By 2035 in the Republic of Moldova, the share of women mayors will reach 30%—that’s one of the key findings of a gender monitoring report on local general elections conducted by the Partnership for Development Centre (CPD). The analysis, entitled "Women mayors in the shadow - A study on the representation of women and men in elected offices at the mayoralty level" was developed in partnership with the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections, with support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), IM Swedish Development Partner Lund Moldova, UN Women and UNDP Moldova.

The monitoring revealed barriers to women's participation in elective office that will require reflection and a joint effort to overcome. The experts' findings highlight that there are social and cultural factors that influence women's propensity to enter politics. Caring responsibilities, the lack of family support and a lack of confidence in their own strengths and capabilities are the main barriers identified. 

Another important issue revealed by the monitoring is the stereotypical representation associated with the position of mayor. About 50% of respondents associate this function with qualities related to marital status, the presence of children and religiosity. Also, only 8% believe that a mayor should be a woman, while 36% believe it should be a man. These opinions reflect the need for a change in society's mentality and perceptions of the role and capabilities of women in politics.

With regard to women's participation in elections, there has been a slow increase in the number of women running for mayor. Compared to the 2011 elections, the share of women candidates increased by only 7%. In the 2023 local elections, the share of women candidates was 30.4% of all candidates, an increase of only 3% compared to the 2019 elections and 7% compared to the 2011 local elections. This highlights the need for further efforts to increase women's participation in politics.

For independent candidates, there has been an increase of 6% compared to the 2019 election. However, the share of women running as independent candidates remains lower than that of women nominated by political parties. 

With regard to women elected as mayors, the progress made is insignificant. In this election, 216 women mayors were elected, representing 24.1% of the total number of candidates. Compared to previous elections, the number of women candidates increased by only 2%. This trend has remained unchanged over the last four elections. Taking into account the evolution of recent years, it is estimated that the share of women mayors will reach 30% in 2035.

Another finding concerns the representation of women in the media. Regardless of the type of media product analysed—election debates, election spots, talk shows and news from the 10 TV channels monitored—women are represented in fairly small numbers, especially in the low-ratings hours. 

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.