Women and Gender in Russia

Kyle Ennis, Jenessa Hutchins, Sean O’Hara,

Emily Prims, Anna Tiner, Dan DeFrisco

Political Equalityｷｷ Women have significantly less political power in Russia

o Women have their own political party- allowed only 7% of spots on the ballot

o Russian parliament is only about 9% women

ｷｷ Upper chamber of parliament is only 4% women

ｷｷ In the US:

o Women can run for any office during an election and may be part of both major political parties

o Women make up 17% of Congress:

ｷｷ 17 Females in Senate, 75 females in House (About 17% of House)

Economic Equalityｷｷ Women have roughly equal education levels to that of Russian

men

o Literacy rate: Men- 99.7%, Women- 99.2%

o Women and men both spend about 15 years in school

ｷｷ Women discriminated against in hiring in market economy

o No equal contract protections for women required

ｷｷ No provisions in contracts for childcare

ｷｷ Highest unemployment among Women in recession

o High percentage of women in workforce, but extremely small amount in high positions

Economic Equaltiy (cont’d)ｷｷ Equal literacy for US men and women- 99%

o Women likely to spend 17 years in school, men likely to spend 15 years in school

ｷｷ Women doing slightly better than men in US

o De Jure protection in contracts and hiring

ｷｷ Some maternity leave

ｷｷ 2000000 more men unemployed in 2010 than women

ｷｷ Still 10000000 more men in workforce than women -> but gap shrinking

Low Level Women’s Rights Compared to US •For every 100 births, there are 200

abortions (one of the highest abortion rates in the world)

–Contraceptives are too expensive, abortion becomes the popular solution.

•Putin-entice any family with $11,000 worth of rubies if they had a second child

•Sergei Morozov’s June 12 plan: “Give Birth to a Patriot on Russian Day”-Forget fixing infrastructure, creating jobs, and improving the quality of life.

Status of Rights of Homosexuals Homosexual’s have not been

criminally prosecuted since 2003 Not considered a mental illness since

1999 No legal recognition of same sex

couples Anyone can adopt as a single person,

regardless of sexual orientation, but only heterosexual people can adopt together as a couple

Turning points in History 1861: Abolition of serfdom 1907: The League for Women’s Equal Rights

formed Divorce, land, voting laws No class distinction

1917: Women demand “bread and peace”, granted right to vote

1918: First All-Russian Women Workers’ Congress 1941: Women drafted in WWII 1977: Soviet constitution states equal rights for

men and women Maternity leave 92% in workforce Lower paid

1996: Law drafted against domestic violence

Women in Society and Politics

ｷｷ Men and women retain the same legal rights o However, rights for woman are

often not enforced ｷｷ Sexual harassment and domestic violence are

common o Neither are specifically protected

under the law o Authorities don’t step in o Volunteer organizations sometimes

step in ｷｷ Rape is punishable by law, but it is difficult to form

case ｷｷ Women have the freedom of movement and dress ｷｷ Women are more often unemployed, earn lower

salaries, and are responsible for most domestic/family work

Women in Society and Politics Cont’d

ｷｷ Most women who are successful start their own businesses or work for multinationals

ｷｷ Few women have roles of importance/decision making ｷｷ Few women are represented in the Duma

o The ones that are don’t hold important positions

ｷｷ Current women leaders/movements o Valentina Matvienko

ｷｷ Current governor of St. Petersburg ｷｷ Speaks on behalf of women’s rights

o Natalia Narochnitskaya ｷｷ Politician/diplomat ｷｷ Current director of the Paris office of the Russian Institute of

Democracy and Cooperation

Conclusion

US Chicks=Russian Chicks

Works Cited http://hubpages.com/hub/Role_of_Women_in_Society http://www.wikigender.org/index.php/Gender_Equality

_in_the_Russian_Federation http://www.cdi.org/russia/johnson/7022-1.cfm http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_arc

hive/2006/10/16/8390331/index.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalia_Narochnitskaya http://www.slate.com/id/2195133/pagenum/2 •http://www.waytorussia.net/WhatIsRussia/

Women/Facts.html