The president met with women from public, political and business circles in Croatia after participating earlier this month in the 59th annual session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women which discussed the status of women and working methods to raise the stakes in advancing women's equality, empowerment and rights.
She also attended an international conference organised by the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation: 'No Ceilings: The Full Participation Project'.
"There is no gender equality in Croatia (...) the formula of equality before the law is not enough," President Grabar-Kitarovic said.
According to Grabar-Kitarovic, when it comes to legislation in Croatia, a lot has been achieved, but very little in practice.
She recalled that women were paid 10 per cent less than men for the same job while in Europe that average is 16 per cent.
Grabar-Kitarovic said that it was possible to achieve the UN agenda "Planet 50:50 by 2030", namely making gender equality a reality in Croatia by 2030, but not at the current rate.
"If we continue at this rate, it will take 75 years just to even out wages," she warned. She added that the "media have an important role (in the fight for gender equality) as do educational institutions."
The president assessed that women were not sufficiently involved in politics, and stressed the importance of women as a factor of peace, noting that only three percent of women were involved in peace negotiations even though they had a huge potential to achieve and renew peace in reconciliation processes.
"There are too few women in the business sector, only 24%," she said, adding that women made up a major portion of the unemployed. Referring to a report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), President Grabar-Kitarovic underscored that a greater representation of women in politics and business contributed to the betterment of countries, including economic growth and development.
The president announced that she would continue to meet with women from all walks of life in Croatia with the aim of promoting gender equality and activities that will accelerate changes.