Roundtable on Role of Women in Society Democratization Takes Place in Chisinau

A roundtable on the role of women in society democratization organized by the IIMDD IPA CIS Chisinau branch took place in the capital of the Republic of Moldova.

Director of the Chisinau branch Evgeniy Shtirbu noted the increased role of women in the process of society democratization in his opening remarks. He stressed that during the last few decades the women of Moldova had made much progress in different fields of activity and noted that the government strived to support those initiatives by relevant laws and development strategies.

Adviser to the President of the Republic of Moldova on Social Development Issues Viorica Dumbraveanu stated in her welcome address that the issue of gender equality was still a highly sensitive subject, because the elements of social discrimination (i.e. women's pensions constitute 80 % of men's pensions) and the problem of violence still required proactive efforts.

Secretary of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Moldova Maxim Lebedinskiy informed on the measures of public authorities to promote gender equality. According to him, women should account for 40% of candidate lists, and there are encouraging measures to ensure compliance with these proportions, independent women candidates are required to get half as many signatures as men. Maxim Lebedinskiy highlighted the fact that two of three major political positions are held by women (Speaker of Parliament and Prime Minister).

Director of the Institute of Legal, Political and Sociological Research Viktor Zhuk, expert in gender equality, Executive Director of Women's Political Club “50/50” Ecaterina Mardarovici, President of the Women's Political Club “50/50” Loretta Handrabura, member of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova Tatiana Cunețchi, member of the Central Election Commission Vadim Filipov, leaders of political parties and socio-political organizations, representatives of NGOs, the media, scientists and experts also participated in the event.

A number of recommendations will be proposed, compiled and submitted to the Parliament, the Presidential Administration, the Government and the Central Election Commission, as well as the relevant NGOs as the outcome of the roundtable.