Promoting gender equality and increasing women’s participation in the economy are vital for North Macedonia’s development. Actively involving and fully utilizing the diverse skills of the population, especially those currently not in the workforce, is key to reducing poverty and achieving equitable wealth distribution. Despite progress in institutional mechanisms and policy frameworks for gender equality over the past decade, implementation still faces significant challenges. While the gender gap has narrowed in sectors like health and education, persistent disparities remain in economic opportunities, unpaid household responsibilities, property rights, political engagement, and leadership roles. Promoting gender equality in North Macedonia offers substantial opportunities. Apart from being inherently fair, advancing gender equality is essential for fostering inclusive growth and reducing poverty. Improving women’s economic prospects, access to resources, and empowerment is critical for addressing key policy challenges in North Macedonia, including boosting labor productivity, stimulating private sector development, and enhancing resilience. The structure of the report is as follows. Section 2 delves into the legal and institutional framework. Section 3 assesses gender equality from the perspective of human endowments. Section 4 discusses progress and challenges in economic opportunities. Section 5 focuses on issues related to voice and agency.
Authors
World Bank, The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
- Citation
- “ World Bank ; The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development . 2024 . North Macedonia - Country Gender Assessment . © Washington, DC: World Bank . http://hdl.handle.net/10986/41897 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO . ”
- Collection(s)
- Country Gender Assessment
- Identifier externaldocumentum
- 34350056
- Identifier internaldocumentum
- 34350056
- Pages
- 50
- Published in
- United States of America
- Region country
- North Macedonia (Formerly the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia)
- Report
- 191918
- Rights
- CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO
- Rights Holder
- World Bank
- Rights URI
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/igo
- UNIT
- EFI-ECA-POV-Poverty and Equity (EECPV)
- URI
- https://hdl.handle.net/10986/41897
- date disclosure
- 2024-07-18
- region administrative
- Europe and Central Asia
- theme
- Inclusive Growth,Gender,Human Development and Gender,Data Development and Capacity Building,Economic Policy,Economic Growth and Planning,Institutional strengthening and capacity building,Environment and Natural Resource Management,Public Sector Management,Climate change,Adaptation
Files
Table of Contents
- OLE_LINK3 14
- OLE_LINK4 14
- Acknowledgments 4
- Abbreviations 5
- 1. Introduction 6
- 2. Legal and institutional framework 7
- 3. Endowments 12
- 3.1 Health 12
- 3.2 Education 17
- 4. Economic opportunities 22
- 4.1 Labor market and employment status 22
- 4.2 Need and provision of care 28
- 4.3 Labour market segregation 32
- 4.4 Wage gap 33
- 4.5 Entrepreneurship and financial inclusion 34
- 5. Voice and Agency 39
- 5.1 Attitudes towards women 39
- 5.2 Political participation 40
- 5.3 Economic Leadership 42
- 5.4 Violence against women 43
- 6. Conclusion 46
- 7. References 47
