Moldova Recently Ranked as Seventh in the World for Gender Equality

The Global Gender Gap Report of 2016, demonstrating how much Moldova has improved (Wikimedia Commons).

Following the World Economic Forum’s publication of the Global Gender Gap Report for 2025 in June, Moldova has exemplified what progress looks like in achieving gender equality. The Eastern European country stood out for its overall increase in rank since both last year and over the past decade. For the first time, Moldova is within the top ten countries with the highest level of gender equality, ranking seventh worldwide in the Report. According to Revista Cariere, these rankings measure gender parity across a country’s economic participation, educational attainment, healthcare, and political empowerment. 

Invest Moldova reports the country has closed 81.3 percent of its overall gender gap. The area where the country has seen the most progress is in political empowerment. Women currently hold 40 percent of ministerial positions, while another 40 percent represent Moldova’s parliament since the 2021 elections. 

Through the empowerment of women in politics and the workforce, Moldova has significantly increased the number of women in stable jobs and improved the representation of women throughout the country’s many industries. Moldova’s Minister of Labor and Social Protection, Alexei Buzu, remarked that “more employment services, more repaired nurseries and kindergartens, more business support programs, more options for using childcare leave, more violence prevention programs, more women in the police – this is how we build an inclusive Moldova.”

Deputy Parliament Speaker Doina Gherman also thanked Moldovan women who have “demonstrated courage, strength, and remarkable abilities in defending peace, justice, human rights, equity, and gender equality…often at great personal risk and sacrifice.” 

Her statement highlights that Moldova’s achievement is the result of its long-term national vision for inclusivity and shared effort. Moldova now ranks highly among countries with longstanding records of gender equality, such as Iceland, Finland, and Norway. Many hope that Moldova will be able to sustain its progress toward the empowerment of women in politics while expanding opportunities for women in other growing sectors.