On the third day of the Forum, a business brunch was held "The role of women in the sustainable development of high-tech industries. New opportunities for Technological Leadership", organized by the Foundation for the Support and Development of Women's Initiatives "Association of Women of the Nuclear Industry".
We remind you that the III Eurasian Women's Forum was held in St. Petersburg from October 13-15. The organizers were the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The forum was attended by more than 2,500 participants from more than 110 countries.
The brunch brought together representatives of five industrial sectors, including the extractive industry, oil, energy, oil and gas and other sectors of the economy. The moderator of the discussion was Alexandra Ryabykh, Head of PR and GR of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Hydrospetsgeology", co-founder of the Foundation "Association of Women of the Nuclear Industry".
Heads of large industrial organizations, specialists in technology industries, representatives of the non-profit sector discussed the importance of developing human resources in the field of high technologies and the need to attract more women and the younger generation to scientific and technical specialties.
Today, in Russian science, the proportion of women is almost 40 percent among researchers. However, in many large companies, the number of female specialists does not exceed 30% of the total number of employees. Also, according to Rosstat, almost half as many women as men study in the physics and mathematics profile (34% versus 66%), in power engineering and electrical engineering, as well as in rocket and space technology and aviation - the proportion is one to six.
The brunch participants presented the best practices of companies in achieving sustainable development goals, forming balanced management teams, creating a comfortable corporate environment for the full realization of women's potential, popularizing scientific and technical professions among women and organizing mentoring. Moreover, many noted that companies where women are present in management demonstrate increased profitability and other economic effects for business.
The agenda of the event was opened by Daria Goncharova, Director for Sustainable Development of Polymetal JSC. Daria spoke about the company's sustainable development strategy, in which corporate projects to support women occupy a special place. Thus, the company is expanding the representation of female employees in various positions, including recognized "male" ones.
A women's community is developing in the mining industry with the support of a number of industrial organizations and the consulting company Deloitte in the CIS. This was told by Kamilla Zhalilova, Director of Women in Mining Russia, head of the project office for working with key clients and markets of Deloitte. The Women in Mining Russia Association helps women not only in developing their careers, expanding the range of professional contacts, exchanging and acquiring new knowledge, but also is a tool to increase the attractiveness of the mining and metallurgical industries among young professionals.
«The increased interest, role and importance of the principles of sustainable development directly affect the development and transformation of internal processes in Russian industrial companies. Moreover, the agenda of sustainable development and ESG for many progressive companies is the basis for the formation of a long-term strategy," Kamilla Zhalilova notes.
Natalia Nikipelova, President of TVEL JSC, presented the principles of the company's sustainable development in the field of nuclear energy.
TVEL Fuel Company builds its production activities taking into account the complex economic, social and environmental development of enterprises and their regions of location. Natalia Nikipelova noted that achieving the sustainability of a company, a country, a planet is directly related to the efficiency of using all the possibilities of human and social capital, regardless of gender differences.
Alla Zhuravleva, Vice-President of the National Union of Energy Saving, spoke about the contribution of women specialists in the development of the fuel and energy sector and presented the company's experience.
Elena Snezhko, coordinator of the social investment program "Formula of Good Deeds" of PJSC SIBUR Holding, shared the best practices of corporate programs for women. Thus, the company provides support within the framework of social projects not only to workers, but also to residents of the territories of their organizations. Sibur's sustainable development strategy stipulates that employees are a key value of the company, which is responsible for the well-being of the residents of its territories where the companies belonging to the holding are located.
In turn, Yulia Bragina, Deputy Head of the Department of Social Development, Coordinating Council of JSC "Russian Railways" for improving working conditions, recreation and social support for women, shared practices on social support for female workers in the context of sustainable development of the company. Yulia spoke about the relevance and activities of the Council for the support of women, noting "that over the past three years there has been a slight, but still an increase in the proportion of female managers relative to the total number in the company."
Olga Golyshenkova, Member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation (OPRF), Chairman of the Coordinating Council at the OPRF for the Development of Communities of Young Professionals, President of the Association of Citizens and Organizations to Promote the Development of Corporate Education "MAKO" spoke about the impact and features of the women's approach in solving management tasks for the development of high-tech industries, - "The topic of women's leadership is now actively promoted by the global agenda. Our task is to jointly find the most profitable resource position for the development of this topic. And this position consists, firstly, in demonstrating the opportunities that a woman has when choosing a career. And the example of the women participating in the brunch demonstrates that these possibilities are limitless. And secondly, in the ability to create mobile diverse flexible teams to solve specific goals, where different types of thinking and different skills will be in demand. Our event became an example of such a flexible team, gathering and introducing completely different, bright, successful women, who in the future, I am sure, will continue today's acquaintance with fruitful cooperation . "
Sabina Yagizarova, Director of the Department of External Relations of Salym Petroleum, also presented projects to stimulate the growth of professional competencies among girls and the organization of a mentoring program based on the company's experience in this field.
Natalia Ivanova, Head of the IPR MEDIA Group of companies, spoke about the relevance of creating an Association of Women leaders of Digital Transformation from the fields of education, business, industry and government. Only 15% of women are employed in the field of digital technologies, and they receive 16% less for work than male specialists. 56% of Russian women from the IT sector have faced allegations that technology is not for them.
«We have established partnerships with the Foundation for the Support and Development of Women's Initiatives "Association of Women of the Nuclear Industry" in the following areas: implementation of a large-scale network initiative for the development of university and scientific knowledge IPR TRANSFER (datalib.ru ), participation in the work of the Association of Women Leaders of Digital Transformation, preparation of joint events," Natalia Ivanova notes.
Yana Krukhmaleva, Director of Digital Infrastructure Development at Gazprom Media, shared her experience in the high-tech sector of the economy and spoke about the myths and barriers that women may face when building a career in scientific and technical specialties.
Angelika Sulkhayeva, Deputy General Director of the Komsomolskaya Pravda Publishing House, spoke about information projects for positioning women's professional potential. Because today there is a clear underrepresentation of successful female images in the information space. Increasing the visibility of women in active positions and in predominantly male spheres can change the stereotypical ideas that exist in the public consciousness, since the image of a successful person in modern Russia is strongly associated with men.
Anastasia Matyusova, Project Manager of NP "Information Alliance Atomic Cities" spoke about the project "Social design. Accelerator of social projects" and the role of the women's community in the implementation of projects in the regions, including those with high scientific and technological potential. «Our accelerator immediately attracted the attention of the women's community. So, over the three years of the project's implementation, more than 2,000 people have become its participants, of which about 70% (1,402 people) are women. So, for three years from 2019 to 2021, the number of female participants increased by 11%. "
As a result, all participants came to the conclusion that building international and intersectoral cooperation of women specialists to identify and implement best practices will allow to harmonize the gender balance in high-tech industries. Cooperation will create the necessary ecosystem for the involvement of women and the younger generation in scientific and technical specialties. This, in turn, will contribute to the sustainable development of the Russian technology industry as a whole, simultaneously with the expansion of opportunities for women specialists.