IN 2023 WOMEN TAKING THE LEADERSHIP ROLES IN EVERY WORKPLACE

 Women innovators in science and IT

The experience of Russia, Europe, the USA and Arab countries

We understand which country has the most of them, and whether it is connected with national traditions and feminism.

Boys and girls are equally good at natural science and math, and yet more men than women are employed in science and IT today. Especially in senior positions – 84% against 16%. From 2018 to 2019, the share of women on the board of directors of IT companies increased from 14.8 to 17.9%, and analysts call this the most rapid growth of all time. Nevertheless, there are still significantly more men in science and digital professions. We understand which country has the most women innovators in "non-female" industries, and whether this is due to national traditions and feminism.

Russia: Successful fight against stereotypes

The first woman mathematician in Russia and the first woman in the world to become a professor of mathematics (teaching), Sofia Kovalevskaya in the conservative XIX century for the sake of higher education abroad married. She later won a prize from the Paris Academy and worked in mathematical physics. For many people, she is the only known Russian woman scientist, but in fact there are much more women in science: about 40% of researchers in Russia, according to Rosstat, are women. Since 2007, every autumn the L'Oréal-UNESCO National Scholarship Ceremony "For Women in Science" has been held with the support of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 

The winners of the national stage can compete for an international scholarship for the further development of a scientific career. Over 14 years, 135 women under the age of 35 working in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine and biology received the national award.

"Women innovators are just as difficult as men, I wouldn't say there's a noticeable gender difference in our field. We are all looking for financing for our projects, we face difficulties in creating a product, certification, implementation, export, protection of intellectual property rights and the like. These are problems familiar to any innovator in Russia who is trying to bring a new product to a market that does not yet exist. And, of course, different parts of the world have their own specifics and their own characteristics, which can be embedded, including stereotypes of the perception of women in society, "says Natalia Galkina, CEO of Neurotrend & NeuroChat.

Presumably, there are fewer stereotypes in Russian society than in Eastern countries, and in comparison with the West in Russia, the gender imbalance in the field of science and technology is less pronounced. Some experts attribute this to the fact that in Soviet times, both men and women were involved in scientific activities to an equal extent: for many, both parents were engineers-inventors, and this is also true for residents of neighboring states.

Russian women are perfectly able to get into the finals of international competitions like the Cartier Women's Initiative Awards (Marina Ross became the first Russian in the final), to develop ion engines for small satellites based on Skolkovo, and the IT sphere is conquered by them. In 2020, for the first time, the deputy head of the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation became a woman: Lyudmila Bokova, who previously worked in the Federation Council and was engaged in bills in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT), including the law on the "sovereign Internet".

Women innovators in science and IT: The experience of Russia, Europe, the USA and Arab countries

'I was just a girl who left somewhere.' :

How the founder of the Bumble service became one of the youngest billionaires in the world

Stories like the one that happened to Whitney Wolfe-Heard are still rare in big business. Of the 559 startups that went public over the past year, only two besides Bumble are founded by women.

Whitney Wolf-Heard was kicked out of the dating service Tinder, which was founded with her participation. Then there was the scandal and $1 million in compensation, for which she created another dating app – Bumble – and became a billionaire. Bumble's secret is that the initiative in it is in the hands of women. Perhaps that is why in Russia the service is not very good Popular.

Whitney Wolfe-Heard had no luck with the guys. At school, her boyfriend, with whom she sometimes got together, then It wasn't a gift, to put it mildly. "It was one of the most a terrible relationship I've ever seen," a friend recalled.

This boyfriend addressed Whitney and her sister with some rough names. To their mother, however, he also addressed this way, and once in the midst of a family celebration he launched she's been in the head for hours. In any case, so assure the friends and parents of Wolf-Heard. Himself the guy, when journalists from Time came to him with questions, said that it was all fairy tales.

Whitney's father traded sports goods, my mother worked as a minister of an art museum, and then focused solely on parenting. They weren't Mormons, but lived in a conservative community in Salt Lake City (Utah, USA), in which it was believed it is self-evident that a woman must unconditionally obey a man.

At the end Finally, friends and family persuaded Whitney to move away from the difficult relationship and start over. So she ended up at Southern Methodist University nearby. from Dallas and joined Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority Student Society (this later helped her in business).

In 2011, the girl received a bachelor's degree in international relations. After that, she signed up as a volunteer and worked in orphanages in different countries. Asia. Upon her return, she was fascinated by the idea of startups – it seemed that the Internet was hidden. limitless possibilities. At a party with friends in Los Angeles, she met Sean Red and got a job at his startup Cardify. In the app could save store discount cards. Alas, it did not take off, so the startup team switched to another project.

Boys decided to build a site for dating students for romantic purposes. One of the the founders of the startup, Christopher Gulchinski, drew a logo - a flame, and Whitney Wolfe-Heard, who was also recorded as a co-founder, came up with the name - Tinder (tinder, firewood, wick – English). The application allowed you to view the profiles of those who wished get to know them by tagging them "interesting" or "not suitable me". The revolutionary find was that it didn't take the time. press the button, just swipe (swipe your finger on the screen) to the left or Right.