PROBLEMS OF DISCRIMINATION OF WOMEN

ABSTRACT

The article deals with the main problems of discrimination against women in various spheres of life: society, family and personal relationships, labor sphere. Statistical indicators of discrimination are given. The authors see the formed patriarchal foundations of society as the reason for discrimination.

Keywords: discrimination, feminism, women's movement, equal rights, patriarchy, neopatriarchy, slat shaming, catcalling, glass ceiling.

Discrimination is the explicit or implicit restriction of rights and freedoms on any ground. In this article, we will talk about the restriction of women's rights and freedoms on the basis of gender.

The fight against discrimination has been waged by women since the beginning of the 13th century. Women began to take an active part in the life of society and achieved their results. Today in most developed countries there is no legal distance between men and women, i.e. at the legislative level the truth is really equal. But problems of discrimination still occur.

Let's look at a few of the main discriminated against areas of women's lives: the family, society and the world of work. As far as the family is concerned, the main form of discrimination in this sphere is reproductive violence and domestic inequality. Reproductive violence is an attempt by one sexual partner to hinder the efforts of the other to prevent unwanted conception. Reproductive violence may also take the form of moral pressure on women, when family members or other members of society try to coerce a woman to become pregnant in one way or another. The other side of discrimination against women in the family environment is the "second shift". This phenomenon refers to domestic responsibilities that are solely the responsibility of the woman in couples where both partners are gainfully employed. Researchers attribute this phenomenon to the transition of society from patriarchy to non-patriarchy - a social structure in which women are free to dispose of their lives and have equal rights with men on a legal level, but all privileges belong to men.

This brings us to another discriminated sphere - the labour sphere. If we analyse the labour legislation of the Russian Federation, we can conclude that in this area discrimination should be forbidden by law. In practice, however, there are such phenomena as the "glass ceiling" - limiting the career advancement of women, where priority in promotion is given to men, all other things being equal, and of course the refusal to employ women of "childbearing" age because of the possibility of women going on maternity leave. Also, despite the fact that legislation guarantees the protection of women's rights in the labour sphere, employers often do not respect these obligations. The difference in wages must also be noted. According to the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, on average, women in Russia currently earn 27% less than men.   In other words, an analysis of this sphere has shown that men have a clear advantage over women, which is discrimination.

Discrimination against women in the public sphere has many manifestations and is most difficult to regulate by law. This includes both harassment and rape. Here are a few examples of these phenomena. Slatshaming is the phenomenon whereby women's sexuality is condemned. Many people judge women by the categories "clean" or "vicious" when they look at her, and apply one attitude or another to her as a result of the assessment. Women may be criticised for their flamboyant make-up, clothes, photos on social media or for her overt behaviour. Another type of discrimination is catcalling. This phenomenon refers to a type of street harassment in which strangers show 'attention' to a woman through touching, comments about her appearance and sometimes threats of rape. According to research by Cornell University, more than 60% of women surveyed have experienced street harassment since the age of 11. This is undoubtedly a problem, especially when you look at statistics on sexual violence. According to estimates published by WHO, one in three women in the world (30%) has been physically and/or sexually abused by a partner or another person.

Although sexual discrimination is completely prohibited by law in most of the developed countries of the world, it remains a problem because society still lives according to patriarchal patterns. The analysis of discrimination against women shows that it occurs in all spheres of life: in social relations, in the family, in the workplace and in personal relations.

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