more on status of women in the ussr

on paper/ in theory, the comm party was o______ c__________ to achieving a truly e____/e______ society, however, in reality/a__________ i_________ between men and women persisted

officially committed

equal/egalitarian

in actuality inequalities between them existed

what did lenin set up immediately after the revolution that helped to assert beliefs in the status of women (think in party)?

who lead it?

what was it/ what did it believe?

what did they do in terms of labour during the civil war?

*hint- begins with z*

Zhenotdel- the women’s department of the communist party

headed by Alexandra Kollontai

she believed that there were innate differences between the sexes

SO

during civ war, Zhenotdel recruited women to work in créches and orphanages, where they could fulfill their ‘natural nurturing role’ as women were believed to be intrinsically maternal 

during the civil war, where did some woemn work and why? (hint- not anything ‘nuturing’)?

BUT during the NEP, what happened to these jobs/ women and why?

in factories/ industry

to help fill labour shortages

BUT in NEP, créches were closed and women who had worked in industry were let go, in order to free up jobs for men

due to widespread unemployment in 1920s what did many women have to do to get money?

give a fact

forced to work as prostitutes

39% of urban men used prostitutes in the 1920s

what happened to the number of women employed under stalin’s five year plans?

it rose dramatically, as more labour/ a stronger/ bigger labourforce was needed and in demand

how many women joined the labour force by 1940? how much did this increase the female labour force by?

over 10 million

increased the female labour force by over 300%

BUT, negatives for women working were:

• how much were their wages compared to mens?

• promotions?

• what were they subject to?

• wages= 60-65% of men’s wages

• subjected to verbal and physical abuse

• didnt tend to get promotions

during the 1960s, how much % of ind jobs went to women?

around 45%- is an improvement

how were women retstricted in work in the 1960s?

• restricted to low skill and low pay positions

  • line of work in light industry, intensive, but again low skill (eg:textile production)

by 1985, what % of these jobs did women make up?:

• medical doctors

• employed in art and culture?

70%

65%

pay scales/ wages in thes ‘f________’ industries were l______ than in m___-d________ factory m___________

‘feminised’ industries were lower than in male-dominated factory management

in what decades were there a high prop of women working in agri?

1920s,30s,40s

it is said that women in the country side performed a ‘t_____ s____’

what does this mean?

triple shift

they done agri labour on farms, repsonsib for domestic chores and taking care of kids, AND they often made handicrafts to supplement the family income 

what campaign/scheme did khrushchev want women to work on?

how were they treated?

VLS

contrary to his strong/steadfast liberal beliefs when it come to the exercising of violence for political means and the absolute control of the ussr/moscow, the VLS saw women only put to work as milkmaids, gardeners and to start families in the ‘virgin lands’

they were not recruited to drive tractors or handle machinery

they tended to do the lowest paid jobs

EG:

of the 6400 women recruited in aug 1958, less than 450 found work in well-paid professions

by 1970, what % of the lowest-paid soviet farmers were women?

72%