With this research process we attempted to answer two key questions regarding gender equality and gender mainstreaming within the government in North Macedonia and the institutions that were a part of these analysis: 

• What are the current processes, procedures, and practices for gender mainstreaming in the Government and national institutions?  
• What are the capacities of the national institutional gender machinery at the central level?  

The starting point of this research were existing publications on the responsibilities of national institutions that arise from international and national legal frameworks pertaining gender equality, but also noted obstacles that responsible institutions are facing on local and central level in pursuing these responsibilities.  

The methodology used in this paper relies on both qualitative and quantitative methods. The gathering of primary data was enabled by the self-assessments of the individuals that work within public institutions as the responsible persons for gender mainstreaming or working on gender equality in a broader aspect. Both institutions from the legislative and the executive branch were a part of this research endeavor. We added a pillar that analyzes the power relations between man and women in terms of the decision – making positions in institutions and the gender dynamics and their behavior.