Differences in Employment Patterns Between Young Men and Women: Cross-National Comparison of Dynamics in Post-Soviet Countries

Post-Soviet countries have experienced historical periods, political regimes, and socio-economic systems that differ fundamentally from each other and have adopted diverse values and norms, which have inevitably influenced the nations’ gendered labor market structures. This chapter considers the differences in labor market position between young men and women in 10 post-Soviet countries over time. The main research question is whether young women in these countries have attained labor market statuses as intensive (in terms of working hours) and high (in terms of job positions) as those of their male counterparts over the last three decades. The study uses World Values Survey cross-section data (1981–2014) as a database. The target group is employed youth aged 18–29 years. Contrary to the initial hypothesis, a time-trend analysis reveals a trend towards differences in job position between young men and women in post-Soviet countries. The results of two binary logistic regressions demonstrate that being a young woman in post-Soviet countries decreases the probability of being employed full-time but that Russia is following the opposite trend. In addition, being a young woman in Russia and Kazakhstan increases the probability of holding a supervisory position relative to the probability for a young man.