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Regular version of the site

100 Years of Feminism in Russia: Women in the Modern Society

To commemorate the double anniversary - 100 years of the first International Women’s Day in Russia, that was held by coincidence on February 23 (Old style), now March 8, and 150 years birthday of greatest woman scientist, the first person AND the only woman that was awarded two Nobel prizes, and the only person to win in two different sciences, Marie Skłodowska Curie International Office at the Faculty of Economic Sciences invited students and faculty to attend and discuss presentations on gender equality and gender culture

Those interested in the topic of feminism and equal rights gathered last Wednesday in the Academic Council meeting room at  Shabolovka campus. International group of students and HSE faculty fist watched presentations made by two economists whose topic are gender equality for women. First, Ina Ganguli, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts Amherst,  was answering the question whether Soviet institutions helped Soviet women scientists to be equally productive in publishing and citations, which she showed it did not. You can see the presentation here: Did the Soviets Solve the “Productivity Puzzle” - Gender Differences in Science in the Soviet Union 

"First, Ina Ganguli, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts Amherst, was answering the question whether Soviet institutions helped Soviet women scientists to be equally productive in publishing and citations, which she showed it did not."

 

Pamela Campa, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Economics at University of Calgary, was asking whether politico-economic regimes that put a lot of emphasis on women's economic inclusion can change gender-role attitudes in the society. In her presentation Culture, Institutions and Women at Work she tried to answer this question, while also discussing what, beyond a change in attitudes, can bring more women into the labor force. You can see also Presentation Slides and Paper.


Ashley Squires, Ph.D.,  HSE NES Undergraduate Program in Economics assistant professor in humanities and language:

The glass ceiling is a metaphor that describes the barriers women face to promotion in a given field: a woman may enter and even excel in a particular job but get stuck at a certain level while her male peers continue to get promoted. This is a problem in many professions, including in academia, where women are reaching parity with (and even surpassing) their male peers as a share of admitted graduate students but remain drastically under-represented at the Full Professor level. The factors contributing to the glass ceiling phenomenon are complex, including not only direct forms of discrimination but the social dynamics of workplaces, the penalties that women face for having children, inadequate access to childcare, and the pressures that women experience concerning their life choices.

 

Olga Savinskaya, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, Higher School of Economics added that while 100 years ago women had to protest for their basic rights, including the right to study, vote, and work, today most societies have at least formal gender equality. However, a phenomenon known as the "double burden", according to which women are expected to work to earn money while also tending to the home and children, is present in most societies. 

Russia is currently experiencing a "traditional wave": more and more women are expected to see marriage and motherhood as a virtue and their life's purpose. Girls are told that after they become scientists, they should give birth to a child. On the other hand, surveys show that aging Western men as a rule regret not having spent more time with their children and families. Being an active parent makes men feel happier. I believe that now is the right time for men to become more involved in family and household affairs. Governments should introduce more incentives for responsible fatherhood.