Why people prefer giving gifts for 8th of March on the territory of Ukraine and CIS instead striking for equal salaries?

History is silent about when and why the march and demonstrations were replaced by the present candy-bouquet tradition of celebrating the 8th of March. Some authors believe that the conscious and consistent policy of the Soviet leadership became the reason for this.

In the 1930s, women’s departments were abolished, engaged in agitation, education, assistance and the struggle for women’s rights. Thus, women lost their social elevator, and did not reach new heights in equality. The subsequent women’s organizations were largely nominal. Gradually, the revolutionary theme disappeared even with postcards, and the emphasis shifted to chanting women’s beauty and motherhood, making the holiday look more like Mother’s Day in other countries.

In 1966, under Brezhnev, March 8 was a day off, so the active idea of ​​the date has finally faded. Today, the holiday has finally turned into a day of stereotypes about women. This is evident both in traditional gifts and in the description of the International Women’s Day in the Russian Internet sphere.

According to the “Levada Center”, the most popular gifts for March 8 are flowers and sweets, as well as perfumes and cosmetics. According to VTsIOM, only 5% associate the holiday with emancipation.

On the one hand, this survey shows a positive dynamics with regard to equality – the number of believing that women are worthy of the same privileges that men have increased by 1.5 times. On the other hand, every fifth respondent still considers men far more capable than women.

The gender identity of the survey participants is not indicated.