In the context of gender mainstreaming within the EU-funded programme, EU4Environment Action, UNIDO organized an online training on gender sensitization for project staff and key stakeholders in the Republic of Moldova. The activity is part of the work performed by UNIDO in implementing Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP) and Circular Economy in the Eastern Partner (EaP) countries. Similar training workshops have already been conducted in other EaP countries.
The training workshop took place on 14 and 15 June 2022 and gathered representatives of key stakeholders (government agencies, NGOs, think tanks, industrial associations, private companies), the national experts in Moldova and other entities which are most critical in the successful implementation of greening the industry of the country.
A recording of the workshop was made available as a training video for the wider audience, upon the completion of the course. The participants who attended the full duration of the workshop were provided with participation certificates.
Gender Sensitization in the Republic of Moldova
Gender equality is central to the mandate of UNIDO because the goals for sustainable industrial development depend on eliminating social and economic inequalities between men and women. As well, gender equality is about creating equal opportunities for women and men by enabling them to equally contribute economically, politically, socially and culturally, so that no one is prevented from reaching their full potential because of their gender.
In this regard, UNIDO provides countries with technical assistance to promote the growth of the green industry in developing countries and those with economies in transition by improving their industrial and environmental performance and supporting the creation of industries delivering environmentally friendly goods and services. However, gender inequalities (e.g., limited access to key productive resources) mean that women are often not able to reach their full potential as they still experience negative consequences related to general poverty, food scarcity, or access to education and training. To address this, UNIDO works to close the gender gap, eliminate inequalities, and ensure that industrial development processes take into consideration the distinct needs and values of women and men.
The Republic of Moldova has a population of over 4 million people, and a gender parity of 52 % women and 48 % men.[1] The level of urbanization in Moldova is lower than on average in Eastern Europe[2] with the society being heavily affected by migration[3], but overall, the country ranks better than all other countries in the Eastern Partnership in terms of gender equality.
Its gender gaps are much smaller than those observed in other countries in the region and the world. In 2021, it ranked 28th of 156 countries in the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report, exceeding the global average in all four areas used for comparisons (1st in the world in healthcare and survival, 10th in economic participation in opportunities, 48th in political participation and opportunities and 63rd in educational attainment). It also ranked the first in the world in enrolment in tertiary education (meaning that men and women equally enrol in tertiary education), healthy life expectancy, and the number of professional and technical workers[4].
Moldova has signed and ratified all relevant international legal frameworks pertaining to gender equality and the empowerment of women, including the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Out of the 10 working groups of the National Strategy for Development “SND Moldova 2030” (introduced in February 2022), two are on the protection of the environment, and on ensuring equal opportunities, personal development, and family life.[5]
When talking about gender opportunities, one of the main differences in labour force participation between women and men is the social expectation/stereotype regarding the role of a woman as a family caregiver. Namely, a significant difference in labour force participation is observed between women with and without children (20 % in 2014, one of the highest rates in Europe). In addition, the share of women who return to work after taking maternity leave is decreasing over years. Another problem common for all EaP countries is gender professional horizontal segregation which translates into a gender pay gap. Women are still under-represented in highly paid and in-demand sectors and are mostly employed in lower-paid jobs in economic sectors (public administration, education, health and social assistance, trade, hotels and restaurants – 72%)[6].
Like in other countries in the region, the obstacles for women in Moldova to engage in entrepreneurship are gender stereotypes, limited access to credit and productive assets, as well as the need for skills such as leadership, financial literacy, business management and others[7]. Women’s access to entrepreneurship is critical both to gender equality and to boosting the development of businesses. Since women are underrepresented in business, they can be regarded as a resource for increasing the number of entrepreneurs. Importantly, running a business in Moldova can be a decent alternative for women who may otherwise consider emigration.
It is also specific to Moldova that the government has been supporting women’s entrepreneurship. The Small and Medium Enterprises Sector Development Strategy centres women’s entrepreneurship as a core priority. It aims to offer financial and non-financial support (grants, services, investment) to women who start up or develop their businesses. So far, 618 financing contracts have been signed, and more than 2.080 jobs have been created[8]. No other country from the EaP has such a consecutive government programme to support women’s entrepreneurship. While in 2009, women made 27.5 % of the total number of entrepreneurs in Moldova, in 2018, women’s share increased to 33.9 %[9].
There is exhaustive evidence of the benefits of gender equality for green economic growth that UNIDO can capitalize on (e.g., UNIDO can provide its support in terms of greening the industrial production, promoting gender balance in entrepreneurship and employment in industrial sectors); and the gender divide in entrepreneurship is the specific area for UNIDO intervention.
Targeted training opportunities such as the one UNIDO offers to industrial enterprises in the field of RECP and a circular economy can contribute to boosting women’s involvement in business in Moldova. These opportunities should be reflective of existing stereotypes on the roles of women and men, barriers in access to finance and assets that women face, and limitation associated with the double burden with domestic and care work. Importantly, these stereotypes are also widely shared by women, not only by men. While UNIDO has limited opportunities to encourage better gender parity in civil service and at the decision-making level of government overseeing industrial development and greener economic growth, by supporting the government in stimulating industrial sector development, resource efficient production and a greener economy, UNIDO can contribute to promoting more opportunities for women. Therefore, it is important to wider engage women in these processes to utilize their vision, and experience and address climate change-related problems experienced by women such as poorer access to natural resources and utilities.
[1] Moldova statistical databank, Population and Demographic Processes, 2020, https://statbank.statistica.md/pxweb/pxweb/en/20 percent20Populatia percent20si percent20procesele percent20demografice/?rxid=b2ff27d7-0b96-43c9-934b-42e1a2a9a774
[2] Worldometer, Moldova Demographics, 2020, https://www.worldometers.info/demographics/moldova-demographics/#pop
[3] Moldova statistical databank, Population and Demographic Processes, 2020, https://statbank.statistica.md/pxweb/pxweb/en/20 percent20Populatia percent20si percent20procesele percent20demografice/?rxid=b2ff27d7-0b96-43c9-934b-42e1a2a9a774
[4] World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2021, Moldova profile, http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2021.pdf
[5] National Development Strategy “Moldova 2030”, https://particip.gov.md/ro/strategy/strategia-nationala-de-dezvoltare-moldova-2030/4
[6] UN Women, UNECE, UNDP. Profile of Women in Economy and Business. Moldova, 2016, p.14, https://www2.unwomen.org/-/media/field percent20office percent20moldova/attachments/publications/2017/08/womens percent20profiles percent20- percent20en/04 percent20women_economy_eng.pdf?la=en&vs=830
[7] World Bank. Supporting Women’s Entrepreneurship in Moldova, 2017, https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2017/11/23/supporting-women-entrepreneurship-in-moldova
[8] Programul “Femei in afaceri”: https://www.odimm.md/ro/femei-in-afaceri
[9] National Bureau of Statistics Republic of Moldova. Gender profile of entrepreneurship and trade in Moldova, 2020, p.6, https://unctad.org/system/files/non-official-document/20201012_WebinarGender_cojocari_moldova_en.pdf