Blog-cafe "Gender equality: reality and challenges"

On October 8, students and staff of the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Humanities of the Zaporizhia Polytechnic National University took part in the blog cafe “Gender Equality: Reality and Challenges”, which was held by Tetyana Hrytsenko, Ambassador of the Empowerment Program for Public Leaders in Ukraine of the “Together We Can” project.

The ambassador helped the participants to understand more deeply that gender is not just “female” or “male”, but a whole system of social roles, expectations and opportunities.

They talked about how our ideas about “female” and “male” behavior are formed, why it is important to distinguish between biological sex and gender social, and how inequality in access to education, professions or leadership roles affects the development of communities.

The most emotional part was the exercise “Stereotypes around us”. The participants laughed, argued and were surprised. The exercise helped everyone see how deeply gender biases are rooted in our everyday lives — from choosing a profession to how we evaluate the actions of others.

Together, the participants sought answers to the question: how to change these attitudes and form an equal, tolerant society.

After an active discussion and reflection, the participants continued their conversation over coffee: sharing impressions, ideas, and plans for further cooperation.

The  Institute for External Cultural Relations and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany.