Abolition of “Kitchen Slavery”: Women's Employment in a Large Ural City on the Eve of Industrialization (1920s)

Lyudmila Mazur, Ural Federal University
Oleg Gorbachev, Ural Federal University

The Bolshevik policy, aimed at eliminating the traditional (patriarchal) family and changing women's role in society, included the following major aspects: 1) education of women and raising of their cultural level; 2) involvement of women into political and social life, enhancement of their political literacy and activity; and 3) involvement of women into the public sector of economy as a part of the agenda of their economic emancipation. The focus on women's employment in the 1920s led to some serious transformations in women's labour, especially in the city: in this period women started to occupy positions which were traditionally considered as 'male'. This process intensified in the period of the first five-year plans (1928-1937). In this sense, the 1920s can be seen as a transition period, when traditional forms of women's employment co-existed with new forms. In the NEP period, these differences corresponded to the distinction between 'employed' and 'self-employed' labour, that is, being employed in the sphere of private entrepreneurship or public production. The expansion of the public sector, however, inevitably led to the shrinking of self-employed labour, a process that was accompanied by the rise in women’s unemployment, which surpassed that of men. It should be noted, however, that the Soviet understanding of unemployment meant primarily not being employed in the public sector of economy, that is, the majority of women were still engaged in household labour. Moreover, despite the declared gender equality, gender pay gap persisted.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 174. Worklife Balance for Females in Preindustrial Societies Facing Crisis