Addressing gender inequities in the Moldovan research field 

Despite the efforts to promote equal opportunities for women and men, female researchers continue to face unequal access to funding opportunities for research projects, including to leadership positions in research institutions and academic awards. This is the overall conclusion of the policy brief “Women in science and research: challenges to gender equality and recommended policies” presented in a public event held on 16 December. The policy brief was developed under the Partnerships for Women Leadership and Good Governance project, implemented by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Moldova and Institutum Virtutes Civilis, with the financial support of the European Union and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.

According to Associated Professor Mariana Iațco, the author of the policy brief, although women have the same level of skills, methods and general approaches to scientific problems as men, they are underrepresented at higher hierarchical levels in the science sector. “Gender equality has not been fully achieved in the scientific and academic environment yet, the situation varying between the research sectors and academic degrees, and the presence of women in the highest academic and decision-making positions in scientific institutes and in universities in the country is still low. This indicates the existence of a “glass ceiling”, i.e. invisible barriers based on prejudices, which prevent women from accessing management positions”, concluded Mrs Iațco. 

The data used by the expert shows that, currently out of 45 researchers elected as members of the Science Committee of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova only 14 are women, and out of 24 university rectors, only 5 are women.

According to Liliana Palihovici, the president of Institutum Virtutes Civilis and the team leader of the Partnerships for Women Leadership and Good Governance project, the issue of inequities in the research system is a very sensitive one. “With this research we wanted to launch discussions on an issue that is quite overlooked in our country. We do hope that the Parliament will pass the required amendments to the legislation to increased women participation in the research and science sector. Compared to the European countries, in Moldova there are 4.5 times fewer researchers per one million of citizens than the European average. Of course, there are already some signs of a change in the attitude of the authorities, but we still have a lot to do”, said Liliana Palihovici.

Inga Iovu, the project coordinator, drew attention to the fact that the research situation is still vulnerable. “When we decided to look into gender inequities in the research sector, we actually wanted to create a platform for discussion on this important topic. The more people will understand that the lack of equal opportunities in this sector is an issue, the faster we will make the change”, Inga Iovu believes.

The policy brief has been submitted to the Culture, Education, Research, Youth, Sports and Mass Media Committee of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova. Virgil Pâslariuc, the vice-chair of the Committee, believes that it will be useful for the authorities in their future efforts to promote equal opportunities in the sector. “Research and science are areas that have been unfairly undervalued. Unfortunately, our society still does not understand that a strong research and innovation sector drives substantial economic growth. Therefore, it is necessary to draw more attention to education and science – the future of our society depends on them”, Virgil Pâslariuc concluded.

The event was organised under the Partnerships for Women Leadership and Good Governance project, implemented by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Moldova and Institutum Virtutes Civilis with the financial support of the European Union and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.