Perceptions of the Population of the Republic of Moldova - Soros ...

Perceptions of the Population of the Republic of Moldova on Discrimination: Sociological Study 40The respondents indicated different reasons for the lack of equal opportunities. Thus, according totheir opinion, there are no equal opportunities in the Republic of Moldova because often women have adouble task: to maintain the family and raise children (43%), there are biological differences betweenwomen and men (33%), women are more busy with child raising (32%), the Bible treats differently womenand men (25%), women cannot practice certain professions (24%), women have lower salaries than men(16%), women are not promoted in top positions (14%), women are not accepted in politics (11%) and thelack of the needed legal framework for women to assert themselves (11%) (see Chart 26).Chart 26. Respondents' perceptions on the causes for unequal opportunities for women and men in theRepublic of Moldova, %lack of a legal framework to ensure realequal opportunitieswomen are not accepted in politics1111women are not promoted in top positionswomen have lower salaries than men1416women cannot practice certain professionsthe Bible treats differently women and men2425women are more busy with child raisingthere are biological differences betweenwomen and menoften women have a double task: to supportthe family and raise children323343The share of people who believe that women often have a double task is higher in urban areas (47%),among women (47%), among persons over 65 years old (49%) and among persons with higher education(49%).The share of people who believe that there are some biological differences between men and womenis higher in urban areas (38%), among men (34%), persons over 65 years (42%) and persons with lowereducation (38%).The share of people who believe that women are busier with child raising than men is higher amongwomen (35%), persons from the age group of 18-34 years (37%) and persons with a high level of education(36%).The share of people who believe that women are not accepted in politics is higher in urban areas (17%)and among persons with higher education (15%).To make a more detailed analysis of the situation of women and men in the Republic of Moldova, therespondents were asked to confirm or deny certain prejudices, existing in the society, about the role ofwomen and men, specifically: "the man is the head of the family", "household chores are mainly women'sduty", "a woman is not fulfilled, unless she has a family and children", "to earn money is mainly men's duty","men should do the difficult physical works", "men can raise children as well as women", "politics is not forwomen", "women are less intelligent and cannot hold managerial positions".The analysis of answers reveals that the Moldovan society still has a traditional and conservative viewon the distribution of women's and men's roles. Thus, more than 80% of respondents believe that the manis the head of the family. Though there are differences in answers by areas of residence and genders, theydo not influence significantly the dominant of the answer. By the level of education, the share ofrespondents who believe that the man is the head of the family decreases with the increase in the level ofeducation, from 94% in the group of respondents with a low level of education to 78% in the group ofrespondents with a high level of education (Chart 27).