The event was organised by the Croatian association of businesswomen called Krug (The Circle) to mark International Women Entrepreneurs Day.
The discussion was held under the auspices of President of the Republic Stjepan Mesic, who said that women were increasingly assuming leading roles in Croatia's economy and politics.
Deputy Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said that women as entrepreneurs and business owners were more stable and less inclined to lay-offs than their male counterparts and that they had done a lot in promoting women's human rights.
The head of the parliamentary Committee on Gender Equality, Gordana Sobol, said that women were discriminated against on the labour market and did not have an equal chance of employment and career advancement as men.
Sobol cited statistics from April according to which women accounted for 180,890 out of the registered 302,406 jobless people, or 60 per cent. She added that women were in leading positions in just six per cent of firms in Croatia compared to eight per cent in developed nations.
Thanks to their competence and knowledge, Croatian businesswomen have much to offer to the country's economy, the head of the Krug association, Biserka Preininger-Fizulic, said.