Mobility and Gender Differences of Russian Engineers Based on the Materials of the Social Network VKontakte

Abstract

This article is based on data from the social network VKontakte (more than thirty-six thousand profiles) and analyzes geographic and within education mobility as well as the gender gap among Russian engineers. Mobility (geographical and educational) and gender differences are considered as important elements of innovative development: the first assumes the mobility of skills, people, and knowledge from one industry to another and from one place to another; the second assumes access to education and work in new innovative areas for people of different genders. Our analysis revealed that Russian engineers, as a rule, are immobile (the majority work in the same city where they received their education). The exception is Moscow and St. Petersburg where more engineers work and live than have studied. Although the evidence suggests that the engineering profession is dominated by men, we identified specialties where women are numerically more: microbiology, chemistry, ecology, and cartography. We found that in Russia the outflow of women from engineering education is increasing as its levels grow. Female engineers are more likely to work in subordinate non-technical jobs and perform bureaucratic tasks.

Acknowledgements. The reported study was funded by PFBR, project number No. 20-011-00690 A «Engineering Career in Modern Russia: Professional, Organizational and Institutional Transformations».