Center for Gender Studies

Center for Gender Studies was founded at the European Humanities University in Minsk in October 1997 with support from John D. and Catherine T. McArthur Foundation. Initially, EHU’s first graduate program was MA in Gender Studies, launched in 2000. Since 1997 the Center has organized a series of conferences, workshops, seminars, trainings, and courses; published several books, thematic volumes of journals, conducted several research projects. After the relocation of EHU to Vilnius in 2005, the Center continued its activities, including research, education, activist projects – in both Belarus and Lithuania.


CGS is a community of researchers and activists who view gender studies not only as a promising area of knowledge but also as an opportunity to change the world for the better.

Activities of the Center for Gender Studies

The main areas of activities of the Center for Gender Studies at the European Humanities University are the following:

  • conduct and support research  and education in the field of Gender Studies in the interdisciplinary perspective;
  • promote the incorporation of Gender Studies into  the University curriculum;
  • to develop cooperation in the field of gender equality between academia, media and non-governmental organizations in the region.

Research areas:

  • Social Stratification of post-Soviet Societies: Gender, Class, Nation;
  • Gender  Representations in Visual Culture and Feminist Curatorship;
  • Gender, Mobility, and Human Rights;
  • Gendered Issues in Media;
  • Gender and Economy under Postsocialism;
  • Gender, Science and Technologies;
  • Gender and Language;
  • Gay and Lesbian Studies / Queer Studies.

Corresponding study programs:

Team in AY 2024/25

  • Teachers: Prof. Elena Gapova, Prof. Almira Ousmanova, Dr. Uladzislau Ivanou, Dr. Andrei Vazianau, Dr. Alexander Pershai
  • “Women in Tech” project team: Hanna Samarskaya,  Antonina Stebur, Tania Arcimovich
  • Affiliated researchers:
    Natallia Shcherbina (MA in Gender Studies, member of the Research Laboratory Выключэнне/Exclusion. Яе-перспектыва”, Women in Tech project);
    Yana Sanko (MA in Anthropology, member of the Research Laboratory Выключэнне/Exclusion. Яе-перспектыва”, Women in Tech project)
    Natalia Sorokovik (PhD student, EHU);
    Valerya Borovets  (EHU Gender Studies MA program alumna);
    Živilė Mantrimaitė (EHU Gender Studies MA program alumna);
    Marina  Mentusova (EHU Gender Studies MA program alumna).

Contact details

 Contact us Click here
almira.ousmanova@ehu.lt
Founder: Prof. Elena Gapova
Coordinator: Prof. Almira Ousmanova
Academia page
Facebook page

Activities 2014-2024

Scientific publications

Other publications

Organized conferences

Other events

Projects

  • Women in Tech -I (2023 – 2024)   и Women in Tech -II  (2023-2025) https://wintech.me/
    The Women in Tech program is an educational and research project aimed at supporting Belarusian women in the IT field, promoting gender equality in the field of high technologies. The project is implemented with financial support of the European Union.The project includes the following areas of activities:

    • Login to Tech – a video course of lectures and practical exercises. For women who plan to start career in IT.
    • Conference on ways to address gender discrimination in IT. For representatives of IT business, NGOs and anyone interested in this issue.
    • IT courses in various areas with the study of specific hard skills for working in IT.
    • Mentoring program to support women with the participation of IT, HR and business professionals.
    • Women in Tech Academic is a program of scientific research on gender inequality in the IT field in Belarus.
  • Gender Studies and War Challenges in Resilience of Universities in Ukraine: digitalization, internationalization, and networking for excellence in teaching and research    (funded by Swedish Institute, 2023 – 2024) https://www.soc.lu.se/en/calendar/conference-gender-equality-and-gender-studies-universities-war-peace-and-development  Partner universities: University of Lund, (Sweden); Kyiv Taras Shevchenko State University, Ukrane; Kharkiv State University, Ukraine; EHU, Lithuania; Ilia State University, GeorgiaThe project’s goal is  to support  Ukrainian academics and students in the field of Gender Studies. The project’s  planned outcomes: the creation of  joint online course «Rethinking Gender, War and Peace in the XXI century” (2023 – 2024), the development of  multimedia teaching materials for this course; building the  network  of gender scholars from the partner’s institutions.
  • Educational and Publishing Project “Gendered BNR” (publication of works of women who collaborated in the Belarusian National Republic). The first book of this series was published in 2019 and is dedicated to Paluta Badunova. Continuation of the series: Vanda Liavickaja, Larysa Henijuš, Ivonka Survila, Nina Abramčyk. In collaboration with the Belarusian diaspora in the UK, Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum, London (2019-2024)
  • Project “Gender Studies and War Challenges in Resilience  of the Universities in Ukraine: Networking  for Excellence in Teaching and Institutional Development”; 2023 – 2024; partners – Lund University (LU), Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (TSNUK) and Ilia State University, Tbilisi (ISU)

Students Projects

  • One’s Own Room: Feminist Thursdays

  • The project team conducts a series of webinars on feminism “Own Room”. “Own room” is an open discussion space, where every one can not only learn and discover new facets in gender equality and anti-discrimination issues, but also ask their questions, express opinions and participate in the discussion of such difficult, but extremely topical issues.
  • The project team members: The project team members: Karalina Rynkevich; Kseniya Lukashenia Yelizaveta Rohava; Julia Lysakouskaya.
  • More detailed information about “One’s Own Room: Feminist Thursdays” webinars’ cycle and community can be found here:

Partners