Based on the fact of clearly defined legal obligations to encourage and promote gender equality between women and men at the local level, the Organization of Women from Strumica, the Civic Initiative of Women from Sveti Nikole, the Humanitarian Association “Majka” from Kumanovo and the Association “Radika De ” from Debar performed an analysis of the functionality of the Commissions for equal opportunities for women and men (CEOWM) at the Councils of the municipalities of Strumica, Sveti Nikole, Kumanovo and Debar.
The subject of this analysis is the setting and method of operation of the CEOWM (number and topics of sessions held, cooperation with the coordinator for equal opportunities and with other commissions within the Council, cooperation with civil society organizations and/or experts in the field of gender issues, method of creating and implementing gender policies, initiated initiatives to improve gender equality, etc.).
The research was conducted during September and October 2022, and targets the operation of CEOWM in the period from December 2021 to August 31, 2022.
The analysis is based on quantitative and qualitative research, using different methods and relevant sources of information. In the initial phase, a desk analysis was made of the programs and policies of the municipalities of Strumica, Sveti Nikole, Kumanovo and Debar, in the area of gender equality. For the purposes of the research, unified requests for access to public information were submitted to the four municipalities, and interviews/conversations were organized with the presidents and members of CEOWM, with the coordinators for equal opportunities and with representatives of civil society organizations, based on previous defined semi-structured questions. In addition, an evaluation and collection of data from secondary sources of information – the State Statistics Office and the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of the Republic of North Macedonia – was made.
From the analysis of the measures and mechanisms for promoting gender equality in the municipalities of Sveti Nikole, Debar, Kumanovo and Strumica, it can be concluded that most of them (three) have policies in the mentioned area, but there are no data and indicators for the degree of realization and the impact of the implementation of those policies. The municipality of Kumanovo does not have policies for promoting gender equality.
Citizens do not have the opportunity to be informed about the specific measures taken by municipalities and councils to reduce the gender gap at the local level.
The number of held sessions of the commissions for equal opportunities for women and men in the municipalities of Sveti Nikole, Strumica and Debar is not at a satisfactory level. These commissions have not held a single joint session with the other commissions within the municipal councils, nor have they made an assessment of the gender component of the other commissions’ proposals and materials.
CEOWM have not established a formal mechanism for consultation with civil society organizations and/or independent experts for affirmation, implementation and monitoring of measures and activities in the area of equal opportunities.
This situation does not contribute enough to the reduction of gender inequality and therefore, it is necessary to improve the cooperation between CEOWM with other commissions and civil organizations, to strengthen the capacities of the members of the commissions for the concepts of gender equality and gender-responsive budgeting, as well as for monitoring and evaluation of the gender component in all strategic documents.
You can download the full text of the Analysis here.
This document was prepared within the framework of the “Alliances for active citizenry” project, which is implemented by the NGO Infocenter with the support of the European Union. The research on the functionality of CEOWM was carried out by the Women’s Organization from Strumica, the Women’s Civic Initiative from Sveti Nikole, the “Majka” Humanitarian Association from Kumanovo and the “Radika De” Association from Debar.
