MEN AND WOMEN IN ACADEMIC CAREERS AT BELARUS STATE UNIVERSITY

The author has focussed on the situation of women academics at Belarus State University. Wishing to ascertain whether or not women are objects of discrimination, she concludes, despite statistics which indicate a paucity of women at the upper levels of the academic hierarchy and in all levels in the sciences, that the problem is that women are barred from competing effectively for the top positions by heavy household and family duties which are not borne by men. Were this burden to be shared equally by men and women, the career chances of women in the academic world might be roughly equal to those of men. However, because of the socio‐economic crisis which Belarus is experiencing and the resulting effects on the university, the normal university career structure is in disarray. Nevertheless, even in today's conditions, it would be difficult to prove the existence of deliberate discrimination against women academics.