Women’s participation in the labour market in certain areas in Macedonia remains a challenge. Recognising the need for helping municipalities develop more tailored policies aimed at increased participation of women in the labour market British Embassy provided support to Women’s Civic Initiative Antiko to work with Kicevo and Bitola municipalities on economic empowerment of women. The programme in the period from April 2015 to March 2016 involved series of activities such as: assessment of the socio-economic status of women in the municipalities of Bitola and Kicevo, developing and implementing capacity building programme for local civil society organizations and local governance units and outreach plan to get to more women and stakeholders relevant for this issue.
Marking the completion of this programme our ambassador Charles Garret said:
Antiko’s work on economic empowerment of women is important work. It is important for the women themselves, and it is important for the economy. If women don’t work, businesses are missing out on half of the talent available. They are also missing out in the greater creativity that a diverse workforce brings. So, it is important for individuals and for employers and, overall, for society.
The end goal of the programme was to help in producing evidence based, participatory approach for gender-sensitive policy for economic empowerment of women. Products of the project involve guides for women for opening and leading their businesses and the local governments in Kicevo and Bitola adopted operational plans for conducting activities aimed for economic empowerment of women for 2016.
British Embassy Skopje runs a range of programme assistance in Macedonia providing support in several reform areas with judiciary, human rights, democracy, media and civil society.
Connect with us on Facebook or follow us @ukinmacedonia
Connect with the British Ambassador on Facebook or @BritAmbCGarrett
Read our blog UK in Macedonia
Source: UK & Macedonia