The Minister of Labor and Social Policy Jovanka Trenchevska together with the Director of the State Statistics Office of the Republic of North Macedonia, Apostol Simovski, the Ambassador of Sweden in the Republic of North Macedonia, H.E. Ami Larson Jain, the Head of Public Relations of the European Institute for Gender Equality, Denis van der Veur and the National Coordinator of the Gender Responsive Budgeting Program of UN Woman in the Republic of North Macedonia, Ivona Paunović Biševac opened the event where it was promoted. The Gender Equality Index in North Macedonia (2022).

The event is organized by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy with the support of the UN Woman office in Skopje within the UN Women project “Promoting gender responsive policies and budgets: towards transparent, inclusive and accountable management in the Republic of North Macedonia”, financed from Switzerland and Sweden.

“Today we present the second national gender index report for 2022. In this way, we create the opportunity to once again confirm the commitments and dedication of the Republic of North Macedonia in promoting gender equality and equal opportunities,” said Trenchevska.

She pointed out that the index will serve as a roadmap and a place where all the data that will contribute to the advancement of gender equality are found.

“The gender perspective has become a priority area in all spheres of society in the last decade. And precisely for this reason, projects of this type – on which we closely cooperate with UN Women – are extremely important for raising awareness of the importance of gender equality and for building a network and connecting the institutions that should implement and implement this gender perspective in his daily work”, said the director of the State Statistical Office of RSM, Apostol Simonovski.

The ambassador of Sweden in the Republic of North Macedonia, H.E. Ami Larson Jain pointed out that gender equality is not only important for individuals, but also important for the economy and prosperity of a country as a whole. She pointed out that it is important to recognize that gender equality is not only about women’s rights, but that it is about creating a society that is better for everyone – for women, for men and for our children and youth.

“Sweden is a proud partner in the development of gender equality in North Macedonia. We are proud to share our values and priorities with institutions and partner organizations in this country and to demonstrate the progress and success achieved and support the many dedicated and skilled actors in the municipalities, regions and national level where work remains to be done,” said the ambassador of Sweden H.E. Ami Larson Jain.

The head of public relations of the European Institute for Gender Equality, Denis van der Veur, emphasized his satisfaction with the participation and support of the Republic of North Macedonia in the preparation of the Gender Equality Index. He pointed out that the European Institute for Gender Equality is particularly proud to be able to share methods and tools to improve the issue of gender equality in the countries of the Western Balkans.

The national coordinator of the Gender Responsible Budgeting program of UN Woman in the Republic of North Macedonia, Ivona Paunović Biševac, referred to the history of the implementation of the Gender Equality Index in the RSM.

“When a few years ago, precisely in 2018, the initiative to implement the Gender Equality Index was born for the first time and we met with the team of the European Institute for Gender Equality in Skopje, we talked about how, with joint efforts, we could make North Macedonia one of the the candidate countries for membership in the EU, which implements its own Gender Equality Index,” said Paunović.

The event was closed with the presentation of the Gender Equality Index by the experts.