The Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) has sent official input on the European Reform Agenda (ERA) to the EU Office in Kosovo and the Ministry of European Integration. ERA is a document drafted by the government of Kosovo with the purpose of expediting Kosovo’s progress in joining the European Union (EU).  ERA is comprised of 17 priorities, identified by the government as of primarily importance for Kosovo to address by the end of 2017. The priorities are divided in three groups: Good Governance and Rule of Law, Competitiveness and Investment Climate, and Employment and Education. KWN sought to mainstream a gender perspective within each of these areas.

     Related to Good Governance and Rule of Law, KWN noted that the Law on Gender Equality (LGE) provisions relating to equal representation of women and men in all institutions need to be implemented in all independent institutions, agencies and regulatory bodies. KWN recommended that measures are put in place to ensure equal representation of women and men in all public institutions, at all decision-making levels, in line with the EU Gender Action Plan (GAP) and LGE. When implementing mandatory electronic procurement, E-Systems should include fields for gender-disaggregated data in line with the LGE and best practices in gender responsive budgeting (GRB).

     On Competitiveness and Investment Climate, KWN recommended that the Kosovo Investment Enterprise Agency (KIESA) include a quota for supporting women-led businesses and/or a specific grants category for women-led businesses towards furthering their competitiveness, so that both women and men benefit from these expenditures in line with the EU GAP and the LGE, regarding GRB. In order to address the informal economy, KWN emphasized that no clear data exists regarding the nature of the informal economy. Therefore, prior to creating a strategy and action plan to address it, the government must research the informal economy to better understand it. The strategy and action plan must be informed by gender analysis, undergo review from a gender perspective and attend to the different ways women and men may be represented within the informal economy. Otherwise, actions to address the informal economy may have a negative impact on the wellbeing of women or men specifically, perhaps unintentionally.

     On Employment and Education, KWN recommended that the Sectoral Strategy for Employment and Social Policy and its Action Plan be reviewed by gender experts. It must consider the different employment rates of diverse women and men of all ages in Kosovo. Further, implementation of the new curricula and textbooks must involve proper gender review. In addition to scientific mistakes in textbooks, discriminatory and gender insensitive language is frequently used in textbooks at present. Gender experts should be part of the process to ensure that the new curricula and textbooks do not contain such language nor reinforce traditional gender roles. Additionally, the planned teacher training programs should include gender training so teachers do not reinforce traditional gender roles, and so that they learn to better teach sensitive topics, such as reproductive health.

    In addition to the priorities already identified in the ERA, KWN proposed additional priorities: 1) furthering human rights and gender equality within governance and public administration reform; and 2) improving the work of the Labour Inspectorate, including better address of gender discrimination at work, which KWN’s research has shown to be fairly widespread in Kosovo. The Inspectorate can increase inspections related to safety at work for pregnant women, maternity leave, and discrimination in hiring.