MOSCOW CENTER FOR GENDER STUDIES

The Moscow Center for Gender Studies (MCGS) was established by women-scholars as Independent nonprofit research institution in 1990. The Mission of MCGS is :

• to prevent all types of discrimination against women.
• to promote gender equality and justice in politics, the work place, society and the family.
• to integrate gender theory and methodology into research in Russia.
• to advance gender education and information.
• to integrate gender equality and gender justice into legislation and decision-making processes on regional and national levels.
• to involve Russian Federation state bodies in amending legislation on gender equality.
• to strengthen academic and cultural contacts between Russia, the NIS countries and gender research centers worldwide.

MCGS activity is inspired by the universal human values set forth in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (United Nations, 1948), the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (United Nations, 1979), the Nairobi Forward Looking Strategies on Improving the Status of Women (United Nations, 1985) and the Beijing Platform of Actions (United Nations, 1995). Priority directions in MCGS activity are the following: conducting women's and gender studies and integrating gender theory into social sciences and the humanities, designing educational and training programs, analyzing gender issues in social policy and legislation, cooperating with state authority bodies to promote a dialogue between governmental structures and women's non-governmental organizations pertaining to the position of women in Russian society and gender equality in Russia, integrating MCGS into national and international programs on women's rights.

Thanks to MCGS efforts, gender theory has been recognized by the academic community and implemented into the curricula of many universities in Russia. First, MCGS pursued collective and individual studies using the gender approach and disseminated findings among researchers, teachers, political leaders and women's non-governmental organizations. Second, MCGS consolidated, expanded and improved its professional contacts with the academic and political institutions.

Conducting women's and gender studies and integrating gender theory into social sciences and the humanities. In the 12 years since the Center have been working our researchers have completed more than 20 collective and individual research projects. The most important are: "Women's Human Rights in a Middle Russian Town", "Gender Expert Analysis of Current Russian Legislation on Employment, Mass-Media, Reproductive Rights and Migrants", "Women's Unemployment in Russia", two international projects - "Legal Committee" and "The Support of Women's Rights in Russia and the CIS".

The results of MSGS research projects were published in 15 collective monographs and over one hundred articles in Russian, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Czech (see MCGS Publications). The researchers of the Center presented papers and reports and participated in discussions in numerous international academic conferences and seminars in U.S.A., England, Germany, France, Italy, Norway and Sweden.

MCGS develops contacts with Russian researchers and teachers in gender/women's issues, holds seminars and conferences. The most important among them are: "Gender Research in Russia: Issues of Cooperation and Perspectives for Development", "Women's Studies and Gender Research and the Women's Movement in the Twenty-First Century", "Gender / Women's Issues in Election Program", "Gender Economics", "Women' Reproductive Rights: Limits of Legislative Regulation".
The conference papers were disseminate through books, articles and e-mail.

Designing educational and training programs. In order to integrate a gender perspective into research and educational programs more effectively, the MCGS hold three Russian summer schools on gender studies (1996, 1997, 1998). Since 1999 MCGS have been hold fellowships for universities lecturers from different cities from Russia and the NIS. During all this years 300 lecturers from ... universities were retrained on gender studies in MCGS.

Besides that, MCGS' members systematically consult for researchers, teachers, post-graduate students and undergraduates - personally and by e-mail. In the past 12 years we have had several thousand visitors from many cities of Russia, NIS and abroad.

Analyzing gender issues in social policy and legislation and cooperating with state authority bodies to promote gender equality in Russia.

As experts on gender equality, the Center's members have considerable experience interacting with the government bodies to improve the condition of women and ensure gender equality.

The MCGS collaborates with:

• the Commission on Women's Affairs of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation
• the Russian Federation State Duma Committee on Women, Family, and Youth; the Russian Federation State Duma Committee on Education; the Russian Federation State Duma Committee on Health Care; the Russian Federation State Duma Committee on Labor and Social Policy
• the Ministries directly concerned with policy towards women: the Ministry for Labor and Social Policy; the Ministry for Public Health and Medical Industry; the Ministry of Public Education; and the Department on Migration Policy.

Per their commission, the Center has been conducting gender examinations of major legislative documents pertaining to women's social and economic status for many years. MCGS representatives submit proposals at parliamentary hearings dealing with social issues and take part in work groups responsible for drafting bills.

The State Duma staff, deputies' assistants, and sometimes the deputies themselves attend seminars on gender policy held by the Center. We regularly submit our materials to various committees at the State Duma and the Council of the Federation.

In the past few years, MCGS has been developing contacts with regional and local power structures, inviting their representatives to take part in seminars, training and educational programs as well as providing expert and methodological services in the preparation of gender-related projects.

MCGS prepared some reports concerning the status of women and the development of social policy in Russia, including:

- Report on the Issues of Social Policy for the Government of the Russian Federation;
- Report on the Fulfillment of the Convention to End All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) for the Government of the Russian Federation and the CEDAW Committee of the UN;
- Reproductive Rights in Russia for the International UN Conference on Population (Cairo).

In addition, MCGS prepared expert materials and commentaries for:
a) Government Report of the Russian Federation on the Status of Women and National Plan of Action for the IV UN World Conference on the Status of Women;
b) Report on the Status of the Family in Russia for the Government of the Russian Federation;
c) Concept Paper for the Government Program "Women's Employment" for the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation;
d) Gender Expertise on the Draft Law on Family Allowances for the State Duma (previous session);
e) Report on Compliance with the International Declaration on the Rights of Women of new medical insurance standards in Russia (issues concerning artificial termination of pregnancy).

Since the moment of its creation, the Moscow Center for Gender Studies has actively participated in the positive social transformation in Russia. MCGS, in cooperation with other women's organizations, held the First and Second Independent Women's Forums (Dubna, 1991 and 1992, respectively). The Forums, which included the participation of hundreds of women from over 6O cities of the country, became the catalysts for the development of an independent women's movement in Russia. From that time MCGS is resource center for women's movement in Russia.

MCGS has been successfully integrated itself into the Russian and international programs on human rights for women. In women's human rights area, MCGS collaborates with women's non-governmental organizations in Russia such as the Informational Center of Independent Women's Forum (an umbrella organization created on the basis of the Dubna meetings), the Consortium of Russian women's non-government organizations, Femina and many others.

For several years MCGS distributed the journal "Vy I My" (You and We), edited by Collette Shulman, for over six hundred women's organizations in Russia and the Former Soviet Union.

MCGS's Integration into International and Russian Programs on Women's Human Rights and Gender Equality.

The Center maintains close contacts with international non-governmental organizations, expert and research centers, information projects and networks, and a multitude of researchers and activists working to promote the ideas of gender equality, social justice and protection of human rights.

We provide information, methodological and moral support to organizations and individuals concerned with issues of gender equality. The Center welcomes trainees from abroad on a partnership basis only. In 2000 alone, the Center was visited by more than 200 Russian and foreign researchers, postgraduates, students, journalists and members of public organizations. MCGS provides their access to libraries, archives, and information institutions in the field of gender studies.

We have extensive professional contacts with research institutions in the United States, Great Britain, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, France, Japan, China, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Mongolia and Poland.

As our priority task we consider to promote integration of Russian women's grass-roots organizations into the international women's movement, broadening contacts, creating partnerships and coalitions. MCGS has long been working together with the UN Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, the UN Committee on the Status of Women, the International Labor Organization, the World Health Organization, the UN Population Fond, the UN Development Program and the World Bank.

MCGS also cooperates with such international human rights organizations as International Women's Rights Action Watch (IWRAW), the Women's Rights Project of Human Rights Watch, the National Democratic Institute of the U.S., the International Republican Institute, the International Women's Health Coalition, the Women, Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), WINROCK International, the Network of East-West Women, Private Agencies Collaborating Together (PACT), the League of Women Voters and the School of Law of the University of Cincinnati. The researchers from MCGS have participated in many civil initiatives and advocacy actions for equal rights and equal opportunities for women and men.

MCGS collaborates with partners including such authoritative international non-governmental organizations as WLDI, WEDO, CRLP, WIDE, WID and WGLI.

Active integration into the international network of women's organizations and NGO programs resulted in MCGS participation in such conferences as the NGO Forum and World Conference on Population (Cairo, 1994), the NGO Forum 1994 and ECE Regional High Level Preparatory Meeting on the Beijing Women's Conference (Vienna), the meeting of the Committee on Equal Rights of the Department of Human Rights of the Council of Europe (Strasbourg), the conference on "Global Women's Strategies" of WEDO, on NGO-Forum and the Fourth World UN Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995). This participation allowed us to greatly expand our network of contacts and create new connections with foreign women's organizations. MCGS took part in the Consultations of Civil Society Representatives on Social Development Strategies held at the World Bank Moscow office (November 2000), and the meeting of experts of the UN Department for the Advancement of Women, which discussed national, racial and gender discrimination (Zagreb, November 2000).

The Center maintains close working contacts with women's non-governmental and professional organizations in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Latvia and Lithuania, exchanging information, providing methodological assistance and helping to implement training programs. Within the framework of the program "Women's Rights Step by Step", implemented by the Network Women's Program/Open Society Institute and the "Right and Women's Development" Institute (United States), MCGS took part in the International Women's Network on the Social and Economic Rights of Women in Central and Eastern Europe and Mongolia.

Since 1998, MCGS has been cooperating with the regional network of women's nongovernmental organizations in Eastern and Central European countries, "The Karat-Coalition in Support of Regional Action". MCGS members took part in the drafting of the Karat-Coalition's regional report "The Institutional Mechanisms Improving Women's Positions in the Сcountries of Central and Eastern Europe". The report prepared especially for the 43rd Session of the UN Commission on the Position of women, stressed the need to attract world public attention to the problems of women in the former socialist countries, which have specific features of their own and whose pressing concern is to form an effective mechanism for the promotion оf gender equality and equal rights. Within the framework of cooperation with the Karat-Coalition, MCGS took part in joint events at the Forum of Non-Governmental Organizations at The Hague (Cairo + 5) and the seminar с women's non-governmental organizations - Karat-Coalition members - in (March 2000).

MCGS maintains contacts with the Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights, International Women's Health Coalition and the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy, and helps to promote and popularize the Program of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo. MCGS is involved in joint activities for reproductive rights held annually on May 28, international and national conferences, seminars, meetings and round tables.

MCGS, among with 40 women's NGOs from all over the world, have signed the Letter setting forth the stand of the Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights on the implementation of the Program of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development. We support the Network appeal to the World Bank, WTO, and the governments of the UN member states to protect women's rights in healthcare, to prevent women from falling into poverty and prevent violence against women by developing awareness within the basic social and economic framework. The realization of the women's reproductive rights agenda means women's freedom to control their bodies integrity as well as the ability to enjoy their reproductive behavior, including guarantees of physical, mental and social well-being. We also stipulate equality in the areas of consumption, food security and the reduction of military spending.

In 2000, MCGS was one of seven organizations from Central and Eastern Europe to join the European organization "The Women of Europe for Development" (WIDE). The first joint action was consultations on the macro-economics impact of women (Brussels, 2000).

MCGS effectively collaborates with international organizations in the implementation of research projects, professional exchanges, theoretical conferences and seminars.