Party representatives drew attention to the poor representation of women in local government units, saying that merely 13 per cent of local councillors were women. They called on other political parties to try to change this at the forthcoming local elections.
SDP Deputy President Zeljka Antunovic said that other parties should follow the SDP's example as the party that "has done most on the Croatian political scene in promoting gender equality and women's rights".
"Today the SDP is run by women, because its most important bodies mainly consist of women," Antunovic said, adding that besides her as deputy president, the party has two women vice-presidents, 51 per cent of members of the Main Board are women, and a significant number of women are in charge of the party's county, municipal and town branches.
Antunovic said that the SDP was concerned about "the growing conservative influence of the Catholic Church in Croatian society" which "again wants to tie women firmly to the family and prevent them from political and other forms of expression".