To be fair, Russian science was very productive. It didn't outcompete the west in the end, but kept up with far fewer resources. It is amazing what they achieve

To be fair, Russian science was very productive. It didn't outcompete the west in the end, but kept up with far fewer resources. It is amazing what they achieved with what little they had compared to relatively prosperous western nations. I agree though that quotas will not increase output at all. There are limiting factors that reach far beyond gender and of course they did not have quotas, nor did they treat women better than in the west. Expectations were different but people not having to work was obviously seen as a luxury possible through productivity.