As a broad generalisation, a typical Russia woman tends to be a lot more traditional than western women in terms of gender roles in the family. i.e. She will expect you to do most or all of the breadwinning and will herself do most or all of the homemaking.
This doesn’t mean for a moment that a Russia woman are meek or expect not to have a career. Like in any country, some women are meek, some not. It is also normal for Russian women to have a career.
One thing that annoys me is when people assume that having more traditional gender roles means Russian women are somehow victims or unenlightened, That if only they could be shown the feminist way they wouldn’t have to put up with it any longer. Try telling that to a Russian woman and you’ll be either scorned or mocked out of the room.
Remember Russian women have for decades been way ahead of the west in a lot of aspects of feminism. For example the proportion of women to men in fields like medicine and engineering has been (and still is) far higher than in the west. So in many ways equality between men and women is more enshrined in Russia than in the west.
Also as part of my job I visit a lot of different companies here in Russia. In my experience the proportion of women to men in technical and senior roles is far higher than in the west, and far, far higher than in Japan.
However a strong part of Russian culture and identity is that men and women are different, and that for a family to be successful there are masculine and feminine roles to play. Russian women are very feminine - more so I think than in the west, and don’t feel they need to prove they are ‘equal’ to men. They know they are already equal - and different.
Be prepared. If your Russian girl is 24 you may think she will be happy to wait a few years before having children. Chances are however she’ll already consider herself past the time when she should have become a wife and mother.
Motherhood and family is incredibly important to any Russia woman, and to be a bride then a mother at a younger age than is normal in the west.
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Friday, September 3, 2010
Is a Russia Woman More Traditional?
As a broad generalisation, a typical Russia woman tends to be a lot more traditional than western women in terms of gender roles in the family. i.e. She will expect you to do most or all of the breadwinning and will herself do most or all of the homemaking.
This doesn’t mean for a moment that a Russia woman are meek or expect not to have a career. Like in any country, some women are meek, some not. It is also normal for Russian women to have a career.
One thing that annoys me is when people assume that having more traditional gender roles means Russian women are somehow victims or unenlightened, That if only they could be shown the feminist way they wouldn’t have to put up with it any longer. Try telling that to a Russian woman and you’ll be either scorned or mocked out of the room.
Remember Russian women have for decades been way ahead of the west in a lot of aspects of feminism. For example the proportion of women to men in fields like medicine and engineering has been (and still is) far higher than in the west. So in many ways equality between men and women is more enshrined in Russia than in the west.
Also as part of my job I visit a lot of different companies here in Russia. In my experience the proportion of women to men in technical and senior roles is far higher than in the west, and far, far higher than in Japan.
However a strong part of Russian culture and identity is that men and women are different, and that for a family to be successful there are masculine and feminine roles to play. Russian women are very feminine - more so I think than in the west, and don’t feel they need to prove they are ‘equal’ to men. They know they are already equal - and different.
Be prepared. If your Russian girl is 24 you may think she will be happy to wait a few years before having children. Chances are however she’ll already consider herself past the time when she should have become a wife and mother.
Motherhood and family is incredibly important to any Russia woman, and to be a bride then a mother at a younger age than is normal in the west.
This doesn’t mean for a moment that a Russia woman are meek or expect not to have a career. Like in any country, some women are meek, some not. It is also normal for Russian women to have a career.
One thing that annoys me is when people assume that having more traditional gender roles means Russian women are somehow victims or unenlightened, That if only they could be shown the feminist way they wouldn’t have to put up with it any longer. Try telling that to a Russian woman and you’ll be either scorned or mocked out of the room.
Remember Russian women have for decades been way ahead of the west in a lot of aspects of feminism. For example the proportion of women to men in fields like medicine and engineering has been (and still is) far higher than in the west. So in many ways equality between men and women is more enshrined in Russia than in the west.
Also as part of my job I visit a lot of different companies here in Russia. In my experience the proportion of women to men in technical and senior roles is far higher than in the west, and far, far higher than in Japan.
However a strong part of Russian culture and identity is that men and women are different, and that for a family to be successful there are masculine and feminine roles to play. Russian women are very feminine - more so I think than in the west, and don’t feel they need to prove they are ‘equal’ to men. They know they are already equal - and different.
Be prepared. If your Russian girl is 24 you may think she will be happy to wait a few years before having children. Chances are however she’ll already consider herself past the time when she should have become a wife and mother.
Motherhood and family is incredibly important to any Russia woman, and to be a bride then a mother at a younger age than is normal in the west.
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