Women’s consultations – Newspaper Kommersant No. 16 (7461) dated 01/28/2023

The Duma faction “New People” held on Friday expert hearings on improving labor legislation in the interests of women. To eliminate inequality in this area, the deputies proposed, first of all, to cancel the list of professions prohibited for women approved by the Ministry of Labor and to think about a ban on employers to ask questions about family and children at interviews. The participants of the hearings also came to the conclusion that the reason for the inequality is not only in the nuances of legislation and the bias of employers, but also in the self-doubt of women themselves.

The deputy head of the New People faction in the State Duma, Sardana Avksentyeva, began the hearings from the most sensitive moment – the difference in wages between men and women. She referred to article specialists from the Higher School of Economics, according to which this gender gap ranges from 5.3% to 69.9% with an average value of 37.3%. “Among the main causes of inequality are the “wage penalty” for motherhood, the dominance of men in large companies, as well as a higher willingness to take risks among men than among women,” said Ms. Avksentieva.

She said that, together with her team, she carefully analyzes labor legislation. “We made a“ first approach to the projectile ”- they proposed to cancel the list of professions prohibited for women. It is clear that this will not solve all problems. Many people thought that we decided to send all women to the steelworkers. But the question is much broader,” the deputy explained. She also suggested thinking about an amendment to the Labor Code (LC), which would prohibit employers from asking questions about family and children at interviews and oblige them to ask only about education, qualifications, experience, etc.

According to Sardana Avksentieva, labor law in Russia has not kept pace with reality, especially after 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic has changed the labor market. “However, legislators obviously did not keep up with the changes – a new chapter describing remote work appeared in the Labor Code only in December 2020,” the deputy stated.

First Deputy Chairman of the Duma Committee on Family, Women and Children Tatyana Butskaya (United Russia) stood up for the list of “non-female” professions: “Before we talk about improving legislation, we need to remember where the list of male professions came from. From there, that the woman gives birth. We must look at professions that are forbidden for women in terms of the future of our country. Isn’t it harmful for the expectant mother, pregnant, nursing mother?

Sardana Avksentieva replied that she did not understand why, for example, women should not take care of breeding bulls and boars.

Elena Rechkalova, general director of the Women on Boards of Directors community, suggested that we “consider women as an economic resource.” According to her, if women and men were equal in economic activity, then GDP would increase by 14%. She also noted that women at the negotiations state wage demands in general 30% less than men. “Women believe that a deputy is the pinnacle of their career, while men perceive such a position as an intermediate one,” the expert gave an example.

As a result, women’s pensions also turn out to be lower than those of men, by an average of 11%. Rechkalova believes that the main reason for the difference in salaries is women’s self-doubt: “They exclude themselves from this process.”

Veronika Peshkova, president of the Women’s View foundation for the development of public diplomacy, agreed with this, believing that women are hindered not only by the “glass ceiling” (a conditional barrier that prevents them from advancing to the top of a hierarchical corporation), but also by the “sticky floor effect.” “This is a global trend: women offer themselves to a higher position if they meet absolutely all the requirements written in the ad. A man offers himself to a higher position if he has at least 60% of what is stated in the requirements, ”she explained.

Alla Blagodir, head of the Department of Labor Law at the O. E. Kutafin University (MSAL), opposed the abolition of Art. 253 of the Labor Code, which refers to the approval by the Ministry of Labor of the list of “non-female” professions, although some professions can be “carefully removed” from it. At the same time, Mrs. Blagodir noted that Art. 64 of the Labor Code (“Guarantees at the conclusion of an employment contract”) does not apply: it is difficult for a woman to prove in court that she was denied employment on the basis of gender. And the expert connected the difference in salaries, among other things, with the fact that in 2007, “unfortunately”, the tariff scale was excluded from the shopping mall.

Deputy Chairman of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia Alexander Shershukov doubted that the ban on asking questions about the family at interviews would affect the decision of the employer.

In his opinion, at the level of legislation, it would be possible to introduce additional paid leave for women with minor children, as well as to combine the working hours of kindergartens and schools with the working hours of women.

Based on the results of the hearings, the New People will prepare a resolution, which will include all the proposals of deputies, experts, representatives of ministries and departments. These ideas will form the basis of future legislative initiatives. In addition, Sardana Avksentieva called on experts to continue discussing the problem at the Telegram discussion club.

Ksenia Veretennikova