Молодые женщины в органах государственного управления России: факторы, определяющие карьерные траектории.

Журнал исследований социальной политики. 2018. № 3. С. 473–486.

Isupova O. G., Utkina V.

Main concern of our study is the position of women in organisations which constitute Russian Federation system of government. Women are concentrated in low paid and low status positions presupposing routine work without being involved in decision making. Our research is based on 32 semi-structured interviews with young women having experience of work in state administration. Interviews were subject to qualitative text analysis in order to discover main themes which are important to this group of women in relation to their jobs. This article is concerned with the ideas they form on the issue of whether state administration is rather “feminine” or “masculine” sphere of work, and why women here do not occupy the highest positions. On the one hand, continuing stereotypical division of labour was revealed: into the feminine (being an assistant, organising things, or more intellectual analytical or PR individual work) and masculine (power, highest responsibility). Yet, on the other, some counter-stereotypical ideas were unveiled. The studied group of women is characterized by a high self-esteem and aspiration to intellectual expert self-realisation. Accordingly, women in Russian state administration, as a rule, do not aspire to the highest positions, but express aspiration to expert career. They are not satisfied with routine work and low salaries, so they try to find positions with higher payments or work longer. This might be associated with their high educational levels which creates high career expectations and self-esteem. Lack of aspiration to the highest positions of power might be associated with perceived incompatibility of such positions with socially stereotypical “woman’s personal life” which is considered to be in any case more time consuming than that of a man.

Keywords: гендерные исследования, госслужба, Public Administration, Gender studies, women in government, second generation gender bias, женщины в управлении, гендерные предубеждения второго поколения

Publication based on the results of: Сравнительный анализ положения женщин и мужчин в органах власти (2018)