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Type A segregation of the labor market is a trait common to Ukraine. It seems that a “feminization of certain fields has also occurred” (Buckley, 83). There is a “tendency for recruitment preference to contribute to the strong industrial segregation of employment, in which men and women are concentrated in different sectors” (Standing, 37). “In addition to economic factors, the rigidity of socially ascribed gender roles and women’s limited access to power, education, training and productive resources” continues to reinforce the disparity of women in the society (DPA, 14). Women are concentrated in sectors of social services, education, textiles, culture- /art, as well as health service positions. These occupa tions are predominantly held by women and are noted for their low compensation levels. Not only are women receiving consistently lower wages than men, they are also underrepresented in higher skill grades of work. “They make up a minority among supervisory and managerial positions and among skilled workers, with a substantial majority among general service and special ist employees and technicians” (Standing, 39). Women are also well represented in the heaviest and least mechanized occupations, and even more so in espe cially dangerous work. More than “25% of women work” in extremely harmful conditions and over “35% are engaged in heavy physical labor” (Buckley, 83). Ukraine is not subject to almost half of the Conventions of Inter national Labor Organization on work in dangerous and harmful conditions. “Ukrainian industry is oriented towards manual labor, as such that close to 75% of the total employment consist of manual workers” (ULFS, 33). An example of strenuous physical work is the large number of women who are employed in Agriculture. ’’Women run almost 100% of Ukrainian dairies for milk production” (WRB, 145). What is seen here is a clear cut pattern of occupational and sectoral segregation by sex. This limits women’s options for employment in the shift ing economies of the future. "Women are also underre presented in academic and scientific positions” (WRB, 144). Women constitute a large percentage of doctors, but very few are in administrative positions. “They head only five percent of the Ukrainian enterprises” (WRB, 144) and a majority of women are working in “predomi nantly female collectives.” (UCWS, 17). Instituting Factors to Employment Women make up the majority of those who are not employed in Ukraine. Unemployment accounts for a large number, but other factors contribute to women’s absence in the work-force and/or prevent women from pursuing professional careers. The reasons vary con siderably from case to csae but are mainly the lack or absence of necessary education/skills/qualifications, family obligations, and health and working conditions” (UCWS, 19). Possessing the necessary education and /or skills reflects the higher standards and job require ments demanded by the restructuring of the economy. As women enter and re-enter the labor market without appropriate qualifications their entitlements become lower, which usually coincides with low pay. It again reflects “the head for a systematic approach to profes sional training and retraining of women, especially women of the younger age” (UCWS, 20). The lack of necessary skills and qualifications seems to be the primary constraint for many women’s career advance ment and employment. Family obligations are also an inhibiting factor. The main responsibilities of bringing up children lies mostly on women. Babysitting is not common and the disintegrating day care system has led to very expensive private child care. Therefore women are forced to stay home with their children or take part- time jobs, which usually offer low pay and little oppor tunity for advancement. Due to the poor economic con ditions in Ukraine at this time, women have been forced to seek employment, thus enduring the “double-burden” of juggling a family and a job. An example of women being left with little choice is in the case where “women with children under the age of three are entitled to legal benefits (maternity leave). However 35% of these women are working” (UCWS, 26). This is due to the decrease in the sustainability of “maternity level of life in Ukraine” during the past few years. Many of these women could not sustain an ade quate existence and have therefore been forced back to work. These women are faced with a “double burden”, of both family obligations and employment outside the home. Politics/Women’s Groups In the past elections of the Ukrainian Parliament, there was an unexpected high political activity, “which brought more than 60% of people to the polls” (UCWS#2). Presently women represent “17 of the 450 member Parliament” (PDP). In the Cabinet of Ministers the presence of women is nonexistent. In fact the “only government body to be concerned with women’s issues, is the commission on the Issues of Women, Maternity and Children whose title speaks for itself, but there are rumors that it will be dissolved or incorporated into a bigger Commission on Special Care” (UCWS#2). It seems that "political reform has two immediate out comes: 1) a fall in the percentage of elected women; and 2) the growth of a broad range of women’s groups” (Buckley). A lack of interest and involvement of women as a whole is seen. In a poll conducted in Ukraine “only 1.2% of respondents said they participated actively in political life, 49% regularly follow the events, 31% do not take interest in politics and 16% were annoyed by polit ics” (UCWS, 45). This is one of the reasons why many НАШЕ Ж ИТТЯ”, ЧЕРВЕНЬ 1995 19
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