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Tag: gender

Romanian high-school students’ ideological profile

We’re speedily nearing the end of an eventful year, election-wise, with people taking a broadside at candidates because of their poor pool of proposals capable of getting youngsters interested in candidates’ profile. In turn, youngsters have been criticized for their low turnout on election day.

School-wise, the civic education class was also criticized and rated as insufficient.

All things considered, a recent survey has created a profile, also an ideological profile, at that, of high-school students from across Romania.

At present, the school curriculum includes only one single civic education class per week, and that only in secondary school. Nevertheless, half of the schools do not have a vacancy for the teachers trained to teach civic education. In most of the cases, the subjects is usually taught by teachers who are qualified to teach another discipline.

Recent research has shown that more than a third of the teachers teaching social education in Romania would prefer a strong leader, who is capable of ignoring the democratic leverage. The support of some undemocratic forms of leadership by the teaching staff apparently comes from the younger teachers.

Furthermore, less than half of the teachers teaching social education have participated, in the last three years, in professional training programmes that are relevant for this subject

Mihaela Nabăr, executive manager for World Vision Romania said the following:

“Democracy, our rights and freedoms have become frail because we did not have real and on-time educational reforms, we did not invest in civic education among children and youngsters as well as at the level of society in general. All that leads up to the lack of understanding caused by part of the decisions we make, the voting decisions included. One thing is clear, though: an appreciable part of Romania has not been heard or paid heed to.

These days we have witnessed the existence of serious confusions of concept and terms, such as democratic values as opposed to Christianity, sovereignty as being tantamount to well-being and we have found out we can be easily manipulated into believing something, without questioning it, which is a fake piece of news. “

Results of a survey carried by World Vision Romania show the vast majority of the Romanian high-school students are in favour of a left-of-centre ideology (84%). A low percentage of them favour political extremism, far-left (7%) but also far-right ( 1%). Youngsters expect the state to offer quality healthcare services, quality education and equal lights for all citizens.

82% of youngsters believe their vote matters. Furthermore, 77% of respondents think the environment needs to be protected at all costs for the future generations. The other 23% of them believes environment resources need to be used for development and progress.

Mihaela Nabar also said:

“The ranking of indicators of a value-ideological orientation shows that high-school students are [preoccupied with political ideas and themes, they set up debates, among them and in the milieus they belong to, at once trying to get themselves ready for the value social backdrop they would enter as adults.

A great part of the themes is indicative of the importance of the debate for youngsters, of the exchange of arguments, of preparing these kids for their involvement in public life, so they can be less vulnerable to manipulation and to messages of populist origin” World Vision Romania representatives have stated.

Some of the survey’s most interesting conclusions could be the differences of opinion between boys and girls, with the girls having a stronger leftist leaning. Such differences weigh more than their origin (rural vs urban). For instance, 65% of the girls think a woman’s right to having an abortion should be unrestricted, while a mere 56% of the boys share such an opinion.

Also, whereas 18% of the boys think that, although a women can have her own career path, her main duty is that of being a housewife and a mother, a mere 6% of the girls share the same opinion. Differences are not significant, between the rural and the urban environment (14% versus 12%).

The perception of homosexuality has been the most disputed value theme, dividing high school students into two almost equal groups. Almost 47% of them view homosexuality as a disease, an abnormal phenomenon. Girls have embraced libertarian attitudes to a greater extent, focusing on individual rights, with 67% of them considering homosexuality as something normal. A mere 42% of the boys have the same opinion.

On one hand, there are girls who have been increasingly assertive with regard to the values of the individual rights, which reflect opinions on the women’s role, the rights of sexual minorities, the freedom of expression. One the other hand, there are boys who have embraced rather conservative attitudes regarding such aspects.

For 16 of the 10 indicators used in the outlining of the political compass, the differences between girls and boys are significant (…) The ideological differences based on gender criteria within the same generation have the potential of creating dissonance on the relational market, the marital market included. Value-wise, youngsters find themselves to a less extent in their relationship with person of the opposite gender within the same generation. “ World Vision Romania representatives have concluded.

1 January 2024
On gender equality

The rise in intimidation,
harassment and hate speech against women and girls, including online, requires
immediate and firm action, reads a joint statement signed by over 20 embassies
and the representative office of the European Commission in Romania on March 8, the International
Women’s Day.

We celebrate the
achievements regarding substantive gender equality and the progress
accomplished so far in securing the rights of women and girls all over the
globe. At the same time, we must acknowledge that much remains to be done until
women and girls can fully exercise their human rights, the statement reads.
According to the document, Ensuring
women’s full, equal, effective and meaningful participation in all spheres of
public and private life, including their political representation and
leadership in decision-making processes, is essential to achieving gender
equality.

The signatories also
emphasise that women and girls have the right to live free from violence and discrimination.
However, violence against women and girls is the most common human rights
violation as almost 1 in 3 women has experienced, at least once in her life, physical
and/or sexual violence – a fact unchanged for over a decade. (…) Access to
comprehensive support services and to justice for victims and survivors of
sexual and gender-based violence has to be ensured, they argue.

The fact that women are
not adequately represented in national parliaments and governments, including in
Romania, is not good for democracy, the European Commissioner for Equality Helena
Dalli said in her turn. Early this week, she was on an official visit to
Bucharest, to attend a conference on empowering women in Romania. As the EU
official put it, all women must have financial and economic independence; we must
recognise and appreciate the work and contribution of women, and we must give
them the tools to achieve balance between their personal and professional
lives, she added.

Helena Dalli also pointed
out that in Romania 46% of women, as against only 25% of men, are the primary
care givers to children, elders or disabled members of their families. A fair
sharing of responsibilities would help men and women to have equal
opportunities to work without sacrificing their family life, the EU
Commissioner explained, while also saying that women currently earn an average
30% less per hour than men.

She also discussed the high teenage
pregnancy rate in Romania, which propagates
poverty, and the discrimination against Roma people, both in terms of gender
and ethnicity. The EU official described the situation in which Roma live in
many communities in the European Union as ‘scandalous’ and ‘unacceptable’.

And she also mentioned
that the violation of the rights of people in the LGBTIQ community is contrary
to the spirit of the European Union and warned that EU funding
should not reach the local authorities in areas where these people are
excluded. (AMP)

9 March 2023
Debates on gender inequality

Although some inequity still exists, the European Union has made substantial progress in the past few decades towards ensuring gender equality. According to the European Commission, there are encouraging signs, with a growing number of women working and obtaining better qualifications. The number of women working in poorly paid sectors and holding fewer decision-making positions is still large.

Brussels has a strategy in place to make sure that by 2025 Europe is even closer to the goal of becoming a continent where men and women are equal. All Europeans, women and men, girls and boys, should enjoy the freedom to find and follow their path, should have equal chances to prosper, should be equal members of society and become leaders, if they deserve it, the strategy argues. Key targets include ending violence against women, fighting gender stereotypes, doing away with gender disparities in the labour market and ensuring equal participation in various economic sectors, bridging the wage gap, eliminating gender disparities in terms of family responsibilities and reaching gender balance in decision-making processes and in politics.

Against this background, the Romanian labour minister Raluca Turcan, attending the 3rd edition of the ʹWomen In Economyʹ Gala organised by the National Confederation of Women Entrepreneurs (CONAF), said that unfortunately gender inequality and discrimination are not seen as imperative issues in Romania. Women appear to have enough representatives in all areas, and access to opportunities seems to be equal.

However, at a closer look, the statistics provided by EU institutions and private structures indicate that substantial gaps exist. According to Raluca Turcan, the global Mastercard Index of women entrepreneurs indicates that only 27% of the existing businesses are held by women.

Conversely, for instance, Eurostat says that during the pandemic the share of women in the front line of healthcare services was 80%, as against 20% for men, which proves that in some sectors women are a lot more vulnerable to the shocks caused by the crisis.

Romania is an open society and progress has been made, but this doesnt make Romanians less traditionalist, added the labour minister Raluca Turcan, one of the only 2 women ministers in the current cabinet in Bucharest. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

20 May 2021
March 8, 2021

COVID-19 Romania’s PM Florin Cîţu announced he asked the
coordinator of the national vaccination programme Valeriu Gheorghiţă and the
health minister Vlad Voiculescu to take steps to initiate the 3rd
vaccination phase sooner than planned, because in March Romania will receive
2.6 million anti-COVID vaccine doses, which is more than originally estimated.
The PM said that where citizens entitled to vaccines in the 1st and
2nd stages of the programme decline getting the jabs, the respective
doses should go to the general public scheduled for immunisation in the 3rd
phase. So far 1.16 million people have received the vaccine in Romania. On the
other hand, more than 830,000 infections have been reported in Romania since
the start of the pandemic, with the death toll standing at nearly 21,000. Face-to-face classes continue for senior-year middle and
high school students, but in a mixed system, with half of the children
attending classes online, under a joint order issued by the education and
health ministries. The measure is in place up to a COVID infection rate of 6 per
thousand

POLICE The Romanian interior ministry intends to increase the number of police forces monitoring compliance with the new COVID-19 containment measures introduced as of Monday in Bucharest and in Timişoara (west). The city of Timişoara and several villages in Timiş County are under lockdown as of midnight, as the number of coronavirus cases is on the rise. Bucharest is also subject to new restrictions, such as the closing of restaurants, cafes and bars. These measures add to the ones already in place in other red-code regions in the country, where the COVID-19 infection rate is over 3 per 1,000.

WOMEN Romania ranks first in the EU by number of women holding top corporate posts, according to a release issued by a women-founded business centre, which quotes a Eurostat report. According to these figures, 34% of the total senior executive positions in Romania are held by women. Also, over 500,000 active businesses in Romania have women as shareholders. Across Europe, women account for 37% of managers, 28% of board members and 18% of the senior executives. The European Parliament is celebrating today the International Womens Day, in a plenary session. In a conference on “Women on the frontline and lessons learned from managing the crisis, women in politics, healthcare and gender equality share personal experiences and good practices with MEPs.

PANDEMIC The European Union begins talks today with the United States of America to secure the supply of US-made materials for anti-COVID vaccines, which are subject to tight export controls. The point is to coordinate efforts so as to avoid bottlenecks, AFP reports, quoting EU sources. These components include bags fitted to the manufacturers vats, as well as vials, syringes and so-called “nanolipid particles used to encapsulate some messenger RNA vaccines. Meanwhile, Hungary introduces new containment measures on Monday, with most shops closed for 2 weeks. The UK on the other hand is beginning to lift restrictions, and millions of children are returning to schools after a 2-month break. In turn, Israel is returning to normal. Some restrictions were lifted on Sunday, 15 days ahead of national elections, and Israelis can now go to cafes, restaurants and schools. Worldwide, according to worldometers updates, nearly 117.4 million people have caught the virus, of whom 93 million have recovered and 2.6 million died since the start of the pandemic a year ago.

FILM Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, the most recent film of Romanian director Radu Jude, won the Golden Bear at the 71st edition of Berlin International Film Festival – Berlinale, held online. The film looks into the relations between the individual and society when the leaked sex video of a school teacher goes viral on the Internet, turning her life upside down.

TENNIS Several Romanian athletes are playing today in the main draw on the Dubai tennis tournament, which has over 1.84 million US dollars in prize money. The first Romanian in the competition, Ana Bogdan (100 WTA) lost to Marketa Vondrousova, Czech Republic, (20 WTA), in 2 sets. Sorana Cîrstea (67 WTA) takes on the Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko (142 WTA), Irina Begu (72 WA) is facing Garbine Muguruza of Spain (16 WTA), and Patricia Țig (61 WTA) plays against Latvias Jelena Ostapenko (51 WTA). Two Romanians are also taking part in the doubles competition. Last years winner of the Dubai tournament, the Romanian Simona Halep, 3 WTA, is not taking part in the competition this year. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

8 March 2021
Women’s economic empowerment

The latest EU statistics indicate that gender gaps still exist in the economy. And perhaps the most painful aspects are the ones related to womens access to jobs and incomes. In 2017, in the EU, mens incomes were 16% higher than womens, whereas in terms of pensions the figure goes up to 37%. The statistics indicate that women are still in a more vulnerable economic position than men. The situation has barely improved in the 25 years since the UN adopted the Beijing Platform for Action, seeking to promote and protect the full enjoyment of all human rights and the fundamental freedoms of all women.

For centuries, women have provided unpaid work, consisting in household and family responsibilities. The problem, obviously, is not that these activities should be remunerated, but that they should be shared, in a fair manner, by the two partners in a household, rather than being a burden for the women alone. But again, EU statistics clearly indicate an imbalance in this respect as well

According to the most recent report made public by the European Institute for Gender Equality this month, the Gender Equality Index for the labour market stands at 72 points out of 100. In Romania, this indicator is below the European average, standing at 68 points. More specifically, the employment rate among women is 61%, as against 79% for men. On the other hand, Romania has the smallest salary gap, with men earning on average only 3% more than women.

Not the same is true however when it comes to pensions. In 2017, mens pensions were 63% higher in the 65-79 age bracket. In fact, the economic situation of the elderly, irrespective of gender, was the topic of an analysis run by the Social Monitor, a project initiated by Friedrich Ebert Romania based on data provided by Eurostat. Victoria Stoiciu with the Ebert Romania Foundation told us more:

Victoria Stoiciu: “According to Eurostat figures, in 2018 in Romania 36.7% of the citizens over 65 years were subject to poverty risks. And women were the most affected. As many as 43% of the Romanian women were in this situation in 2018, as compared to 19% of the men. In fact, this is the highest poverty level among the elderly since 2009, when the economic crisis was fully felt. And this is very alarming. Although many have criticised the pension increases of the past few years, arguing that the national economy is unable to sustain them, data show that all these increases still fail to keep up with the needs of the elderly, and that poverty in this category is on the rise.

What could be the reasons for the gender pension gap in Romania? According to Victoria Stoiciu, they are not different from the ones at work in the EU as a whole:

Victoria Stoiciu: “This situation is caused by the gender differences in the labour market in Romania, which in turn are the result of structural disadvantages that Romanian women face and which reflect in their incomes after retirement. What are these structural disadvantages? First of all, women are less likely to participate in the labour market. The ratio of women who are employed has been systematically lower than the number of employed men. This is in part rooted in the traditionalist view that women should stay at home and take care of the family. But even when they have jobs, women work for shorter periods, and their salaries are constantly lower. And this obviously leads to discrepancies in terms of pension levels, because benefits are based on the amount contributed during the employment years. On the other hand, this also affects womens capacity to save money during their active years. And all these factors add to each other and womens systematic discrimination in the economy is the most evident after retirement.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

30 October 2019
Women in the digital world

Romanian IT&C experts have long gained appreciation at home and abroad. They include a lot of girls and women who, in spite of the stereotype that women are not fit for technical professions, have been making a career in the field, even more so than in other states. For instance, according to the 2017 statistics of the US Company Hacker Ran, Romania ranks sixth, with a score of 164.9 in a top of women programmers’ performance.

These data concur with those provided by EU institutions. According to Eurostat, Romania and Lithuania have the second largest share of women working in IT&C — 25.7% in 2017, while the European average is nearly 17%. Bulgaria ranks first, with women accounting for 26.5% of its IT&C employees. That is no wonder if we think of the development of education in the field, as Veronica Stefan, founder of the Digital Citizens Romania Association points out:

Veronica Stefan: “We fare well especially as regards young women studying computing and taking their degree. We’re less successful in terms of women getting an MA or PhD degree, which means those young women don’t specialize at a higher level. But we do have women programmers, who develop various technological products. All in all, Romania has a large number of certified IT&C experts. Half of the high school computer science classes are made up of boys and half of girls. Our educational system encourages technical tuition and that is apparent in the big cities.”

Nevertheless, it is difficult to say how many women working in the IT&C sector hold managerial offices or are mere employees. Furthermore, the IT market in Romania relies on outsourcing, with many companies producing and developing ideas that come from elsewhere. Moreover, few women are on the managing board of Romanian start-ups or who are managers of Romanian entrepreneurship projects.

Veronica Stefan: “Women are team members but not necessarily team leaders. They are often members of the communication team, or of the team developing ideas. So when it comes to entrepreneurship, figures are below expectations. It is a good thing that 30% of girls and women work and study in the IT&C sector, but things are not as good as regards entrepreneurship.”

Things aren’t better in this respect in the rest of the EU either. Gender equality experts say that the small number of women working not only in IT, but in technology and science in general, has to do with women’s self-confidence and with the aspirations instilled by tradition and education. Lina Salanauskaite, a researcher with the European Institute for Gender Equality in Vilnius, tells us more about it:

Lina Salanauskaite: “If you look at the share of women in terms of ICT specialists in the EU, it is about 17%, and you see that this average across all EU countries is in this group that says table, which essentially means that in the last five years there was nothing changing. We also see that in a number of countries, despite this low share of women among ICT specialists, the number of women is even dropping. There are different reasons for why we have few women in ICT professions and they relate to larger differences of why there are few women in science and engineering professions and how the gender stereotypes walk across these things. But I wanted to point out to you about the aspirations. If you look at the age of 15, essentially it’s settled, so at the age of 15, from 3% minimum of teenagers — we take the whole population of teenage boys across the EU and ask — this was the survey done by the OECD- how many of them would aspire to become ICT professionals, and so from minimum 3% maximum 15% of teenage boys wanted to become ICT professionals. Then we look in terms of girls aspirations to become ICT professionals and we see that maximum of just above 1% in four countries we have girls that aspire to become ICT professionals. So girls are not even reaching the minimum aspirations of the boys currently. And this is one of the reflections where we show that this motivation, confidence, is not about digital skills, is not about math skills, or scientific skills, it’s more about how boys and girls see their future, where they see they can be strong, where they can have maybe a progression of career going forward, where they could be able to combine work and family, etc., so we see that the age of 15 is in a way divided.”

Back to Romania, when it comes to specialising in ITC and in basic digital skills, such as using the computer or going online to create content, for information or for looking for a job, Romania is full of paradoxes, says Veronica Stefan:

Veronica Stefan: “Although we now speak of how well we stand in the IT and digital sector in terms of the number or specialists, when we look at the overall population, statistics show we are at the bottom of the ranking. Around 30% of the general population has basic digital competencies, which puts us on the last place in the EU. We do very well in this respect in big cities like Bucharest, Cluj, Iasi, Constanta, Craiova, Sibiu and Brasov, but large parts of the population outside these cities simply lack these skills.”

(translated by: Ana-Maria Palcu, Elena Enache)

29 August 2018