The journalists should fight gender stereotypes in Moldovan society and should promote equality between women and men. Such changes can occur gradually, as a result of the concerted effort of the mass media, said participants in a roundtable meeting entitled “Gender equality and the mass media: a challenge for Moldova”. The event was staged by the Association of Independent Press (API), IPN reports.

In the opening of the event, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Liliana Palihovici said the role of the mass media is very important because the adoption of laws in Parliament does not automatically lead to the change of perceptions in society, while the journalists, by their work, can change the mentality and can make the people combat and eliminate gender stereotypes.

Swedish Ambassador to Moldova Signe Burgstaller said her country supports Moldova in its efforts to change the perceptions of gender equality in society. Studies reveal that men appear more often as experts, while women as mothers and wives in the Moldovan media. This shows that the mass media have yet to deal with many challenges as the journalists often perpetuate stereotypes about the women’s role.

Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir, UN Women Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, stated that the women are unrepresented worldwide and the stereotypes about their role lead also to domestic violence. Therefore, the mass media must become an ally in fighting gender inequality.

Minister of Labor, Social Protection and Family Stela Grigoras said gender equality means equality of rights and opportunities, while the mass media are the force that can promote this equality.

API executive director Petru Macovei summed up the results of the self-assessment project within which 30 media outlets assessed how they ensure gender equality. He noted that the discrepancy in presenting genders persists and the share of female protagonists in the media is of 18% or about 2.5 times lower than of male protagonists. However, the share of female protagonists during the project implementation period increased by 7% on 2005, as did that of female main characters in articles about political affairs.

IPN News Agency is one of the 30 media outlets that took part in the self-assessment project. It ensured the greatest increase in the number of articles about female protagonists towards the end of the project – of 170%.