Mentoring Sessions on Gender-Responsive Budgeting

The Ministry of Social Policy, Demography and Youth in cooperation with the OSCE Mission continued with the Mentoring Program "Women for Women" to encourage the professional development and leadership of women in the public sector, intended for women in full-time employment in the ministry.
The mentoring program aims to increase the opportunities for personal and professional development of women employed in the public sector by creating a concept of mutual support and strengthening, sharing knowledge and experiences, as well as strengthening solidarity and networking between women.
The first training cycle began to be implemented from September to December 2024 and it was held a two-day training on September 4-5 for female mentors, and then on September 25-26 a two-day training for mentors and building the mentor-mentee relationship.
On September 26, in the premises of the Resource Center for Gender Responsive Policymaking and Budgeting, the first meeting of the mentors with the mentees took place, and thus the first meeting with the aim of getting to know each other and setting goals and a plan for joint work for this cycle, which will last three months. .
This is the first cycle of the Mentoring Program which will continue from January 2025 through the implementation of 2 training cycles, and its taking will further be an integral part of the training modules in the Resource Center of the ministry in order to sustain the program.

The mentoring program aims to increase the opportunities for personal and professional development of women employed in the public sector by creating a concept of mutual support and empowerment, sharing knowledge and experiences, as well as strengthening solidarity and networking between women.

There is a growing interest and need for public institutions and professionals to raise the level of accountability when conducting monitoring and evaluation of public policies. Here we also mention the need to integrate gender equality into all phases of the evaluation process. This module aims to offer participants not only knowledge of international standards, but also to encourage them to think about how they can be practically applied in a local context.

This module guides participants through evaluation frameworks and uses both United Nations and OECD standards. The aim is to understand how a gender perspective is a key element – ​​and not only declaratively, but through concrete tools and indicators that enable a systematic assessment of gender aspects in every public intervention.

Why is this important?

Because public institutions are increasingly called upon to demonstrate accountability and effectiveness – not only whether something has been done, but also how it has affected women and men, equally or unequally. Gender-responsive evaluation is not just a technical approach; It represents a value determination that the value of public policies is measured by their ability to create a more just society.

The aim is to understand how a gender perspective is a key element – ​​not just declaratively, but through concrete tools and indicators that enable a systeThis module guides participants through evaluation frameworks and uses both United Nations and OECD standards. matic assessment of gender aspects in any public intervention.

Why is this important?

Because public institutions are increasingly called upon to demonstrate accountability and effectiveness – not just whether something has been done, but also how it has affected women and men, equally or unequally. Gender-responsive evaluation is not just a technical approach; it is a value-based determination that the value of public policies is also measured by their ability to create a more just society.

The training should provide an understanding of gender concepts and the importance of gender responsive budgeting as well as specialized methods and tools for gender responsive budgeting including gender analysis tools.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy organizes trainings that are part of the project activities within the project "Strengthening the rule of law and human rights in North Macedonia", which is financially supported by the OSCE Mission in Skopje.

The training is intended for administrative officers and clerical employees in the local self-government bodies, while the purpose of the training is to increase knowledge in relation to discrimination and equality, to strengthen the capacities of the employed officers in relation to the principles of non-discrimination, protection mechanisms , the competent institutions and the relevant domestic legal framework and international documents.

This training is part of a series of our trainings that were held in Skopje, Berovo, Ohrid and Dojran with participants from the municipalities in the region, while on September 23 and 24 the training was held in the premises of the Resource Center for gender-responsive policy making and budgeting.

The aim of the programme is for the participants to acquire the basic concepts of gender equality and to recognize the social disparities that exist in the society, which are a condition for gender discrimination.

To get acquainted with the concept of gender analysis and the benefits of applying gender analysis

Understand the key issues and steps for conducting a gender analysis

Identify key issues and gender aspects by sectors

Understand the importance of regulatory impact assessment in the process of developing better gender responsive policies

Gain knowledge of gender statistics and identify relevant sources of gender statistics

To get acquainted with the importance of monitoring and evaluation systems

To get acquainted with the concept of gender responsive budget reports and their content

The goals of the program are for the participants to gain knowledge about basic concepts of gender equality, to recognize the differences in positions of power in society that are a condition for gender discrimination in order to be able to meet the needs of men when creating strategic documents and public policies. and women equally and advocate for their adoption and implementation.

The goal is to upgrade the knowledge and skills of trainers and trainers for non-discrimination and the duty to promote the equality of employees in the public sector.

The training should provide an understanding of gender concepts and the meaning of gender-responsive budgeting, as well as specialized methods and tools for gender-responsive budgeting, including tools for gender analysis.

To provide participants with the theory, skills and tools to develop and implemnet effective training programme on gender responsive budgeting.

Discussion on the selection of programs that will be subject to gender analysis and preparation of Gender Budget Statements, but also on the challenges in including a gender perspective in programs and budgets.

The main objective of the training is to prepare public servants with theoretical knowledge and practical tools for integrating gender principles into strategic and annual planning, in accordance with national obligations arising from laws and methodology.
The creation of policies, strategies, programs and projects with the inclusion of a gender perspective contributes to solving many development problems and brings concrete benefits to the government, to individuals – women and men, and to society as a whole.
Although when it comes to strategic planning, it is considered that those who work directly on the preparation of strategic plans are the most responsible, everyone is affected not only by the preparation but also by the implementation of strategic plans. Therefore, this training would be useful for representatives from multiple sectors of the institutions.

The purpose of this initiative is to enhance the ability of anti-corruption specialists within public institutions to incorporate gender equality considerations into their anti-corruption efforts.

The aim of the training is to strengthen the knowledge of administrative officials from the region about gender equality and to understand the benefits of integrating a gender perspective into policies and public budgets.

The main objective of the training is to prepare public servants with theoretical knowledge and practical tools for integrating gender into strategic and annual planning, in accordance with national obligations arising from laws and methodology.

Creating policies, strategies, programs and projects with the inclusion of a gender perspective contributes to solving many development problems and brings concrete benefits to the government, to individuals – women and men, and to society as a whole.

Although when it comes to strategic planning, it is considered that those who work directly on the preparation of strategic plans are the most responsible, everyone is affected not only by the preparation but also by the implementation of strategic plans. Therefore, this training would be useful for representatives from multiple sectors of the institutions.

The Academy aims to strengthen the capacities of employees in the Ministry, with a focus on the Research Center, in several areas: youth policies, communication with the public, conducting research, data processing, and internal cooperation with sectors.