Informal Gender Discrimination in Male-Dominated Industries: Hidden Barriers. A Case Study of a Female Railway Engineer in Russia

INTERaction. INTERview. INTERpretation. 2026. Vol. 18. No. 1. P. 127–145.

Bulchenko N. V.

This article uses a case study of the first and only female railway engineer in the large northern region of contemporary Russia to examine informal gender discrimination in male-dominated industries. Despite the abolition of legal prohibitions in 2021, women remain severely underrepresented in locomotive crews due to informal barriers. Four in-depth interviews were conducted during three years to identify eight categories of informal gender discrimination. The barriers include informational deficits, financial burdens, ‘male body standards’ and ‘male quotas’, gender stereotypes and sexist prejudices against women, the time barrier, harassment and the ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’. All of them have no biological foundations and are fully socially constructed. These types of informal gender discrimination are specific for the northern provinces of Russia; the barriers in Moscow and other regions may differ for economic and life background reasons. The study highlights the need for robust institutional policies to dismantle these hidden barriers and promote gender equality in male-dominated industries.

Keywords: gender, discrimination, гендерная дискриминация