Information on Women’s Employment and Their Dissatisfaction with Working Conditions, 1985

CENTRAL STATISTICAL ADMINISTRATION OF THE UKRAINIAN SSR

252023, Kyiv, 4 Kuybysheva St.

Tel. 27-24-22

August 14, 1985, No. 34-11/31

To:

Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine

On the Labor Activity of Women in the Ukrainian SSR

1. As of the beginning of 1985, the female population of the republic numbered 27.4 million, representing 54% of the total population.

The level of employment among women of working age in public production is high. According to a selective socio-demographic survey of the population, over 95% of women in this category are employed in sectors of the national economy or are engaged in education.
The ratio of men to women varies across age groups: men outnumber women among those under the age of 28, while among individuals aged 60 and older, women outnumber men by a factor of 2.2, primarily due to the significant male population losses during the Great Patriotic War. At present, the gender ratio is gradually approaching balance: in 1979, there were 838 men for every 1,000 women; in 1984, this figure rose to 853, and by the year 2000, it is projected to reach 878 men per 1,000 women.

2. In 1984, 12.6 million women—representing 51% of the total workforce—were employed in the national economy of the republic. Over the current five-year period, the increase in the number of women employed in the national economy was modest—only 46,000—due to both a slowdown in the growth of the working-age female population and the already high level of female employment established in recent years. During this time, the number of women working on collective farms decreased by 238,000 (11%), while the number of women employed as workers and office employees grew by 284,000 (3%).

Women formed an absolute majority in several sectors of the national economy: in health care, physical culture, and social security they accounted for 81%; in public education, 75%; and in science and scientific services, 52%.
Among women employed in the national economy, 73% possess higher or secondary education—either general or specialized. A portion of these working women continue to improve their general and professional qualifications without taking time off from work. At the beginning of 1985, 710,000 women—approximately 6% of all women employed in the national economy—were studying in evening or shift schools, correspondence courses, and evening or correspondence departments of higher and secondary specialized educational institutions.

According to a survey conducted in April of this year among 6,400 women employed in various industries, 65% of female workers and 48% of female employees reported that they do not pursue further general education or professional training. The most frequently cited reasons were family and domestic obligations, as well as a perceived lack of necessity. Some respondents also pointed to the absence of qualification-improvement programs at their enterprises and the fact that higher qualifications often have little or no impact on opportunities for promotion or increases in remuneration.
Over the four years of the current five-year plan, the number of women employed in jobs with harmful working conditions has decreased by 99,000, including a reduction of 69,000 in heavy physical labor and 44,000 in night-shift work. The introduction of 9,700 mechanized and automated assembly lines has contributed to a decline in the proportion of women engaged in manual labor. Nevertheless, in a number of ministries and departments, the mechanization of manual work is progressing slowly, and the share of women performing such labor remains high: 99% in the Ukoopsoyz, 92% in the USSR Ministry of Trade, 82% in the USSR Ministry of Consumer Goods, 80% in the USSR Ministry of Geology, and similarly high levels in other sectors.

A significant share of the female workers surveyed described their work as intensive, with a forced pace (20%), simple and requiring no particular mental or physical effort (17%), or monotonous (14%). Among women performing such tasks, job satisfaction levels were the highest, whereas women whose work involved high levels of stress reported markedly lower job satisfaction.
Unsatisfactory working conditions were reported by 60% of female workers and 39% of female employees. Among female workers, half identified high levels of noise and vibration in the workplace as the main cause, while among female employees, half pointed to inadequate sanitary conditions.

Among female workers dissatisfied with their jobs, 39% expressed a desire for a different work schedule, while 28% of dissatisfied female employees felt the same. Most of them suggested implementing flexible working hours, part-time work, or a shorter workweek.

3. A selective socio-demographic survey of the population revealed that some women of working age are not employed in public production, and among them, 53% expressed a desire to work. The largest group of those wishing to work—over 36%—were women aged 20–29, primarily with children.

Almost one-third of these women are white-collar workers, meaning they possess higher or secondary specialized education; 45% are manual workers, and 24% have no formal profession.
Regarding conditions important for taking up employment, 24% of women cited jobs located close to their place of residence, 18% mentioned availability of childcare facilities, 18% favored part-time or flexible working hours, 14% preferred employment in their field of specialization, and 12% expressed interest in home-based work.

It is worth noting that part-time and part-week employment are not widespread in the republic, with only 76,000 people working part-time and 36,000 engaged in home-based work in 1984.

4. Working women devote a significant amount of time to household and personal farming tasks: collective farm workers spend as much time on these activities as they do on their production work, while workers and employees spend about two-thirds of their working time on them.

On average, women spend considerably more time per day on housework than men—4.6 times more in collective farm families and 3.1 times more in families of workers and employees.

5. To support women in caring for and raising children, as well as to encourage non-working women to participate in public production, it is essential to further develop the network of preschool institutions and improve the quality of their services.

Between 1981 and 1984, the number of permanent preschool institutions increased by 2.8%, reaching 22,600 at the beginning of 1985. These institutions provided care and education for 2.6 million children, accounting for 58.7% of all children aged 1–6.

However, the population’s demand for preschool institutions was still not fully met: by early 1985, more than 203,000 children were on waiting lists for places in preschool institutions under the USSR Ministry of Education and the USSR Ministry of Health. Existing institutions were overcrowded, with 104 children for every 100 available places.
Many industrial enterprises employing large numbers of women lacked preschool facilities: within the USSR Ministry of Light Industry, there were 43 enterprises with over 1,000 female employees without such institutions; the USSR Ministry of Construction had 38; the USSR Ministry of Meat and Dairy Industry had 27; the USSR Ministry of Heavy Construction had 16; the USSR Ministry of Food Industry had 14; among others (see Appendix No. 1).

6. The social development program for the eleventh five-year period aims to further reduce the time spent on household chores by accelerating the development and improvement of consumer services, trade, and public catering.

In 1985, the volume of consumer services provided to the population is projected to reach 1.8 billion rubles, representing a 28.8% increase compared to 1980. On average, urban residents receive 1.5 times more consumer services than rural residents. For certain types of services, the disparity in consumption levels is particularly pronounced: urban residents use laundry services 12 times more, hairdressing services 7 times more, and dry cleaning and clothing dyeing services 6 times more than their rural counterparts.

Domestic services for workers at their places of employment remain insufficiently developed. More than 500 industrial enterprises, each with over a thousand employees and subordinate to republican and union-republican ministries and departments, have not established any form of consumer services for their staff. This includes 199 enterprises under the USSR Ministry of Mining and Metallurgy, 74 under the USSR Ministry of Light Industry, 49 under the USSR Ministry of Energy, 35 under the USSR Ministry of Metallurgy, among others (see Appendix No. 2).

Between 1981 and 1984, access to retail and catering services improved for the population, especially through the expansion of modern stores offering greater convenience to shoppers. By early 1985, 65% of all trade turnover occurred through state and cooperative trade using the self-service method. However, the convenient option of purchasing goods by advance order was available in only 1,404 (7%) state-owned food stores. Moreover, many industrial enterprises under the USSR Ministry of Municipal Industry, the USSR Ministry of Forestry, the USSR State Committee for Publishing, the USSR Ministry of Building Materials, and others lacked order-taking points for food products (see Appendix No. 3).

Among the women surveyed, 38% reported using retail services at their workplace, while 21% used consumer services there.

In their suggestions for priority measures to improve working and living conditions, more than half of the women emphasized the need for retail and consumer services at their place of work, about half highlighted the importance of improved housing conditions, and one-third called for the development of organized family recreation options.

This report is submitted to the Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR, Comrade Orlik M.A., with a request to instruct the State Committee for Labor of the Ukrainian SSR and the State Planning Committee of the Ukrainian SSR to consider the presented materials when developing tasks for ministries and departments in the 12th five-year plan, aimed at further improving working and living conditions for women.

Head of the Central Statistical Administration of the Ukrainian SSR [signature] A.I. Troyan