The Gender Equality Platform is concerned and profoundly disappointed with the fact that the new law on the Government does not include the changes made by another law that was adopted last year. The changes refer to the ensuring of gender equality in the Cabinet and of the principle of equality of chances between women and men in the regulations and policy documents and the observance of a minimum gender quota of 40% when compiling the nominal list of Cabinet members.
In a news conference at IPN, deputy head of the Gender Equality Platform Valentina Bodrug-Lungu said she will insist on the observance of the 40% quota in the case of Cabinet members. The Government should review the decision to create a section to promote policies to ensure gender equality and should return to the idea of creating a specialized division. “We must be very attentive to the next steps because state secretaries are to be chosen at ministries and we want to see how the 40% quota is ensured,” stated Valentina Bodrug-Lungu.
Director of the Resource Center for Human Rights (CREDO) Sergiu Ostaf considers the massive presence of women in the posts of state secretaries would offset the earlier statistics.
Eleonora Grosu, of the Coalition “Life without Violence in the Family”, in the name of the 21 NGOs and public institutions that work to prevent and combat domestic violence, called on the authorities to continue the initiated reforms concerning gender equality. She noted that Moldova, being a party to international treaties, is obliged to ensure gender equality.
The Platform members asked for meetings with Prime Minister Pavel Filip to discuss the issue and with the team of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection. The Gender Equality Platform submitted relevant requests to the responsible institutions, but hasn’t yet received an official answer.
