PRIVATE SECTOR OBJECTIVES AND BIRTH RATE SUPPORT: POINTS OF CONVERGENCE

Negative demographic trends encourage seeking new instruments to address demographic problems. One of such instruments may be an active involvement of the private sector in supporting reproductive health of employees and birth rates among them. The study aims to explore corporate practices and how the Russian private sector contributes to addressing low birth rates. Data of the library of corporate practices of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs were used. Case studies were used as a research method. The following results were obtained. Family-friendly policies in Russian companies are neither widely studied nor implemented; however, the Russian private sector undertaking a family-friendly policy oriented at reproductive health and fertility. Promoting a positive experience of carrying out a family-friendly policy by some particular Russian companies and encouraging the private sector to initiate support mechanisms may be enabled through organising special training seminars aimed to create a positive image of parenthood and foster positive attitudes to family among businesses. The results demonstrate new benchmarks for developing the state demographic policy aimed at addressing the low birth rate. They can also be used for enhancing the effectiveness of the state control over business.