site.btaVice President Presents Bulgaria’s Progress on Gender Equality Policies at Global Forum in Beijing

Vice President Presents Bulgaria’s Progress on Gender Equality Policies at Global Forum in Beijing
Vice President Presents Bulgaria’s Progress on Gender Equality Policies at Global Forum in Beijing
Vice President Iliana Iotova at the Global Leaders' Meeting on Women forum in Beijing (Photo: President's Administration)

Vice President Iliana Iotova addressed the Global Leaders' Meeting on Women forum held in Beijing on Monday by saying that innovation must be turned into an ally, not a new barrier to human rights. "Women cannot be allowed to pay the invisible price of digital progress," she said as quoted by the President’s Press Secretariat.

The forum, titled "One Shared Future: New and Accelerated Process for Women's All-round Development", was opened by Chinese President Xi Jinping and is organized by China together with UN Women. The event marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted by 189 governments, and coincides with the 80th anniversary of the United Nations.

“Thirty years ago, the world made a promise to every girl and every woman that her human rights would be protected. The Beijing Platform remains our moral compass, reminding us that equality between men and women is both a state responsibility and a driver of progress,” Iotova said.

She noted that while visible progress has been made, a wide gap still exists in the economic development of men and women. 

At the high-level meeting, Iotova presented Bulgaria’s achievements in gender equality policies, highlighting that the employment gap between men and women is 7.3%, below the EU average of 10.2%, while the gender pay gap has gradually narrowed to 12.7%, close to the EU average. She also underlined that nearly 30% of ICT specialists in Bulgaria are women, compared to 19% in the EU, and that women hold many leadership positions, including in senior government roles.

As a co-author of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, Bulgaria has made significant progress in integrating its principles into national policy, Iotova said. She pointed out that women make up 50% of Bulgaria’s diplomatic service, with 40% in leadership positions, and noted that six women have served as foreign ministers since 1996.

The Vice President also drew attention to the impact of artificial intelligence on women, stressing that "AI can accelerate equality, but if left unchecked, it may also deepen inequalities". She noted that technological development has already reshaped women’s work in many sectors and warned that women are particularly vulnerable without access to retraining, something that requires investment from employers.

"Machines don’t need rest, they don’t care for children or elderly parents after work, they don’t get sick, and they don’t give birth," Iotova said, emphasizing that technological development must remain human-centered. Women, she added, must be involved in algorithm design to ensure fairness, authorship, and decent pay. "We must guarantee skills and income security through mandatory retraining in at-risk professions," the Vice President concluded.

/RY/

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By 20:10 on 14.10.2025 Today`s news

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