The structure of social anxiety in Russian society: gender emphasis

Abstract

The article presents the structure of Russian citizens' anxiety in the gender context, focusing on the attitude of Russian women to the economic and social policy conducted by the authorities, self-assessment of their financial situation, expectations and vision of the future. The material is based on the data of the 52nd stage of the All-Russian monitoring "How are you, Russia?", conducted with the participation of the authors in May 2022 by the Institute of Socio-Political Research of FCTAS RAS. It shows the convergence of men's and women's value judgments due to the increased social and economic activity of women. At the same time, there is still a traditional difference in the level of income, as well as in the distribution of gender roles according to the archetypes "woman = keeper of the family home" and "man = strategist, thinking globally. Respondents of both sexes expressed equally minimal concern about the topic of the special military operation in Ukraine, with women showing serious concern about the economic consequences of the current foreign policy. In the structure of their anxiety, problems of rising prices, economic sanctions, deteriorating relations with the U.S. and Europe, and, as a consequence, fear of an uncertain future lead the way. Lack of stability and uncertainty decrease the loyalty to the power structures among female respondents, who are the most vulnerable in the current situation, slightly increasing the level of protest activity in parallel.