Russia's second shift: Is housework hurting women's wages?

Abstract

Though the USSR officially touted equal opportunity for women, women in Russia earned only 70 percent of men's wages. The combination of women's dual roles in society and inadequate investment by the Soviets in household time-saving devices are often cited as reasons for a lack of commitment and advancement in the labor market. With the recent transition towards a market economy, there is reason to think these effects may be changing. As women become increasingly freer to substitute between formal-sector and household work, the relative importance of commitment in explaining the gender-wage disparity may have diminished. Using data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey, this study hopes to shed light on whether differences in time allocated towards household production are capable of affecting wages.