The gender factor role in formation of the regional elite (on the example of Transbaikal kray)

The author of the paper makes an attempt to study the political involvement of women in legislative and executive bodies of power of Transbaikal Kray. Most gender researchers agree that the gender aspect is quite relevant in politics. And indeed, as the quantitative research of men/women ratio in regional political elites shows, that legislative and executive bodies of power have far less women than men. However, it has been observed that while top public positions are mostly occupied by men, the jobs of deputy heads, department heads and average executives often belong to women. In social sciences this phenomenon is called the gender power pyramid. It usually refers to the situation when men occupy the most important positions in power and women - less influential and prestigious ones. The gender power pyramid exists both at the federal and regional political levels. The comparative method of the research of gender distribution in the governmental bodies of the Siberian Federal District allows one to understand whether regional elites are enthusiastic or reluctant about women’s involvement in public politics. The biographic method is suitable for revealing general mechanisms and channels of recruiting women into public politics. In the course of the research the author makes a conclusion that there exists a typical women’s career characteristics, differing from men’s way into politics. The article also tries to analyze the reasons for women’s low involvement in politics. The main ones are social stereotypes concerning women’s political ambitions and the lack of their motivation for political involvement. It is still debatable whether the growth of women’s involvement in politics leads to certain major breakthroughs in this sphere.