International Journal of Communication Research 169 Case Study GENDER DIMENSION IN MARGINALIZED RURAL COMMUNITIES Krisztina Melinda DOBAY 1 , Simona Roxana ULMAN 2 1 Scientifc Researcher, PhD, Romanian Academy, Iaşi Branch, „Gheorghe Zane” Institute of Economic and Social Research, Iaşi, Romania 2 Research Assistant, PhD, ”Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iaşi, Integrated Center for Studies in Environmental Science for the Northeast Region, Romania Corresponding author: Krisztina Melinda Dobay; e-mail: dobaykrisztinamelinda@ices.acadiasi.ro Abstract The status of women living in the rural European space is extremely varied, as their living and cultural conditions differ considerably from one zone to another; on the other side, it goes without saying that the programs of rural development cannot solve the diffcult issue of the equality of gender. The main aspect to be mentioned here is that only scarce information is available on the (in)equality of gender, respectivley on the situation of women from the rural areas of Europe. In most of the cases, the main diffculties women have to face in the society of today refer to their obligation of playing a double role: to take care of their families, while also entering the market of labor for attaining fnancial independence. In marginalized, poor communities, considered as extremely problematic, being characterized by low-income households, and inhabited by people with a low educational and competence level, a high ratio of single mothers, numerous children and a high delinquency (WORLD BANK, 2016), assuming of such a double role might appear as a desiderate. Unfortunately, the main burden is the absence of a stable job and, therefore, of an increased income, generally insuffcient for supporting a numerous family – a most common situation in these rural zones. More than that, women from marginalized communities are exposed to higher risks of poverty and social exclusion, as a result of restricted access to education, health services and social assistance. All these observations, along with other aspects of socio-economic nature which women from the rural areas are confronted with, have been approached in a complex social inquiry organized in 6 marginalized rural communities - Răuseni (Botoşani district), Andrieşeni, Vlădeni, Hălăuceşi and Slobozia (Iaşi district), Negreşti (Vaslui county). Keywords: gender, marginalised communities, rural Romania. 1. INTRODUCTION In Romania, about half of its population lives in rural zones, large part of it being unfavourably affected both from the viewpoint of the incomes and from the absence of a modern infrastructure and basic services. Consequently, the needs of such communities are quite varied, the opinion of the authors of the present study being that much more attention should be given to these marginalized Romanian population. According to the study entitled Elaboration of strategies for the integration of marginalized communities – Atlas of marginalized zones of Romania (SWINKELS et al., 2016), three main criteria should be considered for defning and analyzing the types of marginalized zones, namely: the human capital (usually, education, health status, size and composition of the households), occupation and living conditions, mention being made of the fact that almost all studies devoted to this feld in Romania, whichever the research method applied, indicate these three main criteria for the defnition and analysis of marginalization. The present investigation involved a systematic radiography of six marginalized rural communities - Răuseni (Botoşani district), Andrieşeni, Vlădeni, Hălăuceşti and Slobozia (Iaşi district), Negreşti (Vaslui district), in relation with gender differences, as expressed by the main economic and educational indices. The scope was of establishing whether discrimination is caused by gender or, in other words, if, in such marginalized communities, women are more vulnerable than men. Fig. 1. Map of the marginalized rural communities selected for the case study