'Poverty traps women in multiple layers of discrimination and hinders their ability to claim their rights' says the United Nations Development Fund for Women- a concept that is still relatively foreign in the newly born European country of Romania where children end up bearing the brunt of gender disparity. Gender inequalities, which are both the result of poverty and contributors to poverty, are so rife in fact that World Vision Romania has formed a team of specialists taken from its Area Development Programmes (ADPs) to implement a strategy on gender and promote justice and equality for both women and men.

Romanian women are still missing out on job opportunities, promotion, fair pay and maternity leave and are vulnerable to harassment due to a lack of empowerment and protection in terms of their rights.

Women of child bearing age or pregnant women are for example discriminated against in the recruitment process where employers will go to such lengths as forcing pregnancy tests on unsuspecting interviewees. Job advertisements still ask for 'women between the ages 18 to 25 with pleasant looks and the availability to work extra hours'.

The 2008 report on equality between women and men states, 'Work/life balance is one where major differences persist between women and men. The employment rate of women with young children is only 62%, compared with 91% for men with children'.

Gender inequality is even more visible in rural communities where girls are likely to be less educated and live in poorer conditions. In 2007, 36% of women employed in Romania worked in the agricultural field according to the last report published by the International Labor Organization.

'Most women from rural communities work in the agricultural field without pay and educated women who work in education, health or trade are paid lower salaries than men', concluded an analysis from the Romanian Center Partnership for Equality.

Recent 'Gender and Development' training brought together 25 participants from World Vision staff, partners and initiative groups from around the country to teach the concepts around gender, look at strategic goals and practical needs in relation to gender, roles and gender and sex.

This team will be positioned around Romania to help communities on the local level and contribute to a national framework around gender issues.

'In the rural communities, a woman wakes up at 5am, prepares food for the children and then works in the field until sunset. After that, she does the household chores and there is no time to supervise the children's lessons or do something educational for them', said course participant Sitoiu Alina, coordinator of the Community Informational Center from Galicea in Valcea county. She believes that girls will continue to model this behaviour if they are not shown an alternative.

'Young boys who grow up in an environment with domestic violence as the norm will believe that men can beat their wives to make them obedient', said social assistant Marcela Ayram from Constanta. 'We had a family in which the father was very violent. The mother divorced and ran away from the country. The boy now lives with his grandmother and he pushes her and injuries her and runs away from school', she added.

'Receiving information about gender, children can be positively influenced to see life from a different perspective, because our parents' mentality is hard to change', believes Marius Cernusca, a gender team representative from Craiova ADP.

'In Cumpana, a rural community included in World Vision's Development Project, the number of women who work is larger than men. In many families only the woman works', said World Vision community worker Simona Benghiu. In these families, the income is unpredictable and very limited and there is a high incidence of domestic violence. Children are directly impacted as they are often put to work in the fields and therefore miss out on school and other opportunities. For female-headed households the situation is very difficult for women who shoulder the entire financial burden for the family.

World Vision's gender team will work with other programme specialists who run projects on inclusive education for children with disabilities, awareness programmes on HIV and AIDS and a number of other activities focused around children's wellbeing.

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