Gender strategies applied by women in their career in Russia
Modern society strives to ensure equal rights and opportunities for all people, regardless of their nationality, religion, gender and other characteristics. Nevertheless, gender inequality still exists in many cultures and countries, including Russia. Nowadays, the study of gender inequality is an important topic in both international and Russian research. The most popular research topics concern causes and mechanisms of gender stereotyping as well as gender strategies aimed at adjusting to or confronting gender stereotypes. In this article we attempt to analyse how modern working women in Russia apply gender strategies in their careers. We studied the Doing & Undoing Gender Strategies which imply behaviour that focuses on or attracts attention to the gender identity. A semi-structured interview was used as an assessment tool; its design was reviewed and approved by the Herzen University's Ethics Committee. We analysed the transcripts of the semi-structured interviews with 51 working women of different ages and professions. As a result, we identified 6 types of “Doing Gender” strategies and 13 types of “Undoing Gender” strategies. We also found that women are more likely to use “Doing Gender” strategies (about 65 % of respondents) in vertical communication with their immediate bosses and managers and less often with colleagues, partners and friends. On the other hand, the “Undoing Gender” strategies were mentioned by respondents a little less frequently (about 30 % of respondents); however, their application was more varied, and the context of communication was both horizontal and vertical (with the management). Only 35,3 % of respondents said that they used both strategies, depending on the situation. It is assumed that the most successful women may be those who use mixed strategies.