s unemployment and bring their participation in the labour market closer to the European average. At the same time, Georgiadis underlined that the greater participation of women in the labour market could be part of the solution to the problem of finding workers, an issue that, he said, is increasing, as the development of the Greek economy is constantly generating new jobs, so the pressure to fill them is intensifying. Also, the working population is decreasing year by year due to population aging and demographics, reducing the “pool” of available workforce.

The Minister of Labour emphasized that the framework of initiatives to increase the participation of women in the labour market that the ministry is considering, concerns not only the bonus policy, but also reskilling programmes and upskilling programmes while also encouraging teleworking for women. Among other things, Georgiadis commented that the social partners are actively involved in the planning of the programmes, so that they respond to the real needs of the labour market.