Combination of professional and parental labor in assessments of Ural women: Objective and subjective barriers

Abstract

The article considers the problem of combining two types of labor activity - professional and parental labor. The aim of the research is to identify objective and subjective barriers for combination of these two labor spheres. We focus on specific elements of the organization of labor of working mothers (length of the working week and working day, time of the start and the end of work, alternation of work and days off, leave period, form of work organization) and on identifying subjective barriers that prevent the effective combination of professional and parental labor. We conducted an online survey of 265 women aged 18 to 45 working in various organizations in the Sverdlovsk region. We analyzed the data using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and group comparison based on nonparametric criteria. The results of the study are as follows: The length of the working day, as well as the time of its beginning and end, act as objective barriers to combining professional and parental work for Ural women. The subjective barriers preventing the effective combination of professional and parental work for Ural women are stereotypes of employers and colleagues who do not have children, based on the perception of the low efficiency of professional activities of workers with children, the negative impact of children on the implementation of professional work and the professional career of parents, misunderstanding of the advantages that children give to workers with children in the process of their professional work. The presence of such subjective barriers often entails refusals in employment of subjects of parental labor, a deterioration in the attitude of the employers towards them, and increases the likelihood of going on unpaid leave. © 2020 Ivanovo State University Publishing. All Rights Reserved.