In the Republic of Moldova, the government and private sector have introduced a range of family-friendly policies to make it easier for women and men to reconcile career and family duties.

Such policies are not only powerful tools to shift discriminatory gender norms and redistribute unpaid care work, they also make it easier to tackle the effects of demographic change.

“The fact that fathers can take time off to spend more time with their newborn baby is absolutely wonderful.”

Gabriel Encev, and his partner Alina Găină, who both work in communications at a non-profit organization in Chisinau, the Republic of Moldova’s capital, became parents to Mark-Aris in December 2022. Mr. Encev wanted to take an active role as a father to strengthen bonds with his son and make it possible for both parents to pursue their careers.

“During the first few weeks of a baby's life, it is difficult to manage simple things, such as cooking, shopping, cleaning,” said Ms. Găină. “Gabriel took over many of those responsibilities, but we switch roles all the time.”

Mr. Encev’s commitment to spending time with his baby and taking on his share of the care and household work is still something of a rarity in the Republic of Moldova. Only 5 per cent of men in the country regularly cook, clean or perform other household tasks, according to a recent survey. And 60 per cent of women with children under 6 years old say that they are always, or often, responsible for childcare, another survey found.

Since 2016, under a law passed by the Moldovan parliament, new fathers can take 14 days of paternity leave. But not many men took advantage of this opportunity; in 2021, only 16 per cent of fathers signed up. In an attempt to make paternity leave more attractive, the parliament recently extended the period during which fathers can take time off from 56 days to 1 year after the baby is born. 

The reform of the paternity leave law is only one of a string of measures the Republic of Moldova has taken to increase support to families and make it easier for parents to take care of their responsibilities at home and at work. This includes new laws on childcare services, leave and allowances, and a law improving benefits for maternity leave. 

“These changes in the law support new parents,” said Ms. Găină. “We can choose to stay at home with the child, work full-time or part-time, go back to the office or work from home and we continue to receive childcare allowance - an option that was not available before.”

Evidence shows that gender-responsive family policies are powerful tools to shift discriminatory gender norms and redistribute unpaid care work so that both women and men can realize their career aspirations and their fertility intentions.

“I am convinced that an equal and inclusive society can be built by ensuring gender equality through the equitable distribution of care responsibilities within the family and by reducing discrimination in the labour market,” said Marina Morozova, a deputy in the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, and one of the co-authors of the initiatives to expand legislation on family-friendly policies. 

With UNFPA support, private sector companies have also started to offer their employees more of the support and flexibility parents need when they struggle with the daunting task of taking care of the offspring while staying on top of things at work – or remaining in the workforce at all. Several companies, including large employers like Orange Moldova, have already become champions for introducing family policies such as well-paid parental leave for women and men, care allowances, and anti-discrimination policies protecting pregnant employees, as well as flextime work arrangements, dedicated spaces for lactating mothers, and care facilities for children. In June 2023, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry formalized its commitment to expand family-friendly workplace policies across their member companies. 

With this combination of policies and programmes, the Republic of Moldova has moved closer to meeting the gender equality and family policy targets under the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action. Adopted in 1994 by 179 Member States, the ICPD Programme of Action places the human rights of individuals, rather than numerical population targets, at the centre of the global development agenda.

Ms. Morozova, the law-maker, is convinced that better family policies also put the Republic of Moldova in a stronger position to tackle demographic change: “This will strengthen the country's demographic resilience and support people in achieving their desired fertility and have more children if they want to.”

Concerns about the demographic future run high in a country that has faced decades of population decline, driven mostly by outmigration of often young people and low birth rates among those who have stayed behind. With the country’s working-age population rapidly shrinking, it doesn’t help that nearly half of women are not in the workforce. A major barrier is the unequal distribution of unpaid care work: as of 2012, women were spending a fifth of their day on unpaid domestic and care work, nearly double the time men dedicated to these tasks. In 2020, a Gender and Generations Survey found that in the overwhelming majority of households, women are tasked with cooking, cleaning and doing the laundry, with 80 to 90 per cent of women saying they are responsible for these chores.

“By making it easier for women to enter, remain and thrive in the labour force and for men to take on an equal share of the unpaid care work, gender-responsive family policies contribute to gender equality and make societies more resilient and prosperous,” said Marie Toulemonde, who runs UNFPA’s Expanding Choices regional programme promoting gender-responsive family policies.

Mr. Encev and Ms. Găină may have more children in the future. If they do, they plan to use an option in the new legislation that allows parents to share childcare leave.

“Perhaps Gabriel will take the childcare leave, or maybe we’ll share it,” said Ms. Găină. “What is important is that we have plenty of options now and we can choose what works best for us.”