Prof Dovile Jakniunaite – International Relations and Political Science – Vilnius University – Evolving Feminism

Womanity - Women in Unity

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Prof Dovile Jakniunaite from the Institute of International Relations and Political Science of Vilnius University and head of the Institute’s Russia and Central Eastern European Studies Centre.

There are different iterations of feminism, which are influenced by context. Prof Jakniunaite shares how when Lithuania attained independence in 1990, there was an influx of ideas from the West, including their ideas of feminism, whether that be liberal or social perspectives. In time, as societies mature, they realise that they do not necessarily have to absorb everything from other countries but can look within themselves for concepts relative to their circumstances. On the one hand there may be some common ideas, but on the other attitudes to certain issues may differ. For example, some people have a romantic notion of socialism, but women in Eastern Europe who experienced socialism first hand tend to consider the failures of this construct.

Lithuanians do not have a universal outlook towards women’s roles in society. For example, youth consider equality to be common sense and that women can occupy any role they choose. However, in segments that expect women to care for most of the household responsibility, there is an impact on the amount of time that women can devote to careers, which compromises their professional development.

We note that female trailblazers across disciples serve as role models of what activities are possible for women. The fact that Lithuania has had a female president and has a female prime minister helps normalise the presence of women in politics.

We discuss some of the impact that countries with feminist foreign policies exert on the world. For example, when a country with a feminist foreign policy donates funds to an entity or another nation it signals that the issues that it cares about need to be addressed as part of the deal. In this way the funding country influences gender equality in the region it is contributing finance to.

In closing, Prof Jakniunaite encourages women to build their confidence, and to think of confidence as a skill which with practice develops over time.