Experimental results gained from quasi-static cyclic tests on 34 slender structural reinforced concrete walls available in the literature are used to examine the shear deformations for displacement demands in the inelastic range. Based on these results the distribution of shear strains within the walls and the variation of shear deformations with top displacements is discussed. It is shown that for shear walls whose shear transfer mechanism is not deteriorating significantly the ratio of shear to flexural deformations remains approximately constant over the entire range of imposed displacement ductilities while for walls whose shear transfer mechanism is degrading significantly the ratio of shear to flexural deformations is increasing. For the former a simple model is proposed which allows estimating the ratio of shear to flexural deformations.