Democracy - Gunda Werner Institute

Southeast Europe/South Caucasus

Croatia

Videointerview: Tajana Broz, member of the women's oganization CESI (Center for Education, Counseling and Research)

- Tajana Brotz, member of CESI, about March 8th in Croatia: memories, the weight of March 8th, the activities by CESI and about political participation of women in decision-making bodies. more»

Georgia

Cultural stereotypes – the “Holy Vessel”, the “Porcelain doll”, the “Caramel candy” and the “Bitch”

- The "Georgian woman " is a joint product of the earth and the sky, and that makes her unique compared to every other woman in the world. She is a moral project, which is different from all other existing biological-psychological projects. In her essay, the author describes the four possible roles of women in the present Georgian society. Ani Chankotadze more»

Georgia

Gender Influence on Educational Process

- This essay analyzes the influence of stereotypes in schools and the education system on the development of gender roles. It illustrates the differences between female and male students in schools and universities with respect to their academic performance, attitudes, expectations, and typical behavior patterns and analyzed the biological and social causes and reasons for these differences. Kvara Guledani more»

Georgia

Gender Awareness at the Universities in Tbilisi: Gender Essay Contest

- In order to strenghen the awareness of young people, to support the developement in the context of gender equality, the South Caucasus Office of the Heinrich-Boell-Foundation started an essay contest at several centres of university education. Khatuna Samnidze more»

Montenegro

Memories of the Future

- This jubilee year of marking International Women’s Day and women solidarity within Montenegrin context sharpens a painful paradox lived by women wedged between socrealistic past and democratic future in, as it seems, intransient transitional present. Paula Petričević more»

Serbia

Some Thoughts about International Women’s Day

- How do feminists in Serbia perceive March 8? Do they believe that International Women’s Day is still relevant, especially in the country with socialist legacy? Do feminists in Serbia feel that March 8 is “the day of their own”? - A summary of the research by Adriana Zaharijević and Katarina Lončarević more»

Croatia

On March 8th in Croatia

- The international women's day in Croatia. How is it celebrated, and is it still a process? Does its substance change, and how, and even more so its meaning? Present and past characteristics of March 8th. Djurdja Knezevic more»

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Video documentary: Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina

- The video documentary "Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina" by the NGO Infohouse and the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation reports about the current situation of women in Bosnia and Herzegovina. While gender equality isn't wide spread in society, things change on March 8th. So: Where in fact are women in Bosnia and Herzegovina today? more»

Azerbaijan

Policy Attitudes towards Women in Azerbaijan: Is Equality Part of the Agenda?

- Since independence, the government of Azerbaijan has been struggling to formulate its policy approach to the so-called “women’s question”. This question in Azerbaijan continues to be challenging since the dominant national discourse primarily regards women as mothers and guardians of national traditions. Yuliya Aliyeva Gureyeva more»

georgia

Gender Politics in Georgia

- Although the Georgian government has made some positive attempts to elaborate and implement a gender equality strategy and has adopted international obligations like the other South Caucasus countries, it must make a greater commitment to ensure gender equality and combat all kinds of discrimination against women. Ketevan Chkheidze more»

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina Today

- In 2003, Bosnia and Herzegovina was one of the first transition countries in the region to adopt the Gender Equality Law. But today women are still exposed to discrimination as well as new and brutal forms of exploitation in the informal labour market. Women are also often exposed to sexual exploitation and trafficking and to widespread male violence. Dr. Nada Ler-Sofronić more»

georgia

Women in Georgia: Re-learning Gender Equality

- Transcript of the Video Documentary "Women in Georgia: Re-learning Gender Equality", produced by the South Caucasus Bureau of the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation. more»

Video Documentary: "Women in Georgia: Re-learning Gender Equality"

Serbia

Video: Statements on 8th of March

- On the occasion of the jubilee of international women's day, women's rights activists in Serbia were asked for their statements and their attitudes by the NGO "Reconstructionwomen's Found" (RWF). more»

Eastern Europe

The 1932 Soviet poster dedicated to the 8th of March holiday.

Russia

March 8th in Russia: From Marxism to Sexism

- In Russia, Women’s Day was observed for the first time in 1913, in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The following article tells the development of the Women's Day from its beginnings to our days. Yelena Maksimova more»

Russia

The situation of women in Russia - An introduction.

- Gender roles and gender statuses of women were often changed in the past 100 years in Russia. But they all formed and form the present's image. How this image looks like describes the report of the Moscow office of the Heinrich-Böll Foundation. Irina Kosterina more»

Russia

Women in the Russian labor market - Interview with Soja Khotkina

- The UN expert on gender equality issues about the situation of women on the labor market and about the aims which the women's movement should adopt.
Soja Khotkina more»

Russia

The women's movement in today's Russia - Interview with Nadezhda Shvedova

- The head of the Centre for Social and Political Studies, Institute for USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences, about stengths and weaknesses of the women's movement in Russia and about political participation. Nadezhda Shvedova more»

Russia

Equality and quotas in Russia - Interview with Irina Tartakovskaya

- How has gender equality been in the Soviet Union? Which role have quotas played and in which relationship has the Soviet Union been to feminism? - These and further questions answers the sociologist Irina Tartakovskaya more»

Russia

About gender censorship and the term feminism in Russia - Interview with Olga Voronina

- Olga Voronina, Director of the Moscow Center for Gender Studies, about gender censorship, the negative image of feminism, the historical roots of feminism and about human rights and mass media in today's Russia. Olga Voronina more»

Russia

Patriarchal renaissance in Russia - Interview with Olga Zdravomyslova

- How has the image of women developed and which impacts has it had in postsocialism? Does the term "patriarchal renaissance" fit to describe the current developement? - The Executive Director of the Gorbachev Foundation in a interview. Olga Zdravomyslova more»

Russia

Only socialism will guarantee true equality for women

- The ideas of the women's movement in the Soviet Union of the 20th century keep on living but they aren't implemented yet in the Russian Federation. A survey of "Putin's Russia" and an appeal by the member in parliament of the communist party Nina Ostanina more»

Russia

Activists from the initiative group For Feminism (Moscow)

- A portrait of the women's NGO "For Feminism" from Moscow. The patriarchal model, problems and methods of resolution of the NGO. Natasha Bitten, Yelena Maksimova and Vera Akulova more»

North America

USA

EMILY’s List: Yeast for the Political Rise of Progressive Women Candidates

- Over the past 25 years, EMILY’s List, the first American political action committee devoted to helping progressive women gain electoral offices in the United States, has changed the gender dynamics of American politics. But more remains to be done. Liane Schalatek more»

USA

A Mixed Message for American Women from the “Mancession”

- Did the great recession of 2007-2009 hit women in the United States less than men? Was the recession really a “Mancession” as some claimed? Hardly. In light of persisting gender disparities in pay, poverty rate, with respect to unpaid household work, and gender-based occupational segregation of the workforce in the United States, for many American women the worst is not over yet. By Liane Schalatek more»

USA

100 Years of International Women’s Day: Gender, Leadership and American Foreign Policy

- 100 years ago the emergence of International Women’s day, and its importance in the political history of the time, reflected women’s determination to gain rights for themselves. But how is the situation of women today? Heather Hurlburt on women and politics in the United States of America. And the question of whether women make a difference. more»

USA

Facts and Figures about International Women's Day in the USA

- About Women Rights Activists/Groups, Women in US Political decision-making bodies in the US, First Women on the national level, Legislative Efforts for Women and Economics facts on Women in the US. Heinrich-Böll-Foundation, Washington DC more»

Central Europe

Poland

“Our mission is not accomplished yet"

- Wanda Nowicka, a Head of the Federation on Women and Family Planning, in a Interview on pregnancy abortion in Poland, why the Polish Government restricted abortions and why Polish didn't resist and which follow-up this policy had. Wanda Nowicka and Agnieszka Grzybek more»

Poland

"Mom has rights"

- Sylwia Chutnik, a polish feminist writer, explains in this interview why polish feminists started to get involved with the topic of motherhood, what it means to be a mother in Poland, she discusses the problems connected with the existing images of motherhood extremes in poland and how the situation changed in the last 20 years. Sylwia Chutnik and Agnieszka Grzybek more»

Office Addresses

Offices of the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Europe and North America

- In Europe the Heinrich Böll Foundation has offices in Istanbul (Turkey), Belgrade (Serbia), Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Zagreb (Croatia), Warsaw (Poland), Prague (Czech Republic), Kiev (Ukraine), Moscow (Russia), Tbilisi (Georgia) and Brussels (Belgium). Its office in North America is located in Washington D.C. more»

Contact
|Service