Male and Female Roles in the Perception of Young People Among

Abstract

The inequality of women in various areas of life still holds on, despite all efforts, in many countries,including work, politics and everyday life. However, there is still a great deal of controversy anddebate about gender equality in different countries. A comparative analysis of ideas about male andfemale roles among young representatives of three Slavic peoples, Russians (1043 pers.), Belarusians(373), and Bulgarians (346), is conducted in this study. The replies of the respondents from all studiedsamples overwhelmingly accept the norms of gender equality, since the majority of respondentsabsolutely agreed with the statements of the questionnaire regarding the gender equality anddisagreed with those items in which those norms were denied. At the same time results showedsignificant cultural differences: respondents from Bulgaria often expressed traditional views onnorms of behavior for women. Belonging to particular religion also affected attitudes towards genderequality. Due to the country’s socialist history, Belarus’ showed itself to be the most gender-equalcountry among all the societies studied. The traditional view of female behavior and women’s place inthe family has been preserved in Bulgaria, probably because of the greater religiosity of modernBulgarian society.