n workers constantly setting an Smith 4example for the private sector. They discriminate by firing them in disproportionate numbers and by refusing to employ women because of their sex. Far from attacking such practices, the government has failed to enforce its own laws prohibiting sex discrimination. The Russian government, particularly its law enforcement agencies, has refused to investigate and prosecute domestic violence, dismissing women's complaints as a 'family affair.' Police in some instances have harassed women reporting sexual assault and refused to investigate their claims. Rural women, who have suffered particularly badly from the economic crisis in the former Soviet Union, are facing new problems such as longer working days and heavy manual labor. Increasingly, the rejection of manual farm work by young women produces a segregated female workforce, with middle-aged to elderly women working as laborers and livestock workers. Most rural areas have been steadily losing population. More than 70 percent of the new rural unemployed are women, the majority under thirty, with young children. Women from rural areas who see no other prospect for employment are being enticed into joining prostitution rings. Despite the greater proportion of women in the labor force and women's high educational levels, their earnings were approximately 65 to 75 percent of men's during the Soviet period. Women's concentration in sectors of the economy that had lower than average wages, as well as their low representation in leading economic and political positions accounted for part of this difference. Many women with higher or secondary education were in skill categories that did not fully utilize their qualifications. The shift to the market in Russia has led to greater variation in earnings. Women and men with skills that are in demand in the economy -such as foreign languages, computer skills, and accounting - earn higher wages. ...
