MEP Maria Gabriel, twice winner of the “MEP of the year” award, became an honorary member of the Council of women in business in Bulgaria. She was an official guest at the meeting with Council members to discuss issues of gender equality in business and politics, how to offer good development conditions for educated young Bulgarians, measures against domestic violence and others.

“The activities of the Council of women in business in Bulgaria provide a strong signal. We need such organizations with a long-term vision not only in Bulgaria but also in Europe,“ said Maria Gabriel.

The Chairperson of the Board of the most powerful business organization of ladies in Bulgaria Dr. Ing. Boryana Manolova, CEO of Siemens Bulgaria, presented the main initiatives and projects of the Council, among them Leadership Academy, the National training initiative and the upcoming International conference Global Female Leaders Forum, which the Council is organizing in cooperation with UNESCO. The forum is under the patronage of Mrs. Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director-General and an official candidate of Bulgaria for UN Secretary General.
“The provision of flexible working hours for women is a significant issue not only in Bulgaria but throughout Europe. Another important subject is the equal pay. In Bulgaria we have gender differences in pay reaching up to 20%, and the situation is similar in the EU – 18%,” commented Ms. Gabriel.

Boryana Manolova recalled that the Council has made specific proposals on these topics during the preparation of the Bulgarian Law of gender equality.

The Council members and Maria Gabriel shared a common vision that the encouraging of education and entrepreneurial skills of women can help strengthen their role in the business and address important issues related to domestic violence. “Bulgaria ranks fourth in Europe on domestic violence. This is the official data, but many women do not even report such abuses and, even worse, they do not understand that they are victims of economic, physical, and verbal abuse“, says Maria Gabriel. The MEP is conducting regional events that are designed to improve the awareness and encourage women in a similar situation to take the necessary measures. “We see that very often the most important support for female victims of violence comes from other women entrepreneurs. They help them to get on their legs again and re-start their lifes without violence“, she said.

Regarding her work in the European Parliament, Maria Gabriel shared that, in her opinion, there is a great progress in the performance of the Bulgarian MEPs. “The change is visible. At the beginning we transferred our internal disputes to the European stage, but now, when it comes to our country, we stand together and we protect it when we are facing a purely political attack“, said Maria Gabriel.

At the end of the meeting Dr. Ing. Manolova handed to Ms. Gabriel a certificate of honorary membership in the Council of women in business in Bulgaria.