Should they: Why gender hierarchy prevents women from building successful careers

Discrimination, including gender-based discrimination, still prevails in the labor market. As often happens, stereotypes are mutually exclusive: from “A woman’s duty is to be beautiful” to “Because of your career you will be alone with ten cats.” So this is another important part of any person’s life where women like to be reminded of what we “should” and what we shouldn’t do.

Depreciation of capabilities

In the 21st century, it can be seen how people can be guided by superficial beliefs in an important and serious field such as the labor market. But unfortunately, there are a number of particularly entrenched stereotypes that are brutally applied to women to this day. For example, success in a career is often justified not by work and perseverance, but by external attractiveness: “Of course, with such an appearance, the doors are open everywhere.” And “excessive emotionality” is another “flaw” adopted by followers of the view that a woman cannot lead and hold high positions due to her inability to maintain composure. Women with “dual” careers, that is, women with a family and children, earn the most. The employer does not want to get involved in maternity leave, and sometimes even undertakes to evaluate the priority of family and work in the woman’s life instead of her.

Statistics show the prevalence of false beliefs

Yes, according to the third article of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, discrimination in the workplace is prohibited, but in practice everything is different. The existence of the income gap between men and women is a problem all over the world and according to the UN and the International Trade Union Confederation it is in favor of men, and according to Rosstat (2022) it reaches 20% in Russia. , 27.5% – and this is accompanied by a high level of education and 69% employment among women. In other words, the “glass ceiling” objectively exists. So, although the number of working women is increasing, the percentage of managers among them is still less: the proportion is around 48% to 52%, but varies greatly depending on the field of work (from the education and economic sector, to its credit). , there are even more women, for example, the time spent in CT is 10% less). In addition, 75 percent of unpaid work, that is, household responsibilities, is performed by women.

How to overcome the glass ceiling?

The most important thing is not to forget that this “ceiling” is primarily a problem and concern that concerns the whole society, because it prevents GDP indicators from increasing. And the faster society gets rid of gender prejudices and hierarchies, the more solidly the economic and social ground will be under its feet. Women do not prefer discrimination. We choose education, perseverance, multitasking, achieving our goals and, as a result, the recognition that our contribution to social development deserves on an equal basis.