Natalia Komarova shared Ugra’s best practices of support of women at the conference "Women Leaders and Sustainable Development" in Belgrade
2-3 October 2019, Belgrade (Serbia)
Panel discussion "Women and the Family" was held as part of "Women Leaders and Sustainable Development" conference on October 2-3, 2019.
Natalia Komarova, Governor of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug - Ugra, participated in a panel discussion "Women and Family", where she spoke about the measures of support of women in the region. "In summer 2019 the UN published a report on the progress of women and the family social institution in the modern world. It begins with the words: "The world is changing rapidly". However, the main challenge, as many years ago, is that the family, while remaining a basic element for any social or economic system, often hinders women's opportunities for self-realization, forcing them to choose between career and family," said Natalia Komarova.
The Governor stressed that the state should strive to create conditions in which a woman could combine both roles: of a mother and a professional. In her opinion, it is possible to find such balance only by taking the pressure off women through targeted support.
One form of such support is the development of preschool and additional education. "Fr om 2016 to 2018, we were able to increase the employment of women with preschool children from 70.2% to 72.1% by implementing this policy," says Natalia Komarova.
She noted that there are women who raise children on their own, and in Ugra about 2 thousand women from this group apply to the registration authorities annually. That is why the introduction of support for single mothers is very relevant, and from the region's experience, the most effective form of support is financial, said the Governor.
Natalia Komarova also noted that reproductive medicine is actively developing in the region. The birth rate in Ugra is 13.6 per 1 thousand people. Despite the high birth rate, the infant mortality rate is one of the lowest in the world. The region is now preparing to open a major centre for the development of motherhood and childhood, which will be home to a centre for advanced genetic biomedical technologies.
"Significant results are being achieved thanks to reproductive medicine, the financial support of the families, payments for the second, third and subsequent children, the Yugra maternity and family capital. The number of families with many children in Ugra has increased from 23 to 28 thousand from 2016 to 2018," stated the head of the region.
"Family is a union of people based on mutual respect and care for each other. I live in a region wh ere these qualities have been valued very highly since ancient times. Khanty, Mansi and Nenets peoples have been living on our territory for a long time. For them, the family has become an impulse that gave an opportunity to develop and preserve their people for so many years. I have no doubt that the family is the basis for relationships," summarized Natalia Komarova.
Event photo
