THE GENDER PROBLEM IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS: THE WAYS OF SOLUTION IN BELARUS
Also there were a lot of different students’ conferences this year. And I didn’t lose the opportunity to participate in them. One of my reports was devoted to gender problem in international business. And now I’d like to tell you about the most interesting parts of it…
Women have made great strides over the last century in areas where they were not historically equal to men; they gained the right to vote, they removed the barriers to traditionally male professions, and they changed the way society looked at them. Women are no longer viewed as primarily «emotional» creatures, but are judged on their individual qualities.
But the gender problem is still burning all over the world and especially in the countries of the former USSR, Belarus is no exception. The fact that there is still women and men’s work, and still separate play for boys and girls, show how these are apparent even today. By breaking down these stereotypes and allowing men - or women - to be as feminine or masculine as they choose give them a chance to be individuals. And that is why the United Nations Development Programme supports the idea of expanding the public space for women in Belarus.
This Project is for women aspiring to social, political and professional success; for men willing to support active women’ striving for self-realization and for anyone interested in the sustainable democratic development of Belarus.
Society creates artificial barriers in the way of women’s professional, political and social careers thus depriving itself of the great potential that this social group possesses. Gender equality is a prerequisite to the effective development of this country. The goal of the Project is to ensure the real access to the sphere of decision-making for Belarusian women.
In order to feel motivated, reach out and participate in the decision-making women must first attain self-affirmation. Up-to-date education, relevant knowledge and skills are all ingredients of success that would allow women to become leaders. The Project provides an opportunity to get the education that fits women’s needs, status and employment.
Providing equal opportunities means not only that women must be able to gain the education that would allow them to access such traditionally masculine spheres as big politics, serious business, higher levels of power. Equal opportunities are founded, first and foremost, on equal rights. The Project calls for expanding women’s impact on the legislative process to ensure the gender equality in the society.
Women who aspire to participate in decision-making face an invisible obstacle in the form of the public opinion. The stereotypical view on the limited role of women in the public sphere unfortunately still exists in our society. It cultivates in women the predisposition to passiveness and dependence, and, at best, provides them with a sort of a greenhouse – a limited scope of possibilities of personal self-realization.
Women who have strength, knowledge and ambition to participate in public life want to step outside the greenhouse and into a real world. Yet, too often they cannot declare their aspirations because of the social disapproval that would follow.
The Project aims at working with Mass Media to facilitate the change of public opinion and create a friendlier social environment for women. Creation of social advertising is one direction of work with mass-media. The social advertising, that were created during such cooperation, got two first prizes in nominations «Noncommercial printed advertising» and «Video advertising» in the Seventh world festival of advertising «Idea! 2006» and two first prizes in the fourth Kiev International Festival of Advertising.
It is important to consider the gender inequality as an economic problem, not only social one!
Women represent the biggest social - demographic group in Belarus. There are above 5,000,000 women that make up 53 % of all the population living in this country. Today women face with excessive loadings on work, growth of unemployment and poverty. In each branch of the economy there are significant distinctions in the incomes received by men and women. The average wages of women make 81 % from average wages of men. In spite of the fact, that women and men have the same educational level.
Thus, the gender problem is really urgent in our society because having refused from a social equality of men and women we refuse huge prospects of successful economic development of our country.