Novak: Women heads of state and government can show an example

Novak urged all women to get the opportunity to lead full lives not to have to choose between motherhood and a career. Women leaders can serve as an example in this regard, she added.

The president cited elements of Hungarian family policy which give women opportunities. She noted, for instance, that fathers and even grandparents are offered the opportunity to stay at home and receive associated benefits. Additionally, women with four or more children are exempt from personal income tax in Hungary, and the government plans to extend this to mothers with three children, she said.

The forum of female heads of state and government was convened by Csaba Korosi, the president of UNGA, chaired by former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, and attended by dozens of female leaders from around the world and addressed by, among others, the prime ministers of Iceland, Bangladesh and Uganda.