Gabriel Encev, journalist: an involved father is one of the ingredients of family harmony

Alina and Gabriel, both journalists, became parents of Mark-Aris in December 2022. As this was a very well-planned step, they adjusted a little more easily to parenthood. Since the first days of their 2-month-old baby boy life, they have shared household chores, as they used to previously do.

„In the first weeks of the baby's life, it is difficult to manage simple things, such as cooking, eating, taking a shower, having a few minutes just for yourself, buying something from the pharmacy or store, tidying up the house, or cooking, so Gabriel took over those responsibilities and I could give Mark-Aris my full attention.  But we are switching anytime, upon mutual agreement”, says Alina Găină. 

Moreover, they are both equally involved in activities related to the baby’s care. Alina believes that it is unfair to deprive fathers of the right to be engaged equally in all the moments of the child’s life. 

„So far, we have had about five visits to the pediatricians, and Gabriel has been always there with me - it seems fair, although sometimes we, mothers, might say „you can wait for us in the car”. Together with Gabriel, we give Mark-Aris a bath, we eat together and take turns holding him in our arms for a while”, Alina added. 

After nine years of professional growth and a successful career, Alina and Gabriel discussed and chose the best option for their family -  Alina will take childcare leave and dedicate all her time to the baby and family, at least in the first year. 

„A mom who is offered more choices is relaxed and happy. I don't feel pressured and I am the one who decides what's best for me and my family. The recent changes in the law are very supportive for new moms. We can choose either to stay home with the child, work full time or part-time, come back to work or work from home, change the workplace - regardless of this we continue receiving the childcare allowance, an option which was not available before”. 

As a young couple,  Alina and Gabriel don't exclude having more children in the future, when they will also use another option available for parents now -  sharing the childcare leave, which is a new change in the Moldovan legislation.  

„Perhaps just Gabriel will take the childcare leave, or maybe we’ll share it, I don't know - what is important is that we have plenty of options now, as parents, and we can choose what works best for us. I like my job very much - journalism and communication in an NGO - so whenever I feel the need to be socially active again and return to my career, Gabriel is and will be ready to support me in this”, she added.

Gabriel and his wife work together in a local media NGO that promotes, besides other issues, the social norms related to raising children, family life, and the protection of children's rights. Naturally, they were among the first to find out, in 2016, about the new at-time option for fathers to take paternity leave with a duration of 14 days in the first 56 days of the baby’s life. 

Both Gabriel and Alina share the opinion that the father's role in caring for the child is very important, as it strengthens the family relationship, sets a good example for the new family member, and prevents the mother from burning out.

„The fact that a father can take time off to spend even more time with the baby is absolutely wonderful and from the very first moment I found out about this option, I knew I would definitely use this opportunity to enjoy this new feeling and have time to better understand parenthood”, mentioned Gabriel. 

Years later, in 2022, a little bit before their baby was born, he was happily surprised to find out that the period the fathers can take paternity leave was extended from 56 days to 1 year.  

„This was great to hear - as a family, we can decide when we need those 14 days dedicated to the baby during the year - it could be the appearance of the first teeth or other events in the life of the little one”, added Gabriel. 

New legal measures to support parents to combine personal life with career

In the Republic of Moldova, over the years, work-life reconciliation has been a challenge, especially in regard to the low engagement of fathers in the upbringing and care of children. GGS indicated an unfair division of childcare and household responsibilities, over 60% of women with children under the age of 6 say that they always or often fulfil the childcare responsibilities. 

Studies conducted by UNFPA revealed that it is possible to ensure work-life balance by creating a labour market friendly to parents (and caregivers) who take care of a family member, which means more opportunities so that mothers do not have to reduce their working hours to take care of children, and fathers engage more and dedicate more time for child care and upbringing, families with children have more options of alternative childcare services and they can negotiate flexible working arrangements to reconcile successfully their work and family life. Especially the active engagement of both parents in the upbringing and care of children is the key to the success of a legal intervention. 

As part of the UNFPA regional project Expanding Choices, Moldova raised awareness about national gender-responsive family policies and established partnerships with national stakeholders by increasing their knowledge, as a result, this concept was introduced in strategic documents and became a national priority.

In the summer of 2022, under this initiative and as a response to the challenges that parents are facing in achieving work-life balance, Moldovan authorities improved the national gender-responsive family policies by adopting a series of legal measures.

„During the last year, together with national and international partners, Parliament of the Republic of Moldova has focused its work on improving legislation on family-friendly policies to expand opportunities for parents, so that they can have the desired number of children and to find the balance between responsibilities in family and professional lives”, stated Marina Morozova, deputy and one of the co-authors of the initiatives to support families. 

„I am firmly convinced that an equal and inclusive society can be built by ensuring gender balance through the equitable distribution of care responsibilities within the family and by reducing discrimination on the labor market. Thus, the participation rate of women on the labour market will increase leading to their ability to fulfill family and professional aspirations. We strongly believe that we need to continue these efforts, further improving the legislation, in combination with other social and economic factors. This will strengthen the country's demographic resilience and will support people to achieve their desired fertility and have more children if they want to”, Marina Morozova added. 

Background info about UNFPA’s role in expanding choices for parents and caregivers in Moldova

UNFPA worked with the Parliament and decision makers, adjusting the legislation to be more family friendly, and in parallel, worked with the private sector to ensure that these changes are applicable to employers and respond to the needs of both business representatives, and employees. 4 major changes were introduced in the legislation:

1. Paternity leave became more flexible by introducing a new option for requesting paternity leave with a duration of 14 days during the first year of the child, previously it was in the first 56 days, and not all the fathers were able to fit in this period. Therefore, in Moldova, only 16% of new fathers take paternity leave.
2. The Parliament with UNFPA support also adopted a new option for mothers and fathers for childcare indemnity: a shorter period of 12 months with higher indemnity representing 90% of income. 
3. Also, mothers and fathers have the option to alternate childcare leave between parents for certain periods to allow parents to balance their professional and personal responsibilities.
4. The 4th new option offers employees the opportunity to opt for a flexible work schedule, in coordination with the employer, allowing them to balance work and family.

The activities are part of the Expanding Choices project, funded by the Austrian Development Cooperation, and UNFPA's Demographic Resilience Programme, which aims to support the countries in the region to draft demographic policies and programs for people to respond to demographic changes, to strengthen human resources and to define a prosperous future".