WOMEN MANAGERS IN THE FORMER USSR: A CASE OF “TOO MUCH EQUALITY?”

Discusses the conditions experienced by women in the former USSR who are aspiring to or are currently occupying managerial positions. Soviet women feel the pressure of two societal forces: they are expected to work as well as to be the primary person responsible for home and family. Many complain: “We have too much equality”. Previews the statistics on women in the labour force in the former USSR, and examines seven factors affecting Soviet women′s access to managerial positions: (1) the perception of management as a masculine domain, (2) cultural constraints on women′s roles, (3) women′s roles in family life, (4) the stage of the country′s economic development, (5) social policy, (6) access to higher education and (7) organizational context. Concludes with an assessment of the prospects for Soviet women in managerial positions.