Look At The Infrastructure Of Russia example essay topic

Gender roles in Russia have dramatically changed since the fall of the former Soviet Union and the fall of communism. It is hard to look directly at the constitution of Russia seeing as though the drafting and redrafting of their constitution is still underway. However, looking at the constitution of the former Soviet Union, you can see it is clearly stated that: "Women and men have equal rights". It is very clear that in the Soviet Union they were trying to make it so that women and men were equal.

It is still clear today that those same basic ideals are present in Russia. Women are clearly more equal in their country than in ours. In the workforce as well as in the home, women play a more equal role than in the present day United States. However, for the sake of this paper, let us just look at the infrastructure of Russia, formerly known as the Soviet Union or USSR. In terms of employment, the former Soviet Union had the largest percentage of women in the labor force than any other comparative society. This still remains the case in the present day Russia.

Unemployed women in Russia will be quickly employed. They have a very high success rate of reemploying women if they were to lose their jobs. "Compared to Western women, although Russian women have a much higher representation in law, medicine and engineering as well as in the skilled trades, such as metalworking and construction, they are overrepresented in low-paying and menial jobs and under-represented in managerial jobs", (Lindsey 130). The fair treatment of women in the old USSR was a great advantage to women in the workforce. In fact, women were seen to have had the advantage when it came to getting jobs because the government helped them so much. However on the contrary, the new Russia is seen to be much like the United States.

Russia has the largest quantity of women in the work force, however the inequality lies in that they are treated, monetarily, completely different. Money is paid in different amounts to men and women. Women are clearly paid less than men. In the family life, men and women have role specialization just like in the US.

Men are told to go out and make the money and the women are told to stay at home with the children and support their man. Women take on all of the domestic responsibilities and marriage is a high priority, especially for rural women. The dramatically decreasing birthrate has prompted authorities to actually promote the "woman as homemaker". While they do admit that women are needed in the workforce, labor officials state openly that they believe that the women should stay at home and take care of the children. It is amazing to me that these officials publicly state this. No women or men have a "place" in this world; we all make our own way.

However, after looking at this country, it is clear that we do have our "place". Women in the government are well represented. However, women are not represented in well respected, higher positions, they are well represented and their voices are heard. I feel, however some may disagree, that we can only take small steps. Russia has taken small steps to help women, it may not be big or overnight, they are taking the steps to try to change it. Women in Russia have their "roles".

Women in Russia may not be in the top positions of anything. However, they are represented which is more than the US can say. However, stating that I have to also say that no one is at fault for that. Our government is not at fault for that, they allow women to run for office, they just don't run in the numbers that the men do. Also we as women have awhile to go. Like it is stated in the book, the Russian economy is one hundred years behind the US economy; women must be patient until things get better.

Women in Russia are being patient and have to look at a small step and that is the new Minority Leader, the woman from California. I may not like her, I may not agree with anything she has to say, however, she is the first women to hold that spot and good for her. Russia is taking those small steps, they, like us, not forcing the idea that women are equal to men like we see happen all around the world. They feel that they have stuck it out thus far; they can stick it out a little further.