chevron-down Created with Sketch Beta.

    WAGE Moldova: A Year in Reflection

    Jun 13, 2024

    11 min read

    Access to Justice Gender & Social Inclusion Human Rights Europe & Eurasia Moldova
    WAGE Moldova: A Year in Reflection
    www.ionbuga.com

    Jump to:

    It has been one year since the Women and Girls Empowered (WAGE) Consortium launched the “Reducing Barriers to Women’s Economic Empowerment” project. WAGE Moldova is led by the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) in partnership with the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI). The project takes an integrated approach, with CIPE bringing women’s economic empowerment expertise, while ABA ROLI provides GBV prevention and response technical expertise.  

    Under this project, WAGE works with two Moldova-based organizations, the Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Policy (CAPE) and the Women’s Law Center (WLC), to strengthen the organizational capacities of women’s business associations (WBAs) and women’s civil society organizations (WCSOs). These efforts work to accomplish the project’s two goals: 1) to create a better understanding surrounding the relationship between women’s economic empowerment and gender-based violence and 2) strengthen the capacities of participating WCSOs and WBAs to develop an Alliance to advocate for a more robust environment for women’s economic empowerment in Moldova.

    Women’s Economic Empowerment in Moldova

    At the start of the project, CIPE and ABA ROLI conducted a Gender and Inclusion Analysis to identify the multifaceted social, political, economic, and legal issues facing Moldovan women.

    The analysis and its following blog article highlight Moldova’s long history of gender equality measures being written into legislation, as well as several international and regional agreements relevant to promoting gender equality that Moldova has ratified, such as the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, known as the Istanbul Convention. Despite these initiatives, the project team identified interconnected barriers hindering women’s economic empowerment. Women face deeply embedded patriarchal norms and stereotypes that play out across all facets of their lives. For example, socio-cultural expectations of caregiving and child rearing that fall heavily on women, gendered workplace and economic segregation, unresponsiveness of criminal justice institutions to instances of GBV particularly in rural areas, and male-dominated institutional gender biases within government and the private sector. The declining availability of affordable childcare and the lack of flexible work arrangements exacerbate these structural and social constraints. The Gender and Inclusion Analysis found that such constraints lead to disproportionate discrimination against LGBTI women, ethnic minorities such as the Gagauz and Roma, women living in rural areas, women living in the Transnistria region, and women with disabilities. These insights informed the development of project activities, including identifying topics for organizational capacity-building sessions and establishing advocacy priority topics for the future Alliance.  

    Organizational Development Program

    At the beginning of the initiative, CIPE selected ten WBAs and WCOs to participate in the project’s organizational development program. The Alliance of Small to Medium Sized Enterprises (AIM), the Association of Women Entrepreneurs in Moldova (AFAM),  the Association of Women Entrepreneurs from Balti (AFA Balti), the Association of Light Industry Employers (APIUS), NGO Stimul, the Association of Entrepreneurs with Disabilities (AEFL), NGO Vesta, the Center Partnership for Development, NGO Resonance, and Women’s Initiatives all participated in the organizational development program consisting of organizational training sessions, one-on-one coaching sessions with expert mentors, and a small grants program that empowers women’s organizations across Moldova to make improvements that serve their members and constituents.

    The project team designed and delivered six training sessions on topics including advancing gender equality and diversity within organizations, developing a Code of Conduct, and tips for understanding the practical aspects of organizing and conducting a General Assembly. In addition to the training sessions, CIPE organized a virtual networking event, “Women Entrepreneurs and Business Associations: Doing Business Differently, Including in Pandemic Times,” which brought together women entrepreneurs and WBAs from Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine. Participants learned how women entrepreneurs and civil society organizations could work together to promote gender equality and create an enabling environment for women to participate in the private sector. 

    Apart from the capacity-building sessions, CIPE engaged six mentors from Romania and Ukraine to conduct one-on-one coaching sessions with the project’s participants. The mentors include CIPE staff and consultants skilled in association and CSO development, advocacy, and women’s economic empowerment. The mentors held more than 50 one-on-one coaching sessions where mentees learned how to develop working models that are economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable, how to implement effective fundraising strategies, and the importance of financial sustainability. In addition to CIPE’s one-on-one mentorship program, ABA ROLI provided technical assistance in GBV response and prevention integration to ensure the program took into consideration the very real GBV risk that women face as an unintended consequence to WEE. Additionally, WAGE’s local partner WLC worked with four WCSOs to identify gaps in their internal policies related to gender equality, women’s equal access to employment opportunities, and prevention of harassment practices. At the end of the first year, three WCSOs, with support from WLC, drafted new internal policies to address women’s barriers in achieving full economic empowerment. The mentorship program concluded in February 2022.

    Lastly, nine WBAs and WSCOs received small grant awards to implement a wide range of activities to build their organizational capacity. These activities include developing websites, internal policies and regulations, membership recruiting campaigns, promotional videos, and strategic plans.

    After receiving organizational support for enhanced capacity development, these WBAs and WCSOs came together to form a new Alliance to jointly advocate for women’s economic empowerment in Moldova.

    Women’s Economic Empowerment Alliance

    In September 2021, CIPE facilitated two events for founding members of the Alliance to prepare for the Alliance’s launch and develop its mission. During the first event, participants discussed the concept of a Women’s Legislative Agenda and examined best practices of successful coalition-building in Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, and Romania based on the experiences of CIPE’s international partners. During the second event, participants discussed priority issues that the Alliance should address. The enthusiasm and support demonstrated by participants in the first year of the initiative have been visible, and many are hopeful about the results their momentum may bring in the coming year.

    Goals for Year Two

    In spring 2022, WAGE’s local partners plan to formally launch the Alliance and develop a Women’s Legislative Agenda with CIPE and ABA ROLI support. 

    WAGE also plans to conduct a Policy Advocacy Needs Assessment to identify implementation gaps in the current legal framework, as well as legislative and/or policy priorities to address societal barriers to women’s economic empowerment and employment, including gender-based violence. Based on the assessment’s findings, the Alliance members will then develop a Women’s Legislative Agenda, a key tool for the Alliance’s policy advocacy efforts. The members will also lead an advocacy campaign to improve the enabling environment for women to participate in the Moldovan economy. ABA ROLI and WLC will also work with partner WBAs, including members of the Alliance, to improve resources they offer to support their members if and when they do encounter GBV. WLC will also continue hosting a dialogue series with WBAs to discuss issues pertaining to the intersection between WEE and GBV.

    In the first year, the initiative’s achievements reflected the progress WBAs and WCSOs have made in developing their organizational capacity and establishing an advocacy platform for women’s economic empowerment. The efforts of these Moldovan WBAs and WCSOs have not gone unnoticed as they continue to support the influx of Ukrainian refugees in Moldova as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. WAGE partners continue to monitor how the ongoing war and refugee crisis affects the enabling environment for women in Moldova and how these organizations can combat the consequences, including a rise in GBV and discrimination. Project partners plan to advocate on behalf of all women through the Women’s Economic Empowerment Alliance, and the project team remains committed to empowering WAGE's partners and project participants to advocate a business environment that serves the needs of all women in Moldova, including refugee women.

    “There is a law, but we do not have enough financial means to implement it. Secondly, the government doesn't have the infrastructure." - Lawyer respondent on laws in Moldova

    2. Sociocultural Norms, Beliefs, and Perceptions

    Patriarchal norms and stereotypes are deeply entrenched in Moldovan society, especially around family roles and responsibilities. The Gender and Inclusion Analysis identified that both Moldovan men and women strongly believe and observe the stereotype that women should prioritize getting married, become homemakers, and focus predominately on childrearing. A CSO respondent noted that “We just recently started to talk of impact on men of gender stereotypes…with men from [the] police, [the] army…it's the most rigid area for law enforcement structures. So, men confessed, for example, during the trainings which I conducted, that they would like to take part in education or to stay with kids, to be fully involved in family life. At the same time, they fear being ridiculed by their friends. There are specific names for men who are helping in this way, such as “under the shoes of women.” These are bad nicknames for a man, you know. It is like touching his masculinity.” WAGE also identified a lack of systemic educational programs in the Moldovan school curriculum that focus on gender equality principles, further perpetuating the inequity in future generations. 

    “...about this aspect, [children] are not even taught in schools from the small ages. There's no specific material...they do not even know what gender equality means." - CSO respondent on gender equality

    In the political sphere, typically older men are perceived to be the most electable candidates due to the belief that women and young candidates are riskier, less reliable choices. Respondents also shared that when women run for political office, they appear to be scrutinized differently from their male counterparts. A woman entrepreneur noted, “When a woman is in the political spotlight the public starts commenting on her hairstyle, the way she is dressed, whether she has a family or not. I mean, women, I think, are much more harshly criticized and much more thoroughly analyzed than men.” Once they assume office, they are met with additional challenges in being taken seriously by their male colleagues and must consistently assert themselves within their political party.

    3. Gender Roles and Power Dynamics

    Moldovan law contains provisions related to gender equality and family and labor. For example, the Labor Code prohibits family-related discrimination in the workplace (e.g., the dismissal of pregnant workers) and provides for 126 days of paid maternity leave, 14 days of fully paid paternity leave, and partially paid childcare leave for either parent. However, the lack of flexible work arrangements and the declining availability of affordable childcare exacerbate structural and social constraints on women’s economic participation. This, coupled with the social impacts of the homemaker stereotype, has resulted in some women being unable to effectively participate in the workforce or pursue entrepreneurship in the way they desire.  Moldovan women report that they perform almost twice as much unpaid care work as men - approximately 4.9 hours per day. Women’s economic activity is further negatively affected by sexual harassment in the workplace, which is not effectively addressed or sanctioned. This is mainly because related legislation is relatively new, and the definition of sexual harassment is narrow. From the traditional workforce to entrepreneurship to running for office, Moldovan women shared how they were not expected to have a successful trajectory in their planned pursuits due to various gender-related social or economic barriers.

    4. Access to, Use, and Control over Assets & Resources

    The Gender and Inclusion Analysis did not find any legal barriers which impacted Moldovan women’s ability to marry, divorce, own property, start a business, or control financial resources. However, in practice, some respondents reported that married women do not have direct access to their household funds and require the approval of their spouse to make any financial decisions. Typically, women entrepreneurs noted they had to rely on family contributions or their spouse to begin their businesses – especially if they had been unable to work for some time due to caregiving responsibilities. Women entrepreneurs also noted challenges in accessing bank loans and other forms of credit to expand their businesses, citing banks’ hesitancy to fund women-owned enterprises. This has resulted in many women entrepreneurs operating in either unregistered informal or registered small businesses. In addition, when divorcing and dividing assets, some women reported that questionable legal tactics are sometimes used that leave women without a fair share of marital assets upon divorce, while others reported difficulties in affording legal representation for the proceedings. Situations like this can cause divorced women to experience financial insecurity. 

    5. Gender-Based Violence (GBV)

    While estimates vary, 63 percent of Moldovan women over the age of 15 have experienced at least one form of domestic violence (physical, psychological, or sexual) in their lifetimes. The COVID-19 pandemic further escalated these issues. A respondent shared that domestic violence hotline calls increased by 40% during the early lockdown period. GBV related legislation was also found to be lacking. The Contravention Code reduces the criminal liability of perpetrators of domestic violence and restricts women’s access to criminal justice. This results in women’s reluctance to participate in police investigations due to fear of social stigma, widespread victim-blaming attitudes, and a lack of trust in a judicial system perceived as heavily biased against victims.

    The government and civil society organizations are undertaking significant work to improve laws and increase educational awareness to eradicate GBV and provide emotional support and legal resources to impacted women and their families.

    6. Intersectionality, Diversity, and Inclusion

    LGBTI women, ethnic minorities (e.g., Gagauz and Roma), women living in rural areas, women in the Transnistria region, and women with disabilities are particularly vulnerable groups in Moldova, who face increased discrimination and challenges. For example, acute GBV is experienced by Roma women, women in rural areas, and women with disabilities. However, women from the most vulnerable groups, especially those from the Roma community, are reluctant to report GBV and to rely on state mechanisms for redress. Further compounding this issue, our analysis found women in the Transnistria region are disproportionately affected by human trafficking. 

    “The measures applied by [the] police depend a lot on the urban or rural setting. In rural setting[s], they are usually friends or in very good relationships with the aggressor. Everyone knows each other, and the case may not be [investigated]. Even if there is a proper response from the police officer, still the victim is suppressed by community, by relatives, by everyone. And she withdraws the case." - Development partner

    *Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Government.

    Women and Girls Empowered (WAGE) is a global consortium to advance the status of women and girls, led by the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) in close partnership with the Center for International Private Enterprise, Grameen Foundation, and Search for Common Ground. WAGE works to strengthen the capacity of private sector organizations (PSOs) and civil society organizations (CSOs) in target countries to improve the prevention of and response to gender-based violence (GBV); advance the women, peace, and security (WPS) agenda; and support women’s economic empowerment (WEE). In this context, WAGE provides direct assistance to women and girls, including information, resources, and services they need to succeed as active and equal participants in the global economy. WAGE also engages in collaborative research and learning to build a body of evidence on relevant promising practices in these thematic areas. To account for the deeply interconnected nature of women’s and girls’ experiences, WAGE’s initiatives employ approaches that are highly collaborative, integrated, and inclusive. WAGE is funded by the U.S. Department of State Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues.   

    The materials contained herein represent the opinions of the authors and editors and should not be construed to be those of either the American Bar Association unless adopted pursuant to the bylaws of the Association. Nothing contained herein is to be considered as the rendering of legal advice for specific cases, and readers are responsible for obtaining such advice from their own legal counsel. These materials and any forms and agreements herein are intended for educational and informational purposes only.