Gender equality remains a distant goal in a patriarchal society— that’s the summary conclusion of a report released by the Partnership for Development Centre (CPD) as part of its monitoring of the 2023 local general elections from a gender perspective. The analysis, entitled "Uncovering a patriarchal status quo. Where are we heading? A study on people's perceptions of gender roles in decision-making", was developed in partnership with the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections, with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), IM Swedish Development Partner Lund Moldova, UN Women and UNDP Moldova.

The report explores deep-rooted stereotypes and perceptions among the population about the role of women and men in decision-making. Thus, gender stereotypes, traditional roles and entrenched prejudices about women's skills and competencies continue to hinder progress towards change.

The main findings highlighted are: 

1. Patriarchal misconceptions persist in a large part of the population. More than 50% of the population totally agree, or rather agree, that it is the duty of women to take more care of the housework, and more than 60% agree that it is more the duty of men to bring money into the house. In addition, 54.5% of the respondents believe that women's destiny lies in the family and the household.
2. Societal perceptions of women's role in politics and decision-making worsened in 2023, with more respondents believing that women have no place in politics (27%) and that they are less capable of holding leadership positions (18%).
3. There is a drastic decrease in the population supporting human diversity in local government, in particular an increase in the number of women, people with disabilities and ethnic-minority representatives in decision-making. This trend may discourage the involvement of these groups in local and district decision-making. Views towards women have changed drastically. In the 2023 ballot, 34% of respondents would prefer a man, and only 5.9% would prefer a woman candidate. Similarly, 26.9% would support a male councillor and only 6.8% would support a woman in the same position. Where, in 2021, 30% of respondents thought that the number of women should be higher, this year the share does not even reach 18%.
4. The positive trend of this elections is that there is a desire to increase the number of young people in leadership positions. Around 50% of the population thinks that the number of young people in leadership positions should be much higher. Thus, we can say that, at least with regard to a group considered marginalised, there is progress in society and perceptions have changed. This highlights the importance of involving young people in the decision-making process by valuing their skills and contribution. As a result, a more balanced, innovative and sustainable society can be built.
5. Half of Moldova's adult population is not active and interested in the electoral process. The high level of indifference and passivity in the electoral process indicates that population centres with a low level of involvement will also show a very low voter turnout, while the category of populations active in the electoral campaign (following political news, electoral debates, attending meetings with electoral candidates, analysing their profiles, etc.) will show a higher propensity to vote.
6. The share of the passive population in election campaigns has increased in the 2023 election by around 8pp compared to the 2021 parliamentary elections. This can be explained by (i) the general level of anxiety resulting from the effects of the recent economic and security crises for which public authorities are blamed, (ii) the level of disappointment with electoral promises, (iii) uncertainty about the voter's ability to influence the electoral process.

UNDP has supported similar analyses for the 2014 parliamentary, 2015 local general, 2016 presidential, 2019 parliamentary and 2019 local general elections, 2020 presidential and 2021 early parliamentary elections.