Skopje, 30 March 2023
According to the empirical researches, the greater involvement of women in the economy means higher economic growth. In the developed economies, the involvement of women may accelerate the growth by 10%, while in the less developed, by as much as 30%. However, the wide gap between men and women in the labor market, according to involvement and valorization, is still a global problem, which further deepened after the pandemic. There is a similar situation in the Macedonian economy. The National Bank is one of the positive examples in society, where the share of women holding managing positions is 70%. These were some of the messages of the Governor of the National Bank Anita Angelovska Bezhoska, who addressed the panel discussion Women Inspire, within the program organized in honor of the First Ladies of Austria and the Republic of North Macedonia.
Discussing gender inequality worldwide, the Governor Angelovska Bezhoska emphasized that the crisis episodes we faced in the past few years disproportionally affected women more than men. “This is clearly perceived through the fact that only in the first pandemic year, around 54 million women in the world exited the labor market, and it is estimated that 90% of them, on a permanent basis. Thus, the activity rate of women reduced to 47%, so that the difference with the activity rate of men, which exceeds 70%, further deepened. This means that only less than half of the active female population works or seeks employment, i.e. it contributes to growth of the economies”, the Governor says.
Furthermore, in her discussion, the Governor referred to the Macedonian economy, which is also facing challenges related to gender inequality. Only about 45% of the women are active in the labor market, and there is also segregation in the managing positions with a significantly smaller share of women, which also leads to a wage gap.
The Governor Angelovska Bezhoska says that society also has several good examples. In this context, she emphasized that the reputable British expert group OMFIF, whose index measures the share of women in the institution’s management, ranks the National Bank first in the world in the central-banking community according to gender equality.
The panel discussion moderated by the Director of the National Gallery of Macedonia, Dita Starova Qerimi, in addition to the Governor and the First Ladies, Elizabeta Gjorgjievska and Doris Schmidauer, was also attended by successful women in the country, representatives in the field of politics, business and civil sector, culture and from other areas, where their current achievements were presented.