Gender Equality Present And Prospects Discussed In Valdai Conference

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th March, 2021) In the lead-up to International Women's Day, the Moscow-based Valdai Discussion Club held an online meeting on Thursday to tackle the questions of gender equality, its advantages, and the challenges it faced.

Bringing together a number of women holding senior positions in diplomacy, politics, journalism, and the media, the discussions revolved around the role of women in contemporary politics and business, the concept of gender equality with respect to professionalism, and the future of gender politics.

Modern-day advancements in gender equality did not happen overnight. One of the defining causes of the past century was defended through numerous battles for women's rights throughout the 20th century.

While generally treated within the broader framework of human rights, ample evidence has surfaced to suggest that gender equality is a pragmatic evolution of human societies; as women played a greater role in modern society, so did their vital role come to light in contemporary politics and business.

Described as "female power" by Russian parliamentarian Inga Yumasheva, leadership and negotiation styles characteristic of women in positions of power are accredited with successful negotiations that yielded durable solutions lasting for over 15 years, as per by the Advisor for National Committee on BRICS Research Victoria Panova.

"With regards to the negotiation process itself in political and diplomatic circles, women... achieve more success when they use their female power as opposed to trying to play a man's role. In this context, I consider that female power is the ability to connect with people, be communicative, and smooth out sharp edges, and create an atmosphere that is necessary for negotiations," Inga Yumasheva stated.

This phenomenon was highlighted by the Director General of the UN Office in Geneva Tatiana Valova, who pointed out that the growing demand for female leaders is an organic process highlighted by female politicians' ability to effectively answer modern challenges.

"The outcomes of the 2020 pandemic are very interesting; as many already know, the analysis showed that countries headed by women, such as New Zealand, Germany, and many others have been better at fighting the pandemic, making better decisions. In my opinion, female politicians differ in that they think less about their popularity or how popular or unpopular their decisions are, and more about the necessity of these decisions and measures," Valova added.

The demand for female leadership and a higher degree of women's integration into the economy is a rational need. Companies that have at least one woman on their board of directors can show an increase in revenue by 30%, while the broader integration of women into an economy was estimated to generate approximately $13 trillion of revenue, according to Victoria Panova.

The economic role of gender equality was further highlighted by Tatiana Valova. The empowerment of women has a force-multiplier effect in achieving the targets set by sustained development programs. Combating poverty and expanding access to education as well as other sustainable development goals can be achieved fast should gender equality targets be met first, Valova argued.

A hotly debated topic in modern political discourse, gender quotas were thoroughly discussed by the participants, with the overall consensus being that equal opportunities should not hinder recruitment based on professionalism

Rejecting the idea of gender quotas as a means to merely facilitate the representation of women in business and politics, Mexican ambassador to Russia Norma Bertha Pensado Moreno highlighted the problem of recruitment based on gender as opposed to professional qualifications.

"Mexico is one of the countries with significant problems with regards to feminism, meaning that women are appointed to their posts just because they are women and not professionals of their craft, and we are working on [resolving] this question," Moreno stated.

The importance of a merit-based approach in equal-opportunity employment was further discussed by the Head of Foreign Affairs and New Europe Department of Askanews multimedia agency Orietta Moscatelli, who spoke out against the forceful implementation of gender equality measures.

The idea of competition between genders was also challenged by Viktoria Panova, who in agreement with a call for the cooperation of genders made by Inga Yumasheva spoke of the need for harmony between genders as opposed to equal rights when addressing the wage-gap issue.

"It is especially within the framework of a balanced and harmonious interaction between the sexes that the best results can be achieved," Panova added.

At the same time, the participants noted the importance of gender quotas as a temporary first step that should be used to break the proverbial glass ceiling.

Founder and Executive Chairperson of the Beirut Institute, Raghida Dergham highlighted the challenges faced by women in the Arab world, particularly the lack of gender equality on a legal level in many Arab countries, stating that gender quotas would be an important first step for women's rights in the region.

"With regards to quotas, the question is vital and without it, we will not be able to move past the deadlock. Let's not speak about quotas as something permanent, they are a transitional measure. In Lebanon, for instance, we cannot start this process... quotas should be enshrined in law," Dergham explained.

This concept was supported by Moreno and Panova, both of whom agreed that the subject of gender quotas should be treated with caution and used only to jump-start the process of gender equality to break the glass ceiling.

"We don't want to be simply a part of this number determined by a quota, we want to become a part of the evolutionary path, we want to be appointed because of our professional qualities, not because of a quota... certainly, quotas should not remain forever, but this could be the first step to break the deadlock," Moreno elaborated.

The difference between developed and developing nations with regards to gender equality was pointed out by Moscatelli, who stressed that the problem of women's rights is much more pronounced in less economically developed nations, especially countries currently embroiled in conflict; a point that Dergham believes calls for the need for more women in conflict resolution and peacebuilding.