2024, March 5
Share this articleThe problems of strengthening gender equality in the academic community and promotion of gender education in educational institutions of Kazakhstan were discussed at the forum held by the NU Library.
The forum was organized by researchers from three universities - NU, Kazakh National Women's Pedagogical University and L.N. Gumilev Eurasian National University. The forum was attended by NU Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Loretta O' Donnell, NU Library Director Jerald Cavanagh , Chair of the Department of Kazakh Language and Turkic Studies Prof. Uli Schamiloglu , Zhuldyz Suleimenova, Member of the Mazhilis, Dina Amrisheva, Head of Office, UN Women Kazakhstan, Lyazzat Alshinbayeva, founder of the non-profit Zamandas21, as well as NU faculty and students.
During the forum, Vice Provost Loretta O'Donnell spoke about the university community's experience in supporting women's entrepreneurship and NU's commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals, the fifth of which is gender equality, noting that Kazakhstan has a relatively good record here. "Gender equality is very meaningful for all of us. Fifty per cent of our students are women. We do not get 50% of faculty women yet; we've got a long way to go. According to some research on the UN, women work 70% of the world's working hours and earn only 10% of their income. Economic empowerment is essential; safety in terms of domestic violence is extremely important," she said.
As Zhuldyz Suleimenova, Member of the Mazhilis, noted, our girls are educated and active enough to take responsibility for themselves, but, according to her, it must be recognized that "sometimes sparks of patriarchal arbitrariness" negatively affect many families. Experts say that in Kazakhstan, women perform three times as many duties in the family without receiving recognition in return. As a result, women are not active in the social and cultural life of the country, and harmful gender stereotypes remain in the media and advertising spheres.
The study of modern gender education in economics, politics and history is devoted to the large-scale research "Scientific concept of gender education in higher education institutions of Kazakhstan: theoretical and methodological foundations" - a joint project of NU, KazZhenPU and ENU. "Our research is based on the understanding of the significance of gender education; we strive to adapt educational programs to the peculiarities of our culture and create an inclusive environment for students' learning and research regardless of their gender," emphasized the project leader NU Associate Professor Zhazira Agabekova.
As part of this research project, the NU Library developed Library Guide, an electronic bibliographic resource on gender, containing reliable sources, including information in the Kazakh language and gender statistics. In addition, scientists from the three universities intend to create a database of gender disciplines and to develop a new interdisciplinary educational module, "Sociology and Social Work, economics, Philological Orientation".
