«Women's Work» and Personal Well-Being: Thechnology of Exclusion in Postsoviet Russia

The presentation will aim to discuss features of post-soviet women’s position in the labour market and the changes in their employment strategies during the last decade. Using date from the three waves longitudinal qualitative research, conducted from 1999 to 2010 in one of Russia’s region among registered poor I argue that under the conditions of market service economy the ability of women to manage life situations with their work are reduced. I show that the transition of women in the market services sector does not improve wages, that their acceptance the norms of the "universal worker" does not guarantee high returns and does not compensate costs associated with the rejection of caring for others. The pattern of gendered exclusion, or the way of patriarchal domination is changing. In the Soviet era, a special state support for women stimulated their inclusion in the scope of employment and minimized the impact of sex differences on the working career. At the same time women were segregated in the sectors of social reproduction and their responsibility for maintaining the household were preserved. In market terms the special position of women between work and home becomes a resource for surviving and a source of profit.