Women in Physics in Russia—Changes from 2002 to 2005

Access to education regardless of gender with availability of child-care facilities and legal protection of working mothers produced a considerable proportion of highly qualified women during the many years of the Soviet period of Russian history. Women were active in most public spheres, including science. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, all scientists were faced with shortage of funding and very low salaries. Even now, in 2005, the average monthly salary in research institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) is about $200 USD, which is only slightly more than the minimum living standard. The circumstances of the transitional period have put women scientists, including physicists, in a much more difficult situation than men, because of our county’s lack of social welfare policies, together with traditionally rigid patterns of promotion and recognition. The married woman has become the second bread-winner, and low salaries require many women scientists to take second or even third