Making the invisible visible through data literacy initiatives in North Macedonia

Gender inequality isn’t always easy to illustrate, or present in a way that touches, moves and mobilizes people. To make the invisible more visible, 50 youth, women’s civil society representatives, government officials, media professionals, data experts and activists from across North Macedonia took part in a Gender Data Bootcamp held jointly with the School of Data NGO in September 2023 in Izmir, Türkiye.

After learning about data analysis, interpretation, visualization and communication, and with continued mentorship, participants harnessed their collective creative juices by working in teams to create compelling and innovative gender data scripts and stories focused on gender equality and women’s rights. Following a competitive pitch, four videos and two infographics were selected for professional multimedia production and dissemination in 2024, based on their relevance to gender issues, depth of analysis and visual impact. Today, these standout products – showcased below – are helping to embed gender perspectives into national audit frameworks, fuel youth-led campaigns and spark civil society initiatives on social norms, care work and gender-based violence – reaching thousands and inspiring action across the country.

“Data miners” team: Treading the elusive path to justice in North Macedonia

In response, the "Data Miners" team, consisting of State Audit Office (SAO) government officials and civil society activists, analysed gender data and produced an infographic to unveil the stark realities of domestic violence and access to justice in North Macedonia.

  For Blagoj Angelovski and Nadica Donevski from the SAO, the Bootcamp catalysed a mindset shift. 

“I used to think of data purely as a technical tool – now I see how, when presented clearly and visually, it can drive public engagement and institutional change,” says Angelovski. “We’ve started discussing how to look at audit findings not only from a legal or financial perspective but also in terms of how policies impact women and men differently. That’s a big shift for us.”

Donevski adds: “I gained a deeper understanding of how gender data can be used not only for analysis but for advocacy. It helped me learn new ways to present complex data visually and communicate it in a way that’s accessible to broader audiences.”

The infographic gained substantial traction, reaching over 8,100 people after being published on the SAO and UN Women website and social media, being distributed directly to more than 1,200 stakeholders and getting picked up by more than 15 media outlets.

As a result of a long-term partnership with UN Women in North Macedonia and the Women Count Europe and Central Asia Regional Programme, the SAO has begun formalizing the use of gender-disaggregated data in its audit processes. Today, Donevski and Angelovski are not only embedding gender into public audits, they’re helping shape a more inclusive and equitable auditing culture.

After the Bootcamp, the SAO regularly incorporates gender-disaggregated data and data storytelling as powerful tools in their audits to drive public engagement and effectively advocate for gender-responsive public institutions. So far, the SAO has completed two gender-focused audits – on governmental measures on gender equality and empowering rural women in the labour market – with another audit of gender-based violence services underway. SAO has also developed internal guidelines on integrating gender into auditing practices, so it becomes a standard approach.

“7 days” team: How is childcare keeping women out of the workforce in North Macedonia? 

These statistics are highlighted in an infographic created by the “7 Days” team of civil society activists and researchers. The infographic, which reached over 8,000 people, sheds light on the impact of childcare responsibilities on women’s labour force participation and offers data-driven solutions to advocate for investing in the daycare, redistributing care and reconfiguring work.

  For Svetlana Papachek, Deputy President of the local CSO Women’s Organization of Bitola, the Bootcamp was a turning point. The skills she gained in data analysis and visualization now shape her daily work – from developing projects and engaging decision-makers to supporting resource mobilization for her organization.

One initiative she co-led after the Bootcamp addresses period poverty among high school girls. Drawing on data about access to menstrual products, her team rolled out a project addressing period poverty by raising awareness and increasing access to products. As part of this effort, they installed menstrual product dispensers at the medical high school in Bitola – a city with a high number of students from vulnerable communities.

Looking ahead, Papachek and her team are now preparing a formal proposal to the municipality to ensure a regular supply of menstrual products in all secondary schools – or subsidies for students at social risk. “The Bootcamp didn’t just teach us how to work with data,” she says. “It showed us how to use it to drive real, lasting change.”

“Intersectional feminists” team: #FlipThePage: What do schools teach girls and boys in North Macedonia?

“Women should take care of the home and children.”

“Men should earn more than women.”

“Women should obey men.”

These are just a few of the messages recalled by over 1,000 women surveyed in 2020, reflecting the gender norms they encountered during their formal education. 

In response, the “Intersectional Feminists” – a team of gender advocates and journalists – analysed these and other data during the Bootcamp and launched the #FlipThePage campaign to challenge traditional gender roles and stereotypes conveyed through North Macedonia’s education system. Through a series of animated videos, the campaign exposed how traditional narratives around childcare, domestic roles and public life continue to shape the aspirations and life choices of girls and women. With a reach of at least 1,600 people on social media, the videos helped spotlight the urgent need for gender-responsive education systems.

Inspired by the #FlipThePage videos, team member Sara Milenkovska and her fellow collaborators – now part of the Stella Network – launched the “Be a Wonder Girl” campaign to empower girls to believe in themselves and defy gender stereotypes.

“Using gender statistics and data storytelling skills, we created various campaign assets, including billboards, art exhibitions, comic illustration contest, theatre performances and infographics,” says Milenkovska.

The campaign aimed to advocate for mentorship programmes for approximately 16,000 young girls in all 108 high schools across North Macedonia. 

“We’re thrilled that as a result of the campaign the Ministry of Education has granted access to schools for our mentorship programme,” she adds. “This initiative will foster personal growth, empowerment and academic success for young women and girls, while raising awareness about the gender stereotypes and inequalities they encounter throughout their academic and professional journeys.”

Fellow team member Marta Tanevska, a journalist and writer, similarly found new direction following the Bootcamp. After co-developing the #FlipthePage campaign of animated videos, she wrote a data-rich story for the Platform for Investigative Journalism and Analyses (PINA), a local CSO and media outlet, on how stereotypes impact women’s career choices and an investigative story about women being fired before taking maternity leave, sparking significant public interest.

She shared how the Bootcamp mentorship in 2024 then further helped her develop long-term communications and advocacy skills: “The mentors helped me shape big ideas into something that could actually be done – whether it’s one article or one campaign.”

“Waterfall” team: Charting change: How gender data are shaping research and academia

Researchers and civil society activists from the “Waterfall” team highlighted these findings while analysing the gender employment gap in North Macedonia. Although their data product was not selected during the pitching phase, the insights generated – and the skills and knowledge gained through the Bootcamp – were later applied in academic settings, enriching both research and curricula with more robust gender data and analysis.

As a teaching assistant at the University American College Skopje, Stefan Tanevski has started using gender data and visualizations in his statistics lectures, research and blogging. One of his recent co-authored policy studies explores how the structural and cultural barriers and gender stereotypes affect women’s labour force participation in North Macedonia. The key findings of the study were presented at a public discussion with civil society organizations, journalists and gender advocates to bridge the gap between research and policy dialogue, with an overarching goal of advancing gender-sensitive labour market reforms in the country.

“The Bootcamp was instrumental in strengthening my understanding of gender-disaggregated data and the broader implications of gender inequality in the labour market,” he reflects. “The Bootcamp equipped me with practical data analysis and presentation skills, which I directly applied… I created visualizations that helped communicate the hidden burden of unpaid work and raise awareness on the issue,” says Tanevski.

His research gained traction after being presented at a public discussion hosted by a leading think tank. Following the event, several journalists picked up the story, publishing articles that sparked public dialogue on unpaid domestic work and its economic implications.

He has also embraced new data visualization tools learned at the Bootcamp, such as Datawrapper, which he now uses to create engaging visuals for both teaching and his blog, The Econ Digest, where he published an article on women’s labour force participation. 

“In the two core undergraduate modules I teach – Statistics and Introduction to Finance – I consistently emphasize gender-based heterogeneity in data analysis, such as illustrating the gender gap in financial literacy,” says Tanevski. 

All the final products from the Bootcamp were widely disseminated via well-known local media platforms, civil society and academic networks, and actively promoted on social media, reaching at least 41,300 people.

The Gender Data Bootcamp was organized in collaboration with the School of Data NGO under a Gender Equality Facility project by the UN Women Office in North Macedonia, funded by Sweden and the Women Count regional programme in Europe and Central Asia. 

The views expressed in the developed products are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of UN Women, the United Nations or any of its affiliated organizations.