ACTIVITIES OF THE DEFENSE MINISTRY OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA AIMED AT PROMOTING GENDER EQUALITY AND THE GENDER PERSPECTIVE, WITH PARTICULAR FOCUS ON THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA
ACTIVITIES OF THE DEFENSE MINISTRY OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA AIMED AT PROMOTING GENDER EQUALITY AND THE GENDER PERSPECTIVE, WITH PARTICULAR FOCUS ON THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA

Author(s): Zhanet Ristoska, Biljana Popovska
Subject(s): Gender Studies, Media studies, Sociology, Sociology of Education
Published by: Institut za strategijska istraživanja
Keywords: gender; equality; perspective; defense; media; information
Summary/Abstract: The Ministry of Defense (MoD) of the Republic of Macedonia has endeavored to respect the standards for including women in all aspects of defense. It has thus consistently adhered to the adopted National Action Plan for the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution /UNSCR/ 1325 and has adopted other documents for the implementation of the Resolution. Furthermore, numerous efforts have been invested over the past few years in promoting gender equality and the gender perspective in defense. The media, as a means of informing the general public, play a prominent role in modern society. The MoD informs the public via its Sector for Communications, Analytics and Operational Support, notably, the Sector’s Publishing and Production Department, which issues press releases on a daily basis. The MoD has recently expanded the range of topics it writes about to include issues of gender equality and deal with the problems and experiences of women in the field of defense. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the role of the media as a very important mechanism for promoting gender equality and the gender perspective in the defense sector. Moreover, it will also present an analysis of the articles published in the magazine Shield and academic topics published in the MoD’s professional periodical. The aim of this paper is to show that sufficient coverage of the issues in Shield, a journal of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia /ARM/ and the Ministry of Defense, has influenced public opinion on the necessity of implementing the principles of gender equality in the defense sector, thus contributing to the promotion of the profession and attracting female staff. The paper will close with recommendations on how to continuously improve all gender equality mechanisms and the gender perspective in the defense system, specific actions to be taken to further raise awareness and promote the profession, as well as to overcome problems related to gender inequality and stereotypes and identify other vulnerabilities within the country’s defense system.

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