Social representations of gender differences in various areas of life: questionnaire approbation and the reliability analysis of scales
The article substantiates the relevance of creating Russian-language tools for conducting research on the phenomenon of gender inequality. The theoretical foundation and procedure for developing a new questionnaire aimed at assessing social representations of gender differences in different spheres of life are presented. The results of testing the questionnaire on a gender-balanced sample of n = 106 people are described, as well as the results of the analysis of descriptive statistics of points and verification of the reliability of its scales. The questionnaire consists of two parts. The first part includes scales reflecting representations of gender differences in professional sphere, in family, in politics and in everyday life. The second part of the questionnaire consists of four scales reflecting ideas about gender differences in the organization, based on the criteria for a «glass ceiling». 26 out of 28 points of the questionnaire were suitable, 4 scales showed satisfactory reliability: «Work», «Politics», «Leisure», «Career advancement inequality» (Cronbach's alpha is more than 0.7). Traditionalist ideas about the differences between men and women in the whole sample are slightly expressed. Significant differences in the responses of men and women suggest a greater commitment of women to the ideas of egalitarianism, the inconsistency of gender representations of men, and also that the main topic of the gender gap in the representations of respondents is the sphere of power and influence (politics and leadership positions).