Equality through Protection: The Politics of Women's Employment in Postwar Poland, 1945-1956

Abstract

In this article, Malgorzata Fidelis analyzes the role of gender in postwar Polish employment policies and shop floor culture and casts a new light on east European Stalinism and de-Stalinization. Focusing on the reconstruction and implementation of protective labor legislation for women, Fidelis argues that the communist definition of gender was a recast version of the western liberal notion of immutable sexual difference positioned in the body. At the same time, Polish society participated in defining gender at the site of production, most visibly in the de-Stalinization backlash against women, who had entered male-dominated skilled jobs in heavy industry under Stalinism. The party-state's use of women's reproductive function as a justification to remove women from men's jobs suggests that east European de-Stalinization needs to be reexamined in light of its different meaning for women and men.

Women Can’t Have It All: Benevolent Sexism Predicts Attitudes Toward Working (vs. Stay-at-Home) Mothers

“…While men "fought on the battlefield", women, left alone, had to raise children with a strong national identity (Frąckowiak-Sochańska, 2011) and fulfill stereotypically male obligations. In 20th century Communist Poland, women were also expected to efficiently combine domestic and professional duties (Fidelis, 2004;Gal & Kligman, 2000;Krause, 2016;Malinowska, 1995;Titkow, 2001). In line with the social role theory (Eagly, 1987), it might have shaped the perception of mothers as warm and competent.…”

Cyber space:

“…Whereas the socialist state put women to work while maintaining their role as a mothers, men were offered very few versions of masculinity-within family life they were still assigned their traditional role. Within the workplace, physically strong men-workers were encouraged to identify with economically productive roles (Fidelis, 2004). Thus, contrary to popular opinion, the socialist state did not attempt to change traditional gender roles in society as it did not transform power dynamics within families (Novikowa, 2012: 97) and work relations, but rather sustained traditional views on gender roles, especially in the private sphere.…”

A Risky Business? : Ukrainian Migrant Women in Warsaw's Domestic Work Sector

“…This is especially the case in Northern European countries, where the number of women in the labour market has doubled in the second half of the twentieth century. In Central and Eastern Europe -mainly due to high war casualty figures among men -women started to join the labour force right after 1945 (Fidelis 2004). In the Communist bloc, women were expected to handle both domestic chores and paid employment outside the home.…”