Shares of women in self-employment vary from one WB economy to the other, while informal employment and gender pay gaps remain persistent in all economies.

Boosting women’s participation in labour markets in the Western Balkans would boost the growth potential by increasing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 20% (World Bank, 2018), and 5% of this increase would be due to the higher participation of women in entrepreneurship activities.

According to the RCC Gender Equality and Women Empowerment (GEWE) Study (2021), Western Balkan economies could raise their GDP per capita by 1.5% by 2035 if they undertake rapid action compared to the current situation to reduce the gender gap in participation rates. Closing gender gap in participation rates and gender pay gaps is important for equality reasons and both lead to economic stimulus.

Increasing women’s access to economic opportunities needs to be a key objective in the Western Balkans.

Situation of women in labour markets of the Western Balkan economies is characterised by low rates of activity, low employment, and high unemployment, especially for youth.

More than a half of productive potential of women aged 15-64 remained untapped in the Western Balkans during 2018-2020.

Women employment rates in the Western Balkans are consistently below those of the EU-27. In 2020 women in employment were on average more educated than men.

Shares of women in self-employment vary from one WB economy to the other, while informal employment and gender pay gaps remain persistent in all economies.