A delegation that reunited representatives of UNFPA Moldova, Parliament of the Republic of Moldova and the champion companies Orange Moldova, Panilino, Premier Energy Moldova, #Asena and Linella were on a study visit to Stockholm, Sweden. In this period, they have been acquainted with concrete examples of Swedish companies and learned the success stories of fathers who took parental leave.
During the first day of the visit, the members of the delegation went to the Benify company, where they learned how the Swedish national system - known as a champion in this regard - supports families with children, what benefits the company offers to parent employees, and also learned the experience of two fathers working for the company who are currently on parental leave.
In the following days, the members of the delegation, together with MP Marina Morozova, visited and learned the experience of several Swedish companies Telia Sverige, Sandvik, Ericsson, UniversumGlobal and Contitude, which shared the benefits they offer to their employees who become parents. For instance, Swedish companies offer employees possibilities such as: flexible working hours, paid parental leave in addition to the one offered by the authorities, the possibility to work remotely and even salary increases during parental leave. Also, an important aspect, according to the employees, their own examples as role models and the support of the managers, but also their attitude towards the employees who are or are going to become parents.
The members of the delegation learned about the experiences of fathers employed by these companies, including a father on parental leave to take care of his one-year-old boy.
Viktor Hakansson, father on parental leave, Benify employee, Sweden: "The period being on parental leave is the happiest in my life and I am very grateful for this opportunity offered by my employer. I believe it is important that partners have equal opportunities to advance in their careers without making sacrifices."
The representatives of the champion companies from Moldova confessed that they ”filled their suitcases” with impressions and knowledge to create more opportunities for employees back home and to further develop family policies friendly to mothers, fathers and caregivers.
Sergiu Guzun, Panilino director: "The experience of Swedish companies motivates me to transform the company into a family-friendly one, as our scope is to ensure that every employee is happy both at home and at work."
Svetlana Gorșa, Orange Moldova, Human Resources Department: ”I was very inspired to see how involved fathers in Sweden are in raising children. There are possibilities to take over many good practices in the company I represent - with small steps, towards big changes".
Olesea Radu, șefa Secției Managementul talentelor și dezvoltarea personalului, Premier Energy: Sunt nerăbdătoare să ajung acasă pentru a iniția discuții și schimbări palpabile pentru angajații noștri – voi vorbi cu colegii și conducerea companiei pentru a le transmite cât de important este să fii parte a companiei, pentru că compania este a doua familie.
Ludmila Sert, executive director, Asena Textil: "We deduced that we need to start, step by step, changes in our culture at home, because fathers in Moldova feel ashamed to take childcare leave. Concrete steps to encourage this phenomenon are needed to promote diversity and inclusion”, said Ludmila.
Mirela Senatov, Linella HR director: "We want to initiate changes in Linella's human resources policies to become more family-friendly at work and as a first step after this study visit, we are inspired to innitiate a Fathers' Club, an extremely good opportunity for our working fathers”.
Members of the delegation participated in interactive sessions, visited to model companies and also attended a debriefing workshop. According to Nelea Rusu, program coordinator at UNFPA Moldova, ”this visit is a good opportunity to strengthen the network of private companies at the regional level in Kosovo, Moldova and Albania to inspire each other to become more friendly to employees with children and their families. The positive impressions and feedback of national companies motivates us to continue our efforts in promoting family policies both at the national level and in the private sector to strengthen demographic resilience in the Republic of Moldova.”
In 2022, champion companies Orange Moldova, Panilino, Premier Energy Distribution and Asena Textil arranged family-friendly spaces at the workplace. Each initiative is co-financed by UNFPA with $5,000 each, and the companies double the contribution.
This initiative is part of UNFPA's Demographic Resilience Programme, which aims to create an enabling environment for people of reproductive age to have the desired number of children, including with the help of the private sector, which has a role in creating conditions for working parents to combine family and work.
The project "Expanding Choices: Gender-Sensitive Family Policies for the Private Sector in the Western Balkans and the Republic of Moldova" is implemented by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), with the support of the Austrian Development Agency, in partnership with the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Moldova.
