Women and the Family Under Brezhnev Flashcards
Larger numbers of women joined the Party after 1953. Between 1956 and 1983 the proportion of women in the Party increased from…
19.7 per cent to 26 per cent
Women were never more than ___ per cent of the Central Committee between 1953 and 1985
4
What did increased participation of women in the workforce and an increasingly educated female population not lead to?
A rise in the proportion of women in government
What did Brezhnev continue to stress?
The centrality of the family to Soviet life
Under Brezhnev much less was done to try to improve the status of women. Why?
The government officially proclaimed that sexual equality had been achieved
In which senior jobs were there a lack of women?
- Industry
- Agriculture
- Government
The lack of women in the most senior jobs was explained by…
their natural desire to focus on their families
What did the government ban?
Gender equality campaigns in the West being reported in the Soviet press
This was done in order to try to suppress debates about women’s roles and sexual oppression
How did Brezhnev see women?
As unskilled workers whose prime goal was having children
What was under strict control?
Sexual morality
Sexual morality was under strict control. Provide evidence to support this claim.
- Male homosexuality was a crime
- Lesbianism was a mental disorder
- Sex was about making babies rather than pleasure
What did Brezhnev lower?
The pension age for women from 60 to 55
Women spent twice as much time doing domestic chores as men. Brezhnev saw this as…
part of the natural order - he applauded women for their sacrifice
What was his main concern?
For women to have more babies and to look after them properly
What did the government do little to address?
Sexual inequality in domestic labour
