MOSCOW, 1 August 2024. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIONM) presents the findings of a monitoring survey about  female politicians.

Make way for women!

Although Russia is lagging  behind a number of European countries in terms of women’s involvement in politics (based on Global Gender Gap Report 2021*), ranked 133d globally, Russians still favor  women having political goals.

As in previous surveys, a July survey conducted by VCIOM  reveals that a majority of Russians favor female participation in politics (78%, 2016 — 79%, 2019 — 78%); only 13%  express unfavorable opinion (2016 — 16%, 2019 — 14%). Along with women themselves (84% vs 70% of men) this opinion is also common among young persons aged 18–24 (87% vs 73–79% in other age groups); it equally resonates with residents of Moscow, St Petersburg and rural area residents (82% and 81% respectively). The higher the income, the better respondents perceive women’s participation in politics: 72% of approvals among those who are dissatisfied with their financial situation (vs 79% with average income vs 82% of those with low income).

Residents of regions where patriarchal elements are strong have the most unfavorable attitudes, for example, North Caucasian federal district (30% vs 13% across all the respondents).

Not worse than men

Over the recent eight years Russian confidence in women’s ability to equally participate in politics has wavered. Since 2016 the share of respondents who absolutely agree with this statement has decreased from 49% to 38%;  on the contrary, the share of those who moderately agree has increased from 33% to 40%. At the same time a  general number of those who support gender equality in politics is  still consistent with  the 2016 and the 2019 figures (2016 — 82%, 2019 — 81%, 2024 — 78%); the only thing that changed is the degree of agreement with the statement. Another 18% are likely against equal gender participation in politics (2016, 2019 — 17%, each).

Four out of ten women (42%) and every third man (33%) strongly support gender equality in politics, whereas a general level of support in these groups is at 84% and 71%, respectively. Opinions vary depending on age: Russians aged 18-24 tend to be more forward-thinking (83% vs 76–78% — in other age groups).

The higher the level of education, the more often Russians think that women and men should share equal rights in politics: 80% of those with higher education diplomas vs 70% of those with secondary or secondary special education diplomas  (70%).

Empathy, prudence and an alternative viewpoint

Russian respondents find more favorable qualities among female politicians than unfavorable ones; 35% failed to provide an answer (vs 43%). Often respondents mention “feminine qualities” typical of women in general. Those are soft power (“kindness/empathy/ pity / compassion/ sympathy” — 8%, “humane attitude / mercy / peaceful nature” — 5%, “soft character / softer than men” — 3%), involuntarily referring to women’s role, protection of family and childhood (“social orientation/involvement in family and child’s problems” — 5%, “maternity feelings/ maternal  instinct” — 3%, “ they think about family/ family values” — 3%).

Most of those who were surveyed consider that female politicians show emotional stability, in particular “rationality / balanced decisions / sober thinking / adequacy” — 7%, “calmness  / equability of mind / being less aggressive  compared to men/ reserved” — 4%, “prudence / common sense / cautiousness” — 2%, as well as an alternative viewpoint (“alternative viewpoint/another view — 6%, “ another mindset/ women are smarter” — 4%).

Admittedly, some qualities mentioned above are also viewed as weak points by respondents. Those are emotional sensitivity, short-temperedness (15%), amenity of temper (5%). Every seventh respondent thinks female politicians have no weak points at all (15%).

No personnel shortage

The way female political representation is perceived in Russia today differs a lot from how it was perceived a quarter of a century ago. In 1998, a relative majority thought there should be more female politicians in Russia (45%), however later the number of those who support this stance were steadily decreasing, reaching the current 29%. Four out of ten Russians are satisfied with the number of female politicians in Russia  (“the same as now”  - 40%, +13 p.p. over 26 years). On the contrary, every ninth respondent thinks that the number of women in politics is excessive and it should be cut (11%). A further 7% consider that women should not participate in politics at all (this share has not exceeded 10% since early surveys).

Female respondents are more likely than males to support extending female participation in politics  (36% vs 21%). Those who would like women to be more represented in political establishment are also Russians with high level of education (35%), commercial sector employees (33%), residents of both capitals and cities with a population of 500-950 thousand inhabitants (37% and 35%, respectively). Despite the fact that young respondents aged 18-24 more eagerly support gender equality in politics, they think that the number of female politicians in Russia is satisfactory (“the same as now”  - 59%). Those who think that the number of female politicians should be decreased are respondents living in North Caucasian federal district (25%).

*Latest available data. The 2022-2024 data are unavailable.

All-Russian VCIOM-Sputnik telephone surveys were conducted July 26, 2024. A total of 1,600 respondents aged 18 and older took part in each survey. Survey method: telephone interviews, stratified random sample based on a complete list of mobile phone numbers in use in Russia. The data were weighted for socio-demographic characteristics. The margin of error at a 95% confidence level does not exceed 2.5%. In addition to sampling error, minor changes to the wording of questions and different circumstances arising during the fieldwork can introduce bias into the survey.

Key effectiveness indicators, survey of 26 July, 2024:  cooperation rate (CR)* = 0.7764; minimum response rate (MRR)** = 0.0209; response rate (RR)*** = 0.0912. Calculations are based on corporate standard https://profi.wciom.ru/principy_standarty/korporativnyj-standart-po-izmereniyu-rezultativnosti-oprosov-sputnik-vciom/

* CR: the number of complete interviews divided by the sum of: а) complete interviews and b) non-interviews with eligible respondents.

** MRR: the number of complete interviews divided by the sum of: а) complete interviews, b) interrupted interviews after successful screening and c) all the respondents where it is unknown whether they meet the selected criteria or not.

 ** RR is calculated in the same way as MRR, with the only difference that the number of respondents with unknown eligibility decreases proportional to the percentage of eligible cases in the total number of respondents with identified eligibility or non-eligibility.

* Before 2017, surveys were conducted through household face-to-face interviews (“Express” project); stratified multi-stage quota-based sample; quotas based on socio-demographic parameters, representative of the Russian population aged 18+ by settlement type, age, gender, education, and federal district. Sample size s 1,600 respondents.