Montenegro Security Sector Institutions’ Leaders Committed to Further Advancing Gender Equality

The Ministry of Defence with the support of UNDP SEESAC, organized in Podgorica on 10 October 2024, a workshop on Gender-responsible Leadership for security sector institutions in Montenegro.  Nineteen high-level representatives of the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces of Montenegro, the Ministry of Interior, and the National Security Agency jointly reflected on the position of women in their institutions and their responsibilities as leaders in advancing gender equality in line with the recently adopted Strategy for the Implementation of the UNSCR 1325 (2024-2027).

A gender-responsive leader is a person in an executive or management position who actively works toward equality for all women and men in the workplace using their leadership and management skills to mitigate gender stereotypes and prevent discrimination. The role of senior leaders is important as they shape institutional culture and can perform as the change agents. By enhancing their understanding and capacity for integrating a gender perspective, they can drive transformational change.

The high-level representatives of security sector institutions in Montenegro assessed the internal practices for gathering and using gender-sensitive data in areas relevant to improving women's positions, such as recruitment, selection, retention, and combating gender-based discrimination. The information sharing and knowledge exchange among institutions during the workshop has furthermore brought the participants to recognize the practical value of gender-segregated data in advocating for policy changes.

The workshop participants also discussed the leaders' responsibilities, and the skills required to successfully advocate for gender equality.  The high-level representatives of Montenegro security sector institutions agreed that the leaders are role models in advocating gender equality and should act as changemakers in their institutions.

The workshop Gender-responsible Leadership was organized through the “Strengthening of Regional Cooperation on Gender Mainstreaming in Security Sector Reform in the Western Balkans” project, which is financed by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic. With the support of SEESAC, the project provides the MoDs and AFs in the Western Balkans with a platform to share knowledge and develop policies to ensure long-term and sustainable inclusion of the gender perspective.