Post-release
66th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women
Parallel event
Russian Federation
March 25 , 2022
"Women in science and education: self-realization
and gender equality"
The event was held online at the site of the UN Headquarters, New York.
Representatives from Russia, the USA, Iraq, South Africa, Italy, China and other countries took
part in the Round Table meeting on the stated topic.
The President of the Interregional Charitable Organization for Assistance to Persons with
Disabilities "Sail of Hope", the organizer of this event, which has had consultative status in the
UN for 20 years, the President of the International Alliance of Strategic Projects BRICS, an
expert in the UN from the Russian Federation, Larisa Nikolaevna Zelentsova, addressed the
participants of the round table with a welcoming speech.
Moderators of this event:
Irina Vladimirovna Nesivkina, expert psychologist, academician of the International Academy
of Management, Executive Director of the interregional charity organization for assistance to
persons with disabilities "Sail of Hope";
Galina Georgievna Sillaste, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, Head of the Scientific
School "Gender and Economic Sociology", Scientific Director of the Department of Sociology
and Mass Communications of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian
Federation.
The main message and meaning of this event is that the innovative model of the development of
society and the economy requires close cooperation between the government and civilized
society, interaction with scientists and experts; in creating a space for finding solutions, the
implementation of which is based on the structure and principles of the United Nations for
sustainable development in all countries.
The purpose of the Round Table:
To discuss topical issues of women's self-realization in the field of science and education as
ways to improve them and ensure gender equality.
To help women in solving global problems related to the preservation of the intellectual potential
of humanity and intergenerational continuity.
Irina Nesivkina, moderator of the Round Table, made a report on "Empowerment in science
and education in different countries".
In her report, she listed the factors that affect the position of women in science and education in
different countries. The reasons why it is so difficult all over the world to integrate women into
science and education in leadership positions. She also pointed out the barriers that can be
overcome to change the situation for the better. Irina Nesivkina put forward the following
proposals, which will be included in the resolution of this event:
1. To create a working group within the framework of the Scientific expert Council of the
Scientific School of Professor G.G. Sillaste "Gender and Economic Sociology" of the
Department of Sociology and Mass Communications of the Financial University under the
Government of the Russian Federation to develop conditions for the training and integration of
women into the governing bodies of scientific, educational and research institutions.
2. Strengthen the developed initiatives on the legislative level.
3. Create an opportunity and algorithm for broadcasting positive experiences in different
countries.
The next was Elena Romanenkova's report "Innovative model of self-education in the field
of cross-cultural communication", in which the importance of cross-cultural interaction in the
global world was noted.
"Today, the analysis of the problems of intercultural communications is of particular importance
in order to optimize the management of cross-cultural processes and improve the system of
personnel training for global interaction.
The modern personnel training system faces an important task not only to ensure the formation
of professional competencies, but also to prepare the future specialist for global cooperation, to
form intercultural competence (linguistic, communicative and cultural) and a sufficiently high
level of digital literacy, which in the future will allow to find relevant and reliable information,
as well as to possess effective tools for conducting intercultural dialogue. Successful and
effective communication also requires the principles of cultural cooperation, which involve
special training for this type of interaction."
Elena Romanenkova reviewed the positive experience of cross-cultural communication on the
example of Russian-Chinese communication.
The main report was delivered by G.G. Sillaste. Topic of the report: "Science and education:
women in the social space of scientific creativity, creative self-expression and gender
equality". Galina Sillaste has given indisputable evidence that the world is gender-asymmetric
in favor of men. She gave examples from history where outstanding women not only played an
important role in science, but also became the founders of entire fields of scientific knowledge.
The professor also recalled that the UN established the Day of Women and Girls in Science on
February 11, emphasizing the importance and significance of this date. Galina Georgievna gave
sociological data on the advancement of women in the science of world social reality. She
emphasized that in the context of globalization, the principle of gender equality remains an
important foundation for the development of Russian science and education, the formation of a
progressive national economy based on the experience, national character and spiritual traditions
of its people. The mission of women scientists from all countries is to develop "soft diplomacy"
in cooperation with scientists and public organizations from different countries in the name of
peace, mutual understanding and creativity.
Joan Berglein, Bachelor of Social Work, Master of Public Administration, global advocate for
the rights of people with disabilities, international educator for parents, USA, made a report on
"Mothers as educators of the younger generation".
In her report, Joan emphasized the role of the mother in education and pedagogy. "The education
that a mother offers affects all aspects of a growing person intellectually, as well as emotionally
and socially." Joana reminisced about a historically forgotten area – the key role of mothers
raising future generations, which is ignored by society in modern times. In modern times, women
perform this most important work with limited resources and often in isolation. The role of
fathers in the upbringing and education of children was also emphasized. The whole report of
Joan was based on the fact that in modern times there is oppression and marginalization of
parenthood. The lack of support for parenting and education, care for the next generations from
the global society leads to mental health disorders, domestic violence and an epidemic of
suicides. It is in this aspect that the solution to many problems of our time lies.
The report "Iraqi women in Education and Science" was delivered by Professor of Baghdad
University (Iraq) Al-Azzawi Nagam Majid.
Thanking the organizers for holding this event, the professor stressed the importance of the
influence of the role of women on the development of society as a whole. She briefly shared with
her experience as a food safety researcher, where she worked on the creation of new genotypes
of high productivity and good quality of wheat harvest. Al-Azawi Nagamgam Majid's scientific
career began in the Russian Federation as a doctoral student in the field of plant genetic
engineering. The professor also stressed the increasing trend of the role of women in all areas of
the economy in different countries. Which, in turn, has a positive effect on the labor market and
contributes to the fight against poverty. The importance of women's role in small business can
become an economic foundation for future generations.
Dr. Kalisa Dlamini from South Africa presented her report "South African women in
Education and Science", in which emphasized that during apartheid in South Africa, women
had restrictions in education and science. Both white and black women have suffered greatly
from the apartheid system. Progress began after democratic elections in 1994 in South Africa.
There are now more women than men working at South African universities. Many women hold
senior positions at universities in South Africa. Kalisa Dlamini cited the example of women
leaders in clinical and nuclear medicine. Despite the progress in the field of education and science for women in South Africa, one of the important problems remains the lack of funding
and payment for education, especially at the university level, because not all women manage to
get a scholarship. This continues to be a deterrent to the advancement of women in education and
science.
Then Elena Tukshumskaya Miriam, President of the Center for International Development of
Relations between Italy and Russia, founding member of the Pan-European Union Kreativ
Europe, Italy, made a report "How to expand rights and opportunities in the field of science
and education on the example of Italy and the EU countries''. Elena shared with statistics
from the publication "Elsevier", a leader in information and analytics in global research and
health ecosystems, which showed that in Italy the presence of women in science and education is
higher than the EU average (39%) and ranks 3rd after Portugal (50%) and Spain (48%). In terms
of wages, Italy is also ahead of the rest of Europe. She made a detailed statistical review of the
role of women in research and research in the EU countries. A broader commitment to gender
integration and diversity in support of UN SDG 5 on Empowerment in support of all women and
girls is reaffirmed.
In continuation of the Round Table, Irina Prokhorova, Head of the Moscow branch of the NGO
"Federation of Women with University Education", Assistant of the Department of Sociology
and Mass Communications of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian
Federation, made a report "Global Education: empowering young women".
In her report, Irina Prokhorova emphasized the important role of the family in the formation of
society.
"Currently, the entire world community is going through complex processes of transformation of
economic, socio-political, spiritual and moral relations. This affects the change in the social and
demographic structure of society, entails a change in the traditional spiritual values of entire
peoples, as well as social groups and personalities.
The largest socio-demographic communities are still two: men and women. The interaction of
these communities, their dynamics and development trends, the tasks facing them, are reflected
primarily in the family; the family, which is the priority task of ensuring the survival of mankind.
And it is the institution of the family that is undergoing the most complex transformations today:
the idea of the family, which has always been the most typical for any society and included children under the age of majority and the married couple itself, is now practically erased. New
ideas about the role of the genders in the family and about married life, the transformation of
family values as a result of the struggle for gender equality, have led to the emergence of
alternative forms of relations between genders, the legalization of gender-neutral marriage is
gaining momentum, which destroys the traditional form of the family with its clear historical
separation of the functions of the father and mother by gender, representing the union of the
child, mother and father. But it is the family that has always been the primary environment for
human socialization."
At the end of the Round Table, moderator, Professor, Honored Scientist of the Russian
Federation Galina Sillaste summed up the results of the event.
1. The participants of the Round Table are unanimous of the necessity to consolidate the healthy
forces of the planet in solving major problems of the present and planning the future sustainable
development of civilization.
2. The problem of effective female self-realization, both in a particular country and around the
world, is the result of not only social, but also economic problems.
3. Systematically organized work on the exchange of experience and consolidation of women in
science and education contributes to socio-economic development around the world.
At the end of the event, the participants shared their impressions and thanked the organizers for
an interesting and useful event.