In line with the SDG 2030 Agenda, UNDP CO North Macedonia is placing gender equality and the empowerment of women in the center of its work in order to ensure that commitments on gender equality are translated into actions in all thematic areas: Inclusive Prosperity, Democratic Governance and Environment.

Our interventions are guided and informed by UNDP's Gender Equality Strategy 2022-2025 and based on country specific analysis of gender inequalities and broader development issues. Recognizing that gender is a crucial element in understanding power imbalances, we direct our work towards changing the power structures that generate gender inequalities. The approach is a dual one and comprises gender mainstreaming in all programs and interventions as well as specific interventions aimed at empowering women and girls. Focus is placed on advancing gender-responsive public policies and services that deliver for all citizens, promoting community-based models that ensure that both women and men shape and benefit from solutions to crises, promoting measures that offer more opportunities for women to be more competitive on the labour market, including increased participation of women in STEM studies and careers as well improving the response to gender-based violence.

To achieve the highest standards in gender equality implementation, the office underwent the UNDP Gender Seal Certification process. 

UNDP North Macedonia has achieved a Silver Seal in UNDP’s Gender Equality Seal Programme for UNDP offices. This award proves our unwavering commitment to building a more gender-equal world, reflecting the efforts we put into our management systems, capacities, enabling environment, programmes, projects, knowledge management, communication, partnerships, and internal practices, to advance gender equality for everyone, everywhere.

Our Silver Gender Equality Seal is the result of a rigorous evaluation conducted in collaboration with the UNDP Bureau of Programme and Policy Support and the UNDP Regional Bureau for Europe and Central Asia. 

In 2023, with an impressive score of 80%, UNDP North Macedonia has met 24 out of 30 benchmarks.

We are strongly committed in strengthening our internal capacities to fulfil the requirements related to programmatic and operational requests of the Gender Seal.

For additional information, please contact:

Kristina Plecic, UNDP Gender Specialist in North Macedonia, Kristina.plecic@undp.org 

Legal framework on Gender Equality

North Macedonia is signatory of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, as one of the most comprehensive bills of rights for women which sets up the agenda for national action to end such discrimination. In addition, North Macedonia is signatory of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA) and it is also committed to the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 – Women, Peace and Security.

The country`s legal framework on gender equality is aligned with the international and European human rights standards, conventions and other international human rights instruments.

Кey legal and strategic documents on gender equality include: Law on Equal Opportunities of Women and Men (2014), Law on Prevention and Protection against Discrimination (2020), National Strategy for Anti-discrimination (2022-2026), National Strategy for Gender Equality (2022-2027).

Latest Gender Equality Developments in North Macedonia

North Macedonia ranks at the 83rd position on the Human Development Index (HDI) with a value of 0.765, which puts the country in the High human development category. The 2022 female HDI value for North Macedonia was 0.744 in contrast with 0.783 for males, resulting in a Gender Development Index (GDI) value of 0.950 (a score of 1.00 represents gender parity), placing it into Group 2. North Macedonia has a Gender Inequality Index (GII) value of 0.134 (a score of 1.00 representing the highest level of inequality in all measured dimensions), ranking 38th out of 166 countries in 2022. On the Women, Peace and Security Index , North Macedonia is at the 44th position (out of 177 countries), with a score of 0.798. In 2024, North Macedonia scored 0.727 in the Global Gender Gap Index , ranking 58th out of 146 countries. 

Women’s Leadership and Meaningful Participation

Despite electing its first woman President in 2024, North Macedonia has seen a decline in women’s representation in decision-making. In 2025, women hold 39.2% of parliamentary seats, below the 40% legal quota and down from 42.5% in 2024. Women are often placed low on candidate lists, and gender equality was largely absent from campaign discourse.

Government representation is even lower, with only 3 women ministers out of 18, though their roles in finance and energy mark progress. At the local level, just 2 out of 81 mayors are women, and women made up only 8.4% of candidates in the 2021 elections.

Political parties rarely promote women to leadership roles and lack protections against discrimination. Women face unequal treatment, limited support, and gender-based harassment, including online abuse. Media coverage also marginalizes women, reinforcing stereotypes that politics is a male domain.

In public administration, women make up 56.8% of employees but are concentrated in traditionally “female” sectors like health and education. Only 36% of managerial roles were held by women in 2020, and sex-disaggregated data remains limited.

Public perception favors political connections over merit, further hindering women’s advancement in politics.

Women’s Economic Empowerment

Despite women excelling in education and having longer life expectancy, North Macedonia faces persistent gender disparities in employment, wages, and occupational roles. In 2022, the Gender Employment Gap Index was 19.1%, indicating that GDP could be nearly 20% higher if women’s employment matched men’s.

In 2023, women made up 60.9% of the inactive population and only 42.4% of the employed. Most inactive women are categorized as housewives, and many work as unpaid family workers, while men dominate employer and self-employed roles. Women’s transition from education to employment is often delayed due to family responsibilities, with care obligations cited as the main reason for inactivity.

Patriarchal norms persist, with nearly half of men and over a third of women agreeing that household chores are a woman’s responsibility, even if the man is unemployed. Women spend significantly more time on unpaid domestic work than men, and limited access to childcare and eldercare services exacerbates this imbalance. In municipalities without kindergartens, women’s employment rates are notably lower.

Occupational segregation is stark: men dominate sectors like construction and transport, while women are concentrated in lower-paid care sectors such as health and education. Women are underrepresented in STEM fields and managerial roles, facing stereotypes and the “glass ceiling.” In 2021, women held only 21% of senior management positions in listed companies.

Women earn 9.8%, less than men, contributing to lower pensions and higher poverty rates among women. Women are also less likely to start businesses, with female-led enterprises being smaller and concentrated in limited sectors. Property ownership is skewed, with men holding 71% of property records, influenced by traditional inheritance practices.

Rural women face the lowest employment rates and limited access to financial support. Roma women and women with disabilities are among the most disadvantaged, facing high unemployment and discrimination in hiring practices.

Gender and Climate Change

Although gender and climate change are deeply interconnected, this relationship is often poorly understood and insufficiently reflected in policies and measures. Climate change impacts—such as floods, droughts, landslides, air pollution, and resource degradation—disproportionately affect the poor, marginalized, and those who rely directly on nature for survival. Women, who generally have lower incomes, limited access to resources, and carry the burden of unpaid domestic work, are among the most vulnerable.

Women are more exposed to climate risks due to traditional gender roles that keep them in the home, especially in households using polluting fuels for heating and cooking. This increases their exposure to indoor air pollution and waterborne diseases. Although women make up only 39.6% of the formal workforce, they contribute significantly through unpaid labor. In rural areas, they face limited access to information and financial services and are underrepresented in local governance. In agriculture, women perform much of the unpaid labor and are directly affected by climate-related challenges like water scarcity.

Access to resources and finance remains unequal. Only 29% of property is registered to women, limiting their ability to adapt to climate risks or access subsidies and investments. Many rural women feel unqualified to apply for financial support, and less than 1% of global climate funds reach local women’s organizations, despite their vital role in sustainable resource management.

During natural disasters, women often evacuate last due to caregiving responsibilities, increasing their exposure to danger. These events also intensify the burden on women and girls, who are typically responsible for securing water, food, and care within the household. Women in poor and rural households are more exposed to energy poverty, relying on polluting fuels that lead to chronic health issues. Clean energy and green job transitions must be gender-responsive, with women actively supported and included.

Women are key drivers of climate action. They possess valuable local knowledge for resource conservation, especially in agriculture and water management. Studies show that greater female political representation leads to stronger climate policies and lower emissions. At the local level, women’s involvement in natural resource governance is linked to better environmental outcomes.

Gender-based Violence

Gender-based violence remains a serious and widespread issue in North Macedonia. Nearly half of all women report experiencing some form of violence since the age of 15, and almost one in three have faced sexual harassment. Technology-facilitated gender-based violence is an emerging concern, especially for women with disabilities. However, the lack of consolidated and publicly available data makes it difficult to fully understand the scope and nature of GBV. Data from the Ministry of Interior only covers cases that enter the legal system, while the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy does not publish data from Centres for Social Work. In 2023, 1,082 domestic violence-related crimes were registered, including 635 cases of bodily injury and five homicides. Most perpetrators were men (92.5%), and most victims were women (81.6%), typically wives or mothers of the perpetrators.

Legal progress has been made with the adoption of the Law on Prevention and Protection from Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, the Action Plan for the Istanbul Convention, and amendments to the Criminal Code. However, implementation remains a challenge due to limited funding and weak institutional coordination. There is a shortage of shelters and trained personnel, with most services concentrated in the capital. Rural areas face particular difficulties, including lack of psychosocial support and high financial dependence on partners. As of mid-2022, only 103 beds were available in 11 shelters nationwide, far below the recommended standard.

Traditional attitudes toward gender roles are slowly changing, but domestic violence is still widely seen as a private matter. While public attitudes toward survivors of sexual violence are generally supportive, victim-blaming remains common. Around 30% of women believe that claims of abuse or rape are often exaggerated or fabricated, and a similar proportion think that violence is frequently provoked by the victim.