jorgovanka tabakovic : the importance of women and gender equality speech by dr jorgovanka tabakovic, governor of the national bank of serbia, at the conference organized by the official monetary and financial institutions forum, on the occasion of the launch of the global public investor gender balance index, london, 7 march 2018. * * * ladies and gentlemen, esteemed colleagues, 1. know thyself, 2. nothing in excess, 3. make a pledge and mischief is nigh. the inscription on the entrance of apollo ’ s temple in delphi with these three rules is the key to a successful life, if success is measured by satisfaction with oneself, and others ’ satisfaction with us. however, these three commandments are highly illustrative of the woman and her role in society today. what do we want as individuals, what is our accomplishment, what are we ready to sacrifice in achieving the selected objective, and is every sacrifice for the fulfilment of that objective necessary and justified? and do we know how to remain masters of our peace, our happiness, without promising too much because we are offered the chance to participate in the game? as the end of february is near and 8 march draws closer, the titles of high - brow world weeklies and magazines usually resemble one another. as a rule, the gist of these articles is centred around the difficulty of striking a balance between motherhood and career. why is the choice always or, black or white, career or motherhood, as i wish or not at all? balance is the key to success. a career or motherhood? motherhood is not inevitably a family. but family is both an obligation and support. how have we sacrificed family in favour of services? instead of solidarity within our homes, family and generations, we ’ ve got paid services – of childcare, care for our parents, care for the elderly. we now have lonely beings who, in a race for individuality and acknowledgment, have lost a measure and, thus, a clear objective for achievement. not all relationships are based on purchase and sale transactions. not everything can be bought. it is therefore necessary to preserve humanity, self - respect and the respect of others. being a woman is wonderful. being a mother is even more wonderful. i testify this with my experience with three grown - up children – two daughters and a son. they are good and educated people that i am proud of

##cive to faster economic growth. this year we expect gdp growth to step up to around 3 % and then further up to 3. 5 % the following year, supported by continued favourable movements in the labour market. reduction in interest expenses and negative exchange rate differences – factor of the economy ’ s success based on data of the business registers agency, in 2016 the financial result of our economy improved by over rsd 360 bln compared to 2014. 1 in the same period, as a result of monetary policy easing by the national bank of serbia, a reduction in the country risk premium ( resulting from more favourable macroeconomic performances of our economy ) and monetary accommodation by the the difference between the net loss of rsd 131. 8 bln in 2014 and net gain of rsd 229. 3 bln in 2016. net gain of rsd 67. 2 bln was achieved in 2015. european central bank, interest expenses declined from rsd 145 bln in 2014 to rsd 99. 3 bln in 2016. this means that the corporate sector paid to creditors rsd 45. 8 bln less in 2016 than in 2014. at the same time, owing to the stability of the dinar, which is the result of successful implementation of macroeconomic policies, and thus the national bank of serbia ’ s policy as well, negative exchange rate differences fell by rsd 157. 6 bln – from rsd 246. 3 bln in 2014 to rsd 88. 8 bln in 2016. in total, in respect of both these factors, the income statement of the corporate sector improved by rsd 203. 4 bln in 2016 relative to 2014. given that the corporate sector has interest - bearing receivables, calculating positive exchange rate differences on fx receivables, the effect of savings in these two items on the profitability of the corporate sector equals rsd 148. 4 bln in this period. this makes us satisfied not only because of the volume of savings, but primarily because of the fact that this opens room for the corporate sector to engage in its regular business activities and to plan its development in more predictable circumstances. of course, we are satisfied also because this confirms the soundness of the national bank of serbia ’ s policy and gives us an incentive to continue with its implementation. ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues, serbia ’ s improved macroeconomic outlook and the results achieved in terms of the narrowing in internal imbalances and implementation of structural reforms have for quite