Workshop – Gender responsive municipal budgets from best practices in the time of pandemic

SKOPJE – On November 5th, under the Swiss Embassy’s “Strengthening Municipal Councils” project in North Macedonia, implemented by UNDP, a virtual workshop on “Gender responsive budgeting in municipalities for 2021” was organized. The workshop initiated by UNDP, ZELS and UN Women was attended by over 30 participants and representatives from over 20 municipalities (presidents of councils, equal opportunities commissions and coordinators). The meeting responded to the need of the municipalities in the period of preparing the 2021 budgets, especially having in mind that due to the pandemic, the majority of gender responsive activities planned for the current year were either postponed or cancelled. There are municipalities with good examples of gender responsive budgeting in the time of the immediate response to the pandemic and their examples were presented to be adjusted by the other municipalities.

The workshop presented the findings from the Mapping of the impact of COVID-19 on the socio-economic state of women on local level and the study of the Impact of COVID-19 on women in NRM done by UN Women. Some of the most relevant questions discussed were how can we ensure gender responsive budgeting processes and which tools are at our disposal for adjusting the planned activities. The discussion underlined the need to utilize all available resources, such as the equal opportunities commissions and coordinators.

Participants expressed satisfaction for the useful and practical meeting with the goal to strengthen the capacities of the local self-government to develop and implement gender responsive local budgets. The following conclusions were drawn

• Annual local budgets need to be gender responsive and this process is possible only by including the equal opportunities commissions and coordinators;

• The pandemic has intensified the inequalities and the health crisis affects women and men differently. Women are more exposed to the consequences if the health crisis and especially in the unpaid domestic labor, where women take the biggest burden. This must be taken in consideration when planning the measures to handle the pandemic;

• Good practices of some municipalities in implementing gender responsive measures to mitigate the pandemic is an inspiration for other municipalities to adjust and implement in their context.

The “Strengthening Municipal Councils” project works directly with 24 municipalities, in partnership with the Ministry of Local Self-Government, the Ministry of Finance, ZELS, the Association of Financial Workers and the UN Body for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (UN Women). The project has implemented a series of activities to present to strengthen the capacity of councilors and their network, including transparency and civil participation in municipalities. 60 forum sessions within 15 forum processes were held to present and attended by over 4,000 citizens – residents of the selected municipalities. This process has so far resulted in six implemented local development projects, whereas additional 18 similar projects will be implemented in an equal number of municipalities in the course of 2020.

Switzerland has supported the political, social and economic transition of North Macedonia since 1992. The current goal of the Swiss program in the country is to improve the quality of life of the citizens of North Macedonia by strengthening democratic institutions and practices, promoting inclusive economic growth and protection of natural resources. Switzerland adds value through expertise, funding and constructive engagement with longstanding partners in North Macedonia. Today, Switzerland is one of the largest bilateral partners of North Macedonia and remains committed to the stability and prosperity of the region.