President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova received today representatives of the State Audit Office, led by the Assistant to the Chief State Auditor, Katerina Chaloska Aleksova, who are conducting an audit of the performance on the topic “Women Leaders – Women in Politics, Parliament, in Management Positions in Central Government Bodies” for the period 2020-2025.
Siljanovska-Davkova welcomed the audit activities to promote gender equality through greater transparency and accountability of institutions.
According to her, the audit allows for an objective determination of the situation, as a prerequisite for preparing quality and sound recommendations for good governance.
The President said that in her Cabinet, the majority of employees and those in management positions are women. Regarding her competencies, she indicated that: there is a female Adjutant; for the first time in 30 years, a woman is the head of the Intelligence Agency; a woman has been appointed to the Security Council; in the Commission for Decorations and Recognitions out of a total of 11 members, 6 are women, while in the Pardoning Commission out of a total of 7 members, 4 are women, including the chairwoman of the commission; in the Youth Council there is parity representation and the two proposed members for the Judicial Council are women. On the other hand, from 2020 to 2025, 14 female ambassadors were appointed, which speaks of the insufficient representation of women in diplomacy.
For Siljanovska-Davkova, key reasons for gender inequality are: the existence of a patriarchal political culture, partisanship and politicization of institutions, absence of intra-party democracy and male dominance of the highest party and ministerial positions.
The interlocutors agreed that gender equality leads to more representative institutions that make balanced decisions and create policies that reflect the broader needs of society.
According to them, respecting gender-neutral quotas must not be at the expense of professionalism and expertise.
The auditors believe that a new law on state audit is needed and that audit reports should be legally binding.
