Russian women break free from kitchen sink

30 June, 2008, 18:59

Most Russian adults agree it's unfair to expect women to do all the housework. According to state-funded researcher, VCIOM, 79% of women and 66% of men believe domestic work should be shared. However, the study found that a third of the country’s men are sticking to traditional stereotypes, believing women should do all the domestic chores.

The study reveals that feminist views are gaining ground in Russia. Only 30% now think the man is the main person in the family, rbc.ru reports. The idea that husband and wife are in an equal partnership is supported by around 40%.

The tendency is towards more equality between the sexes. Three years ago 38% said the man should be boss in the family.  This has dropped to 32%. 

And what about shopping and splashing out big sums of money? Here the vote splits fifty-fifty. Half of Russians think men should have the last word on buying something expensive for the house. The other half wants a more democratic approach. Here again women give themselves more freedom than men would allow them: 62% of women say their decision to purchase an expensive item should be enough to win the argument – even if the husband contributes more to the family budget!

Russian women are getting less and less happy about the idea of just sitting at home and bringing up kids: 61% of them consider their own careers no less important than those of their husbands. However, more than half of men don’t want their wives to stay late hours at work if she has household duties to perform at home.