GENDER PECULIARITIES OF WORK-LIFE BALANCE OF UNIVERSITY STEM-DEPARTMENTS EMPLOYEES IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The article contains an analysis of gender differences in the balance of work and private life of employees of STEM faculties of a Ukrainian university. Its results are part of a project implemented at Yuriy Fedkovich Chernivtsi National University (Ukraine, Chernivtsi) and Adam Mickiewicz University (Poland, Poznan).

It was found that female employees of STEM faculties almost do not use various types of university support (providing additional leave or time off, flexible work schedule, division of duties, etc.) or do not have information about it. A number of assumptions have been made: the university provides more support to men than to women; the higher the academic degree of the teacher, the greater the flexibility inherent in the work schedule (except for representatives of the administration); women tend to use flexible working hours to a lesser extent than men. It was found that the flexibility of the work schedule increases with the growth of the academic degree of the teacher.

It was determined that two-thirds of women were on parental leave, which most often lasted one or two years. It was concluded that such long breaks negatively affect the scientific career of women.

It was found that the representatives of STEM0 faculties of the university do not fully use the opportunities that could help them balance work and private life. In some cases, the reason is ignorance, however, most often, despite having information about certain opportunities, women rarely use them. The only form of support that was mainly used by women is parental leave.

It was concluded that a greater imbalance between professional and domestic responsibilities is inherent in male teachers. It is suggested that men with a higher level of education are more inclined to a democratic division of responsibilities in the family, which may result in the phenomenon of double working days spreading to them.