The Family-Friendly Workplace Model

This publication provides a detailed overview of the family-friendly workplace model developed as part of the Expanding Choices project. By guiding readers through the model’s five steps — introduction, strategy, planning, implementation, and monitoring and adjustments — the publication offers private sector companies the knowledge, evidence and tools needed to establish and implement long-term gender-responsive family policies and initiatives. 

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Creating Family-Friendly Workplaces: Lessons and Results from the Expanding Choices Project in Albania, the Republic of Moldova and Kosovo

This document provides an overview of UNFPA’s Expanding Choices project, which collaborated with 19 champion companies across Albania, the Republic of Moldova and Kosovo in response to gender disparities in unpaid care work and the challenges faced by women in balancing work and family life. Project initiatives have helped establish more inclusive and supportive work environments that have benefited nearly 14,000 employees. 

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Working with the Private Sector to Implement Gender-Responsive Family Policies

These four documents present a series of case studies that focus on the positive impacts of gender-responsive family policies in the workplace, such as work–life balance, gender equality, inclusive employment, talent retention and women’s participation in the labour force. By shining a light on real-world results at 19 champion companies, the case studies highlight the effectiveness of the Expanding Choices project in fostering gender-responsive family policies in the private sector.

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Empowering Parents and Caregivers through Gender-Responsive Family Policies: A Moldovan Case Study

Women in the Republic of Moldova spend on average twice as much time on unpaid care work and domestic duties as men. In addition, women’s labour force participation rate is low, at 54 per cent. To address these issues, the Expanding Choices project worked with officials and the private sector in the Republic of Moldova to effect policy and legislative changes as well as to promote family-friendly and gender-inclusive initiatives in the workplace. Moreover, the project used innovative communication and advocacy strategies to raise awareness, challenge societal norms, and foster a more inclusive and supportive environment for gender equality and equal caregiving roles.

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The State of Gender-Responsive Family Policies in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia Region

The State of Gender-Responsive Family Policies in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia Region provides a set of recommendations aimed at helping governments shape policies that will enable individuals to balance their work and life responsibilities more equally. Focused on seven areas — maternity leave, paternity leave, parental leave, carer’s leave, flexible working arrangements, early childhood education and care, and gender norms and stereotypes — the recommendations are ultimately aimed at building demographically resilient societies that can mitigate the potential negative impact of demographic change on individuals, societies, economies and the environment.

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