Worker, Mother, Socialist: The Making of the Romanian Communist Woman, 1965 – 1975

Abstract

Women in Communist Romania experienced great pressure from the government to simultaneously raise children and pursue their careers, especially from 1965 to 1975. The government pursued policies in an attempt to help them manage this balance. It also heavily relied on propaganda to explain what the Ideal Communist Woman was and to encourage Romanian women to assume this role. Interviews with Romanian women who worked and raised children during this decade show that the governmental solutions did not work ideally, often leaving the women to find creative solutions for their own families.