After gaining independence from (the former) Yugoslavia in 1991, the Republic of North Macedonia has made significant advancements toward achieving gender parity. All citizens are equal under the country’s constitution and governing laws, and in 1994 North Macedonia ratified the Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The following year, they signed the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action, one of the UN’s most progressive resolutions toward achieving gender equality. In 1998, following the country’s third general election, women made up a mere 6.6 percent of parliament, so female-led NGOs and human rights groups lobbied for a gender quota law. Their efforts led to the 2002 passing of an election law making it mandatory for women to make up no less than 30 percent of Parliamentary and Municipal Council candidates. The law was later amended in 2015, with the required quota increasing to 40 percent. As of 2020, women make up 39.2 percent of seats with 16 percent holding ministry positions. One of these women is Radmila Šekerinska, who was elected North Macedonia’s first female prime minister in 2004, and is currently the country’s Minister of Defense. Despite the nation’s forward progress, women are still severely underrepresented across all sectors of society with significant gender gaps in the labor market and property ownership. However, with the continued advocacy work from civil society compounded with more female representation in parliament, anti-discrimination laws are being passed, protecting women from human rights violations.
Though women participated in sports prior to the country’s independence, they began competing internationally under their own name after 1991. Soccer, basketball and handball rank among the most popular team sports in North Macedonia. The national handball team, Kometal Skopje, won the European Handball Federation Champions League in 2002, and finished seventh in the 2008 European Women’s Handball Championship. The 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, were the first Games North Macedonia competed as an independent state with Ana Ugrinovska participating in the canoe slalom and Mirjana Bosevska and Natasha Meskovska in swimming.
Meet and support global leaders creating change in North Macedonia:
Ilina Arsova
Silvija Mitevska
How does North Macedonia compare to other countries?
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Women in Leadership
PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT AS OF 2020
39%
PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN IN MINISTRY POSITIONS AS OF 2020
16%
Has a Woman Ever Been Head of State or Head of Government?
Radmila Šekerinska, 2004
HAS A WOMAN EVER BEEN SPORTS MINISTER?
Unknown
Title IX Timeline
1946
Women gained the right to vote (as Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia).
1991
The Republic of Macedonia was officially established after peacefully breaking away from Yugoslavia.
1994
North Macedonia ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
1996
Ana Ugrinovska, Mirjana Boševska, and Nataša Meškovska became the first women to represent North Macedonia in the Olympics.
2004
Radmila Šekerinska became the first female Prime Minister of Macedonia and Olivera Nakovska-Bikova became the first woman to represent North Macedonia in the Paralympics.
2012
Olivera Nakovska-Bikova won a gold medal in shooting to become the first woman from North Macedonia to win a Paralympic medal.
2013
North Macedonia signed the UN Security Council Resolution 1325, affirming that peace and security efforts are more sustainable when women are equal partners in the prevention of violent conflict, the delivery of relief and recovery efforts and in the forging of lasting peace.
2018
Republic of Macedonia is renamed to the Republic of North Macedonia, or North Macedonia for short.
Women in the olympics
participation through the years
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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4
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10
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8
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3
Women in the Paralympics
participation through the years
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0
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0
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0
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0
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2
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2
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1
Elite Sports Participation
First Year Women Participated In The Olympics
1996
Year Women’s Participation In Olympics Was Equal To Men’s
2012
First Time A Woman Won An Olympic Medal
The first woman could be you!
First Year Women Participated In The Paralympics
2004
Year Women’s Participation In Paralympics Was Equal To Men’s
2008
First Time A Woman Won A Paralympic Medal
Olivera Nakovska-Bikova: 2012, Shooting (Gold)
FIFA
Fédération Internationale de Football Association
National Women’s Team?
Yes
First Year Of Play
2005
Pay Gap Comparison
Pay Unknown
Gender Initiatives
FIFA is committed to the growth and development of women’s football around the globe.
For More Information
FIBA
Fédération Internationale de Basketball
National Women’s Team?
Yes
First Year Of Play
2000
Pay Gap Comparison
Pay Unknown
Gender Initiatives
Increasing the participation of women in basketball at all levels was named as one of FIBA’s eight strategic objectives (2019- 2027) and one of FIBA’s three strategic priorities (2019-2023).
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LOCAL
Sports
Initiatives
Community Organizations That Have Signed The Brighton + Helsinki Declaration
