Here is all you need to know about Russia’s ban lift on many male-dominated professions!
456. Four hundred and fifty-six. To you, it might just be a number, if looked at in a monetary sense for some- it is a large number and for others, it is not. But for the women in Russia, it was the number of occupations that they could not be a part of.
It was during Soviet times; these bans were implemented. These restrictions were introduced to protect women’s health. These restrictions were largely found in industries that are found to be hazardous to the reproductive health of a woman.
In Russia, women are not allowed to work in jobs ranging from carrying agricultural products to being freight conductors. Women have continuously been denied occupations based on their sex. In the Kyrgyz Republic, women are not allowed to drive vehicles. If the vehicles weigh over five-ton or a bus that seats over 14 passengers.
But as times have changed, technology has progressed. These so-called hazardous industries have implemented various health and safety practices and even moved to automatization, reducing manual labor. These old-school, regressive rules no longer make sense in the 21st century when women are capable of making a decision about their reproductive health so no one should discriminate in terms of occupation based on gender.
The implication that women cannot work or these genders based occupational segregations have a negative impact on women and society in general. They tell women and girls, they cannot. And it is a major form of oppression that started at a young age. A woman’s potential is restricted by her body and ability to procreate whereas her skill and talent are completely negated. The result of gender-based segregation is associated with a pay gap. Most of the restricted jobs were a part of the higher-paid industries. So, these rules also either covertly or overtly encouraged wage differences between men and women.
These restrictions also hurt firms and businesses. Gender barriers come with reduced talent pools. Firms are restricted to only a certain number of people and this prevents companies from hiring the best of the best for their business. This hampers economies; various studies show that when there is less legal discrimination against women, women are encouraged to work harder and that leads to more participation in the workforce.
Russia has decided to lift this ban. Maybe not for all the jobs, but Russia has finally decided to acknowledge that the industries have changed and so have the roles of women. They lifted the ban for 350 occupations and women are now legally allowed to work in various industries they once could not. Instead of saying no, the country has taken the very first step forward in saying YES. Lifting these kinds of legal barriers in terms of women’s employment creates a healthy environment for all. Women can now give their daughters the opportunities they didn’t have.
The country is taking a step forward in promoting gender equality and we support them and admire them for it.
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Read more about the Ban lift here
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Originally published at https://www.fuzia.com.