Statistical conference "25 years gender statistics"

On the occasion of 25 years since the establishment of gender statistics in the Republic of North Macedonia, and within the framework of the celebration of the anniversary "80 years State Statistical Office", the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women - UN Women, in cooperation with the State Statistical Office, is organizing a statistical conference "25 Years Gender Statistics", at the Hilton Doubletree Hotel in Skopje, which discussed the importance of gender data in creating evidence-based policies, as well as future steps to advance this important area.

It is a special honor for us that the President of the Republic of North Macedonia, Ms. Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, also gave her welcoming address at the conference, where she emphasized that gender statistics are key to fair policies, and in addition, the collection and use of gender data is essential for understanding the needs and potential of women and men, as well as for creating policies that eliminate discrimination and promote equality. The President also pointed out that greater courage, energy and cooperation between institutions are needed for the systematic collection and use of gender data, especially for marginalized groups and sensitive topics.

The guests were also welcomed by the Director of the State Statistical Office, Mr. Dejan Stankov, who emphasized that gender statistics are the basis for informed policymaking and monitoring of equality. He stated that in the past 25 years, a system of sex-disaggregated data has been established that allows a better understanding of the social and economic differences between men and women, and these data are used to create effective policies, measure their efficiency and strengthen the awareness of decision-makers about the importance of gender equality.

Ms. Vesna Ivanovic-Castarede, Head of the UN Women Office in North Macedonia, as well as Ami Larsson Jain, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to our country, also gave welcoming speeches. The State Statistical Office expresses special gratitude to the UN Women Office and Statistics Sweden for their cooperation in the production of gender-disaggregated data.

The central event of the conference, attended by several policymakers, statisticians, representatives of civil society, academia and other relevant factors, was the promotion of the latest edition of the publication "Women and Men in North Macedonia, 2025", which is a comprehensive source of information on important data and analyses on gender differences in the areas of labor, education, healthcare and participation in leadership positions.

The conference continued with two panel discussions, with the first panel “Gender Data for Policies and Data-Based Decision-Making” panelists being Ms. Mira Todorova, Assistant Manager at the State Statistical Office, Ms. Gabriela Madzoska, Head of the Gender Responsive Policies and Gender Responsive Budgeting Unit at the Ministry of Social Policy, Demography and Youth, Claudia Villante, Senior Researcher at ISTAT, the Italian National Statistical Office and National Expert at the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), Ms. Neslihan Onçul, Head of the Vital, Social Structure and Gender Statistics Department, Demographic Statistics Sector at the Turkish Statistical Institute, and the moderator was Ms. Vesna Ivanovic-Castarede.

The second panel was moderated by Mr. Dimitar Dimitrovski, Communications and Knowledge Coordinator at UN Women North Macedonia, and the panelists were Ms. Ala Negruta, Regional Specialist for Gender Statistics, UN Women for Europe and Central Asia, Ms. Maj Eriksson Gothe, Senior Advisor, SSO/SCB Cooperation Project, International Development Cooperation, Statistics Sweden, Mr. Fatos Grubi, Gender Activist, Network "Stella", Representative from the Gender Data Bootcamp, Mr. Stefan Tanevski, Assistant Professor of Finance and Economics, Faculty of Business at the American College Skopje University, Representative from the Gender Data Bootcamp.The conference “25 Years Gender Statistics” was an extremely important moment for all those working to advance gender equality through data and facts. Through inspiring speeches, expert discussions and the exchange of good practices, it was once again confirmed how important gender-disaggregated data is for creating fairer and more inclusive policies.

The anniversary was not only an occasion for celebration, but also an incentive for future investments in statistics as a tool for social change. The State Statistical Office remains committed to the development of gender statistics, with strong support from partners and collaborators, towards creating an equal society for all.