The development of an index to measure gender equality in municipalities has been an idea that we at Reactor have had for quite some time. In 2016, we managed to bring this idea to life for the first time, creating this Index as part of the „Mobilizing for Gender Equality“ project, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) within the framework of the USAID Civic Engagement Project in Macedonia, which addresses the persistent gender inequality in all aspects of public and private life in the Republic of North Macedonia.
In 2021, as part of the „EU Advocacy for Advancing Women’s Rights“ project, supported by supported by the Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation – by Sweden and the Kvinna, we were able to gather new data from local self government units and conduct a second assessment of the current situation.
The aim of this project is to identify best practices in the work of institutions, as well as areas that require improvement, with the ultimate goal of enhancing the position of women in the Republic of North Macedonia.
The Gender Equality Index is a composite indicator of the status of women and men in different spheres of life, the availability of public services relevant to fulfil gender equality and the municipality efforts for promoting gender responsive policies.
We created the Gender Equality Index of the municipalities based upon the belief that for our collective improvement, women and men must have equal access to opportunities and services which are planned and created in accordance with their specific needs.
In order to provide a complete overview of the conditions in all municipalities in the Republic of Macedonia, this Index covered 81 municipalities analyzed in three main domains: gender gaps, enabling conditions and gender responsive municipality. In the first domain, the Index gives a review of the differences between women and men in the municipalities relating to the spheres of economy, education and political engagement. The second domain compares the presence and availability of assistance and services in the municipalities that are relevant and crucial for women. The last domain illustrates the municipality efforts made in the implementation and creation of policies, programs and allocation of budget assets for overcoming systemic obstructions for women, i.e., it analyses how the municipal strategies, programs and budgets impact the actual improvement of women’s life.
By this Index, we enable the decisionmakers, government officials and citizens to identify and understand the conditions that are critical for improving the status of women at a local level.