International conference “Algorithms for Opposing Gender Discrimination: the International and the Russian Experience” organised jointly by ELDR and the YABLOKO party began its work in Moscow. Over 50 delegates representing the European Parliament, different women’s organisations from the Netherlands, Germany, Estonia, Turkey, Moldova and Russia are taking part in the discussions.

The conference opened by a minute of silence in memory of the victims of a terrible tragedy in Japan.

The conference was opened by Mrs. Kristiina Ojuland, MEP, the ALDE group, Ms. Galina Mikhalyova, Chair of YABLOKO’s Gender faction and Co-Chair of the Council for Consolidation of Women’s Movement in Russia, Dr. Grigory Yavlinsky, founder of the YABLOKO party and member of YABLOKO’s Political Committee, and Mr. Sasha Tamm, Director of Representation of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Moscow.

“The European experience of overcoming gender discrimination is very important for us, as 20 – 30 years ago the situation there was roughly as we are having in Russia today. The world has been actively solving the problems of equality of men’s and women’s rights, but Russia has been moving against the mainstream,” Galina Mikhalyova told welcoming the delegates.

“YABLOKO is the only Russian party involved in the solution of gender problems and having a detailed gender programme. Also 28 per cent of YABLOKO Bureau members are women, and 20 per cent of women head YABLOKO’s regional branches. This almost corresponds to the European. But de to our present situation of a non-parliamentary party we can hardly influence the policies of the Russian government here,” she added.

After welcoming the participants of the conference on behalf of the European Parliament and the European Liberals Democrats and Reformers Party (ELDR) Mrs Kristiina Ojuland conducted a presentation “The European Experience in Gender Mainstreaming”. The data based on the research conducted in 27 EU member states at about 27,000 respondents in February – March 2011. According to 44 per cent of women–respondents of the poll, the administrations and enterprises should foster equality between men and women and fight against stereotypes; 29 per cent spoke about the need to encourage training and support which would allow women to take more responsibilities in enterprises and public administrations; whereas 20 per cent insist in introduction quotas for women in the boards of directors and other governing bodies.

In 1952 there were only 1.3 per cent of women in the European Parliament. However, in 2011 this figure rose already to 34.8 per cent. The Swedish Parliament demonstrates the highest share of women – 47 per cent – from 27 EU member states. The second place is taken by Finland with 42 per cent of women in the parliament and Estonia with 21 per cent of women. Malta has the lowest share of women in the parliament –9 per cent.

YABLOKO’s founder Grigory Yavlinsky stressed that Russia lacked equality of citizens before the law, not to mention gender equality. Speaking about the gender equality he stressed the following: “There is a law submitted to the Russian parliament and targeted at hampering gender discrimination. The law was submitted in 1995. However, it was not examined and the parliament did not want to adopt it. This is an issue of political culture and the policies.”

Yavlinsky also stated that the key problems Russia’s women have to face now was home violence and economic discrimination. “That is why we are ranked 55th in the world as of gender equality and 99th as of women’s participation in politics. Women’s wages in Russia are normally only 60-70 per cent of men’s wages,” he noted.

“But it would be unfair to say that this is the only problem here. We have a system of deprivation of rights in Russia: economic, political, social and human rights are infringed,” said Yavlinsky.

Sasha Tamm, head of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, told that “inside the FDP there has been a discussion about a 40 per cent quotas for women” [in the party]. There are such quotas in other German parties (e.g., the Greens have a 50 per cent quota for women). “There is an opinion that if men and women are speaking about equal rights, there issues of quotas should not be raised at all, and if there are elections there should be competition there,” he added.

“In Germany our Chancellor is a woman and she gets the same salary as the previous Chancellor, who was a man. But it is not far from being so in other sectors of economy. That is why such topics are extremely important for discussions,” Sasha Tamm noted.

The participants of the conference also heard and discussed the following reports: “International Experience of Opposing Gender Discrimination: Comparative Analysis of Efficiency” (reports by Mrs. Nursuna Memecan, Vice-Chair of ALDE-PACE, member of PACE Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, Vice Chair of PACE Sub-Committee on Violence against Women, MP Turkish Parliament, Turkey; Ms. Marina Schuster, Vice-Chair of ALDE-PACE, member of PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Alternate of the Chair of PACE Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, MP Bundestag, Germany; Ms. Marianne Carlier, Vice President of the D66 party Female/Male/Human Rights Committee, Member of International Federation of University Women, the Netherlands), “The Experience of Post-Socialist and Post-Soviet States: The Policies of State Feminism” (the reports by Mrs. Kristiina Ojuland, MEP, the ALDE group, Bureau member of ALDE, co-rapporteur of the European Parliament on Russia, Delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee of the European Parliament, Estonia; Mrs. Corina Fusu, Vice President of the Partidul Liberal party, Chair of Women’s Organisation of Partidul Liberal, Moldova; Ms Maie Urbas, Chair of Women’s Organisation, Estonian Reform Party – Liberals, Estonia), Constitutional and Legal Provisions and Practices of Opposing Gender Discrimination in Russia (reports by Ms. Irina Rukina, Co-Chair and Coordinator of the Council for Consolidation of Women’s Movement in Russia, Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Science, member of Coordination Council of Anti-Corruption Committee, head of subdepartment in the International University, Moscow, Russia Ms. Elena Gerasimova, Director of the Centre for Social and Labour Rights, Russia, Mr. Boris Misnik, Coordinator of the Political Committee of the YABLOKO party, Russia, Mrs. Irina Kozina, Professor of the Higher School of Economics, Russia) and Successes and Failures and Top Priority Goals in Opposing Gender Discrimination in Russia (reports by: Ms. Natalya Pushkaryova, Professor of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chair of the Interregional Public Organisation “The Russian Association of Researchers of Women’s History”, member of Executive Committee of the International Federation for Research in Women’s History; Ms. Tatyana Dorutina, Chair of the Women-Voters League, St.Petersburg, Russia; Mr. Nikolai Vinnik, head of Demagogy.Ru web-portal, Russia; Ms. Galina Kozlova, expert of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Moscow).