Positive trends as regards the attitude to issues related to gender equality have been seen in society during the last few years and the people now better realize the problems faced by women when trying to become involved in public life. The conclusions were formulated by experts of the Partnership for Development Center and East-Europe Foundation based on a number of surveys carried out since 2006 until now.

In a news conference at IPN on July 16, Andrei Brighidin, of East-Europe Foundation, said the main findings show positive trends. The number of respondents who said that the women should become involved more in the work of mayor’s offices and local and district councils is on the rise. However, fewer respondents said they would like to see women in the post of MP.

Cristian Ciobanu, of the Partnership for Development Center, said the sociological studies that measure the level of persistence of the patriarchal values in Moldovan society show that a higher number of Moldovans think there is no real equality between men and women. The majority of those polled said the men are better managers in the public life than the women. But the number of those who would like the women to hold more managerial posts rose 2-3 times, except for the seats of MP. The lack of time, of political experience and of interest are the main reasons for which the women do not take an active part in the public life.

Independent expert in gender problems Olga Nicolenco said that 9-10 years ago the number of persons who responded “gender does not matter” was higher than in the latest polls. Now it decreased significantly because the persons who answered this way joined the camp of those who prefer a woman in an executive post. People’s perception evolved in time, not yet of the politicians and the authorities that do not take many measures to promote the women on the lists of candidates and in important posts in the main state institutions.