06.08.2021

Social Information Agency: Is the List of “Unfeminine” Professions Justified?

Ministry of Labor Allows Women to Work as Flight Mechanics and Engineers, but Some Bans are Still in Place

Beginning March 1, 2022, women in Russia were able to work as flight mechanics, flight engineers servicing planes and helicopters, and mechanics for devices, electrical equipment, and radio equipment. The Russian Labor Ministry published the corresponding order.

An updated list of jobs and occupations restricted for women has been in effect in Russia since January 1, 2021. It contains 100 items. The previous list consisted of 456 jobs.

SIA asked Stephania Koulaeva, an expert at the Anti-Discrimination Center ADC Memorial, if the remaining bans are justified.

No rescuing allowed

ADC Memorial supports the full cancellation of the list of “unfeminine” jobs. This is part of their campaign #AllJobs4AllWomen.

ADC Memorial welcomed the 2020 decision to shorten this list, but feared that that would be the end of it.

“The fact that a decision was made to shorten the list as early as 2021 was cause for optimism. We hope that the list will be further shortened, thus equalizing labor rights for men and women. But it’s just great that women can reach their potential in the field off aeromechanics. This work is interesting for many people whose dreams will not longer be blocked by discriminatory restrictions,” said Stefania.

She also said that women in Russia are still not being hired for jobs in mines, in a number of areas in the chemical industry, and in the field of emergency and disaster response.

In 2018-2019, during the #AllJobs4AllWomen campaign, videos of women in “unfeminine” professions were released. These included a rescue diver, a firefighter, and an operator in a mine.

Yevgeniya Fedorova
Social Information Agency