SPECIFICS OF PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY OF WOMEN-RESEARCHERS IN ACADEMIC SCIENCE OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS

The article deals with the specificity of the research activity of women – scientists, determined by the gender role of women in the framework of the methodological approach – structural functionalism. Proceeding from the necessity of combining conjugal, maternal and professional roles, strategies for the professionalization of a woman-scientist are represented. The influence of marriage and motherhood on the research activity of women is analyzed based on the results of a sociological research conducted in 2017 among women-scientists of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. Based on the analysis of the sociological research data, it is concluded that the importance of the family and the scientific career for women-researchers depends on age, academic degree and position. For women-researchers, both traditional family values and values of professional self-realization and economic independence are highly valued. Generally satisfied with family status and combining personal life and professional activity, almost one in five women has trouble in combining research and family life. “Double burden” as a factor that reduces the effectiveness of women’s scientific activity, together with the high importance of the profession and family for a woman is a premise for the “role conflict of a working woman”. Gender stereotypes, which often reflect the real situation in the everyday practices of women, influence the scientific activity of women-researchers.

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