Belarusian women’s perception of their social status and work and family values

Despite the complex political and economic factors influencing the modern development of the Republic of Belarus, the tasks of maintaining a decent standard of living for the population and certain social groups (the poor, families with children and youth) remain a priority. In these conditions, it is important to study how modern development of society has changed women’sperception of family and work values, creating the need to choose between them or actualizing the search for their balance. The perception of basic values is directly related to women’sassessment of the significance of their social statuses in the family and work as equally important for self-realization. The study aims to find out to what extent Belarusian society influences women’sassessment of their social status and family and work values. The author collected empirical data using in-depth interviews with 29 married women living in the Belarusian capital, where the birth rate is below the national average. A comparison of the obtained qualitative information with statistical data and mass quantitative surveys previously conducted in Belarus shows how the perception of the social status of professionally employed women with families is changing, and what government policy measures have a positive impact on maintaining a balance of basic values and statuses of women in the family and work. The article concludes that women positively assess measures of social support for families from the state, as they help achieve a balance of family and work values and the social status of women. The author also identified a contradiction between the goals of social policy aimed at providing priority support to large families, and how women with one or two children perceive this.

social status of women, perception of family and work values, state social policy, balance of values, family, career, Belarus