The gender assessment conducted in Macedonia attempts to analyze the implementation of the social policy at the local level in three municipalities by identifying to what extent those policies reflect the local needs of men and women, and whether the measures they propose will advance gender equality. The assessment aims to enhance the debate on gender equality issues, and to enable individuals, organizations, policy makers and policy analysts to effectively participate in the development of approaches which would increase the gender responsiveness of social policies.

Since 2004, 13 research projects supported in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America by the Women's Rights and Citizenship program of Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) have been exploring exactly how decentralization affects women's access to services, resources, and local power. The findings show that these reforms do not automatically benefit women, and can even put them at a disadvantage.