Chisinau City Hall officials will complete questionnaires for testing perception of gender equality within LPA

As from July 2, the employees of the Chisinau City Hall will fill out a questionnaire that will test their perception of gender equality within the institutions of the local public administration (LPA). The initiative was put forward by the Center for Partnership and Development, Info-Prim Neo reports. At Monday’s meeting of the City Hall, project coordinator Alexei Buzu called on the officials to cooperate in order to adequately elucidate the given subject. This March, the municipality of Chisinau joined the European Charter for Equality of Women and Men. The municipality pledged to promote gender equality within the local public administration and expressed readiness to work out a related document. “Before working out the given document, we must investigate the opinions of the local officials,” Alexei Buzu said. The questionnaire has two sections. One is intended for municipal division heads and the other one for the City Hall’s apparatus. The municipality signed the Charter for Equality of Women and Men on March 3, 2008. The executive director of the Center for Partnership and Development, Daniela Terzi-Barabrosie said then that the instrument is not political or legal, but envisages the civic engagement of the local public authorities in the promotion of gender equality between women and men. In May 2006, the Council of European Municipalities and Regions together with the European Commission decided to work out a European Charter which would stipulate certain requirements and recommendations as regards the promotion of gender equality within the local public administration. A number of 500 European municipalities have signed the above-mentioned charter so far.