Global Summit of Women 2021 "Women: Transforming Economies"

From October 28 to October 30, 2021, The World's largest Women's Forum, the Global Summit of Women 2021, was held in Lisbon, Portugal. The central topic of discussion was "Women: Transforming Economies".
Within the framework of the Summit program, the participants were offered to take attend the events in the following formats and areas of work: 1) a vision of the current situation of women contributing to business growth as both consumers and business leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic; 2) numerous sessions aimed at developing the leadership qualities of the participants in order to positively influence their business and client network; 3) information about doing business in Portugal and the European Union; 4) inspiring role models from all continents (more than 70 women leaders from various fields); 5) wide opportunities for informal communication during breakfasts, lunches and receptions throughout the Forum. 6) understanding the essence of how women contribute to the growth of business and the development of the political sphere in their dual roles of consumers and leaders of business and politics, respectively.
The special features of the Summit include:
A round table for women ministers held before the Summit opening on best practices of public-private partnership for women's economic empowerment;
Various plenary sessions devoted to the megatrends in the post-COVID era;
Discussions with the of CEOs of companies (men and women);
Creative advice from women entrepreneurs who have achieved success on the global level;
Skill development sessions in three areas: leadership development, entrepreneurship and problem solving.
Women Power Union is an organization that supports civil initiatives and projects. It became the official partner of the Global Summit of Women in Russia and formed the delegation that participated in the Global Summit of Women 2021.
The Russian delegation at the Summit was represented not only by such regions as Moscow, Tula and Orenburg, but also Lipetsk, Voronezh and Yakutsk. The delegation included Marina Rodionova, Candidate of Social Sciences (PhD) and Associate Professor of the Department of Political Science of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Mass Communications of the Financial University.
The delegation from Russia was comparatively small (12 people), yet its members managed to properly represent their country at the Global Summit of Women. Spain (79 members), Kazakhstan (74 members), France (more than 30 members), Congo (more than 20 members) were among the most numerous delegations. The Summit counted with the participation of delegations from around 50 countries, including Austria, Germany, Estonia, Egypt, Finland, Greece, Kosovo, Japan, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, USA, Vietnam, etc.

The participants debated such issues as the importance and presence of women on boards of directors around the world (with a case study of the most interesting cases from all over the world), women's participation in politics, science and economics.
A round table of ministers was one of the first events of the Summit. The Minister of Culture of the Tula Region, Tatyana Rybkina, spoke at the ministerial round table and represented the Russian Federation there.
The opening ceremony of the Summit was attended by:
- Eurico Brilhante Dias, State Secretary for internationalization, Ministry off foreign Affairs (Portugal);
- Isabel Ucha, President, Euronext Lisbon;
- H.E. Vjosa Osmani, President of Kosovo;
- H.E. Vo Thị Anh Xuan, Vice-President of Vietnam;
- Hon. Rosa Monteiro, State Secretary of Citizenship and Equality (Portugal);
- Christine Schmidt and Nora Teuwsen, Co-Chairs, 2019 Summit Host Committee (Switzerland);
- Isabel Ucha and Helena Rodrigues, Co-Chairs, 2021 Summit Host Committee (Portugal);
- Irene Natividad, Summit President (USA).
On October 27, before the Summit’s opening, the Russian delegation had a meeting at the Russian Embassy in Portugal. The hospitable reception and constructive business negotiations in various areas of interest of each of the members of the Russian delegation (which consisted of representatives of both science and business) struck a chord with everybody. The meeting was opened by Nikolay Kamynin, the Russian Ambassador to Portugal, and Vladimir Yaroshevsky, the Head of Rossotrudnichestvo / Russian House in Portugal.
The following science-related questions were discussed:
the importance of higher education in the modern world;
transformation of education in Portugal and Russia (including during the pandemic);
attitude towards Russian professors and scientists in Portugal, the work of Russian scientists in Portuguese universities in a number of spheres;
the possibility of mutual exchange of both scientists and students between Russian universities (Financial University) and Portuguese universities (University of Lisbon, University of Coimbra and others);
the interest of the Department of Political Science of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Mass Communications of the Financial University in a wide range of studies devoted to the European issues, including gender political science, and the exchange of experience in the above areas;
the interest of the Financial University in expanding cooperation and constructive dialogue with Portuguese universities in the relevant areas.
Preliminary agreements were reached regarding:
involvement of the teaching staff of Portuguese universities in scientific events of the Financial University;
work initiation on joint research projects.
A separate meeting was held with the leadership of the Russian-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as with the leadership of the Trade and Economic Department of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Portugal. At this meeting, the participants discussed the peculiarities of export and import trade relations with Russia, as well as the matters pertaining to cultural, educational and innovation areas.
Marina Rodionova expresses her gratitude to the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation for the trust placed in her to represent the Financial University at the Global Summit of Women 2021!
Among the most extensive and informative works of M. Rodionova on the Summit topics are the following:
Gender changes in corporate Boards of Directors // International Scientific Conference “Global Challenges and Prospects of the Modern Economic Development (GCPMED), 2018 (in eng) (Scopus/WoS).
Comparative analysis of women's representation in politics in the EU and Russia: gender aspect // Questions of political science. 2020. Vol.10. No.4 (56). pp.1206-1220 (VAK) (in russian).
Gender dimension of political representation in the states of the European Union and Russia // Citizen. Elections. Power. 2020. No.3 (17). pp.132-146 (VAK) (in russian).
Gender asymmetry in the field of science and research: Russian and international analysis // Izvestiya Tula State University, 2021 (VAK) (in russian).
Electoral processes in modern Europe: trends and prospects: monograph. M.E. Rodionova – Moscow, RuScience, 2020 – 206 pages (Chapter 3. Gender politics in EU countries and Russia)
As a result of participation in the Summit, the staff of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Mass Communications plan to develop and strengthen cooperation with Portuguese universities (in particular, with the University of Lisbon, the University of Coimbra, etc.); to support and further develop the field of gender political science at the Financial University; to publish several scientific papers following the Summit.

Report of Candidate of Social Sciences (PhD),  
Associate Professor M. Rodionova on the results of participation in the Summit