Gender inequality in Russia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Gender inequality in Russia - Essay Example It is generally agreed that Russian women are not equal to men and that they undergo oppression. Vovk indicates that in national home interviews carried out in the year 2005 (February 25 to 27) in a hundred residencies in forty-four regions, 24 percent of respondents held the opinion that the world treats women and men in the same way. On the other hand, 61 percent of respondents believed that Russian women’s life is harder compared to men, while 8 percent believed that women live an easier life. Generally, the same is true for promotion and self-actualization. Of the year 2005 respondents 51 percent concur that in the present day, men have more opportunities for the realization of their potential, while in national home interviews carried out in the year 2004 (February 28-29), 58 percent of the respondents concur that the `double standard' that Russian institutions and companies practice provides men with better career opportunities. According to 30 percent and 37 percent, re spectively, though, Russian women have equal chances with men for promotion and self-actualization. Gender inequality in Russia manifests itself in different spheres, the first one being access to education. While the traditionally ‘male’ professions have been free/no-fee, the Russian government-introduced for-fee education has predominantly affected women or the ‘female’ professions making it hard for them to learn. This implies that the expenditure of budget money that the federal government allocates for education has progressively become gender asymmetric, and not in women’s favour. As far as higher education is concerned, the mounting discrimination policy on the part of educational institutions themselves is a crucial factor that makes it difficult for women to access education. In the 1960s, the gender factor only decreased the female applicants’ chances of enrolment in higher educational establishments by 2.4 percent. In the 1980s, it decreased their chances by 6.2 percent while by 1990s, it had reduced them by 12 percent (Mezentseva, 1). Another vital area in which women in Russia are discriminated against has to do with wage levels/material gains from education. Mezentseva notes that although women trail behind men concerning wage levels in all countries, the rise educational levels is narrowing this gap in virtually all countries. However, to date, this trend is the reverse in Russia. A study from the RLMS5 in 1998 revealed that the average wage of a woman varies from 53-66 percent of that of a man for the seven recognized educational levels (from ‘no secondary education’ to ‘higher education’). On the average, females with postgraduate education receive lower wages compared to men with secondary education. Women with university education only earn more compared to men with incomplete university education (Roshchin, 11). The least material return from education was observed in profess ional groups where women are in the majority, while the biggest the biggest material gain from education w