| Abstract: | This article analyzes the effect of women's social roles on fertility and the possibilities of influencing fertility by means of demographic policies in the USSR. The most important influences on the birth rate are related to the changing social position of women and the functions of the family which have resulted from social, economic, and cultural transformations in the Soviet state since the revolution. The processes of industrialization, urbanization, higher labor productivity, and rising educational and cultural standards have removed the productive functions of the family and have also altered its consumer functions. The upbringing of children is increasingly labor intensive because of the need for more educated, higher quality workers. In 1970, 82% of women of working age were employed; their greater involvement in social production and reduced free time, combined with the prestige and economic and social independence gained from outside work, have encouraged a small family orientation. Comprehensive demographic policies including measures to help women combine work in social production with motherhood are needed to promote 2 or 3 child families. Along with measures aimed at the population as a whole, specific measures are needed that take into account the distinctive life styles and behavior of separate local population groups. A socialist society with a planned economy can utilize diverse methods of encouraging childbirth, including material assistance to families with children and sociopsychological measures to promote larger families. |
