"Financially independent woman is the owner of her life path. Making decisions independently, she chooses her path according to her needs, talents and capabilities. Greater involvement of women in shaping the society we live in, using their talents and abilities, can only lead society as a whole forward".This is how the director of the NGO Ksena Sanja Crnić explained the importance of an financially independence, both for women and for the progress of society as a whole.

Being a woman today

In today’s context, being a woman means fighting against labeling, prejudices, stereotypes, discrimination, and sometimes even hatred "caused" only for one reason - because you are a woman. Being female also means getting fired because you are in a different state. If it's hard just to be a woman, imagine how hard it is to be a woman in business, supposedly a man's job. The examples of support to women’s economic empowerment are rare.

The national digital platform for the economic support of women in Montenegro, shows how women should be encouraged. Their goal, as they emphasize, is to support women in business. The platform itself, in addition to providing support, holds education in the field of business, provides free advisory services, the possibility of business promotion, and the connection of women in business in order to support and establish business contacts.

The investment and development fund of Montenegro is another good example of empowering women in business. Women have the right to take out various types of loans for beginners in business, promotion and support in the same. They encourage and affirm female entrepreneurship, support the establishment and business development of women's micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. Their goal is to strengthen the entrepreneurial potential of women by providing support to companies in which they are the business owners.

The non-governmental organization Association of Business Women in Montenegro (founded in 2009), the NGO Ksena, as well as similar non-governmental organizations, usually at the local level, have the same intention, support, promotion and strengthening of women.

Director of the NGO Ksena Sanja Crnić said that this NGO, like the others, is trying to raise and strengthen citizens' awareness of the necessary equality. "The NGO sector has significantly influenced changes in society, which are neither big nor fast, but they are significant. The dynamics of changes in the social environment depend on several factors. One of the important factors is the political atmosphere, which means that no matter how much the NGO sector indicates the need, changes in society can only occur with a positive political trend, because no society can progress if it does not adopt the necessary changes," she warned.

As a recommendation, apart from the role of non-governmental organizations, Crnić singled out positive policy and apostrophized that no society can progress if it does not adopt the necessary changes, because, as she says, shaping policies in a rational direction also guarantees the rational development of society.

"Independent woman-owner of her life"

Financially independence is a much needed precondition for everyone’s freedom, be it a woman or a man. If a woman is a "business woman", the first thing she can change is her life. This further affects decision-making, self-esteem, self-confidence, her earnings, but also progress that suits the entire society. As Sanja Crnić already said at the beginning, an independent woman is the owner of her life, but given the current economic disparitites, women need institutional support.

Since 2015 the Govrenment has been occasionaly enacting and implementing strategic policies in the field of female entrepreneurship, and was investing additional efforts in strengthening it. Is it enough? Not yet, given that there is still no equality for women in this area. We cannot, as I stated, blame anyone, but we cannot and must not stop trying to change something. The government allocated free funds to support female entrepreneurship and youth entrepreneurship, and on July 6, 2023, it adopted the Report on the Implementation of the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Strategy for the Development of Female Entrepreneurship in Montenegro 2021-2024. Previous data of the Ministry of Economic Development and Tourism, at the end of 2022, showed that kosthe situation is as follows:

 

The earlier data shows a continuous trend - women with higher education make up the majority of educated people in Montenegro but they are minority when it comes to leadership positions. The data and the evaluation of the state of gender equality in Montenegro suggests that this society is ready for a profound change. If women are to be women, if women are to be entrepreneurs, directors, lawyers, journalists, and if they are to be visible in language, let them be whatever they want. There are many areas where equality is necessary for us, but it is enough for us to start from the premise that our personal characteristics are an unacceptable basis for discrimination.