Gender equality index 2023

In 2023, progress on the level of gender equality in Moldova stagnates. Although in previous years the Republic of Moldova advanced in the field of ensuring gender equality in socio-economic and political life, in 2023 a slight regression is recorded. Thus, the average level of equality between women and men, calculated for six strategic areas evaluated, was estimated at 61 points, being 1 point less than the previous year.

In the year 2023, 4 out of 6 areas analyzed have regressed in terms of ensuring gender equality. Thus, in 2023, the equality score decreased for the domains: politics, access to resources, health, and perceptions and stereotypes. During the last two years, several reshuffles have been made in politics within public functions, which is why several deputies have terminated their mandate. Thus, the gender representation in the Parliament was quite fluctuating, and the number of female deputies decreased from 41 female deputies in 2021 to a number of 39 female deputies in 2023. In terms of access to resources, the difference in women’s salary income and men continue to have high values, being estimated at 13.6%. At the same time, the inequality between women and men in income from non-agricultural individual activity has increased, this being the effect of the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The overall backsliding in achieving gender equality is largely caused by worsening public perceptions of the roles of women and men. Compared to the previous year, the score accumulated in the field of perceptions and stereotypes decreased by exactly 4 points, reaching 59 points on the scale from 0 to 100. Specifically, the share of the population that considers the presence of women in politics inappropriate and that the latter they do not have the capacity to hold management positions.

Only two areas made progress in 2023 – the labor market and education, their value increasing by one point each, which means that the level of gender equality in these two sectors has improved. The mitigation of gender inequities in the labor market is largely due to 3 factors: (i) more women hold managerial positions; (ii) the share of women has increased in fields such as: agriculture, construction, transport, sectors of activity that were predominantly considered to be intended for men and (iii) more women are active in the informal sector. On the other hand, in education, the progress is due to the increase in the share of men (25-64 years) who have higher education.

Gender Equality Index 2023. Trends regarding the level of equality between women and men in Moldova. Partnership Center for Development, Chișinău, 2023.