Women in the civil service in Russia: career, family, reproductive intentions

Abstract

The article is concerned with reproductive intentions of young women in the beginning of their career path in various bodies and agencies of state service, mainly of federal government. The article is based on 32 semi-structured in-depth interviews, conducted in 2016. Main research problem and main results consist in difficulties of choice of the point on a life path when career oriented women could optimally give birth to their child. Another problem and finding concern contradiction between stated intentions to have at least one child and the fact that almost none of the researched have any children at the age of 27—30 years, and they cannot even say with some precision when they do plan to have them. In spite of the fact that all of them lack life experience of motherhood, and despite their overall rather positive attitude to the latter, and in the condition when they feel significant social pressure of normative ideas concerning normality of motherhood in life of any woman, the participants postpone motherhood until indefinite future and, as a rule, believe that this is going to be incompatible with their present jobs with their working hours, requirements, and salary. This is mainly due to the fact that the other two norms influence them, namely, that mothering should be intense, and that «a good worker» should give all her energy to the job.