Economics, Culture, Education: Gender Aspect

This article examines the close relationship between culture and economics, with a particular emphasis on the gender aspect. It analyzes the role of art education in the development of Russian humanitarian sphere and the levelling of gender inequality. The article promotes the idea that it is the cultural progression that determines economic development, and discusses the current state of affairs, in which the cultural sphere remains a non-priority, and therefore financially lagging, non-prestigious and suffering from gender imbalances, as proven by our own sociological surveys, presented in the article. The study was carried out in 2018–2019 in five cities of the Russian Federation, where students from XNUMX higher educational institutions were interviewed. These surveys were designed to determine the level of interest of Russian youth in the cultural sphere, demonstrating the plans and intentions of young Russians regarding their professional future and career choice. At the same time, the respondents' answers were analyzed according to a number of parameters, including gender. Based on the results of the surveys, as well as on the analysis of existing literature and statistics, conclusions are drawn about the role of public policy and the need for changes — not only in the field of financing culture, but also in relation to the tasks of art education, responsible primarily for the spiritual state of society, both in the present and (due to its educational function) and in the future. The methodology of our work is defined by its interdisciplinarity, which involves subjects ranging from sociology and economics to cultural studies and pedagogics.