WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN DECISION - MAKING PROCESSES REGARDING ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Abstract

According to the European Commission, environment protection is an area in which Serbia will have to make maximum efforts to fully meet European standards and requirements of sustainable development in the future. Problems of waste management is especially serious, and in the environmental protection system, it requires immediate attention of wider scientific circles and experts, but also participation and partnership of all members of our community. Starting from the guidelines and recommendations of a number of policy documents that promote partnership and gender equality as a prerequisite for future-oriented development and broader participation of women in decision-making regarding environmental protection, research interests of the authors of this paper are directed towards the problems of women's participation in waste management. The starting point of the study is a hypothesis that women are not sufficiently involved in the decision-making process relating to waste management issues. Within the descriptive research method, methods of primary and secondary source analysis, a comparative analysis and a non-standardized interview were used. The research sample consisted of employees of Public Utility Companies in the Region of Nis, which is included in the Regional Waste Management Plan. The research results indicate a need for women to organize themselves more effectively and efficiently in order to get access to positions that will allow them more power, and therefore become more influential in decision-making in all spheres of social and public life as well as in the field of waste management and environmental protection. Key words:environmental protection, waste management, women, decision-making, sustainable development