In modern Ukraine, the war has brought serious changes to the labor market, particularly in the issue of gender equality and the role of women in the professional environment. In conditions of staff shortages, especially in “male” professions, women are increasingly beginning to occupy positions that were traditionally considered exclusively male.
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, many areas of the Ukrainian labor market have seen a shortage of personnel. Doctors and agrarians are sounding the alarm: “golden hands” are serving in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, leaving abroad or to safer regions. There is a shortage of specialists in the so-called “male” professions. Employers are ready to recruit women for non-standard positions, but do Ukrainian women want to retrain and master new skills?
Are you ready to become a forklift driver? “Yes”, “No”, “What is the salary?”
As explained by Vitaliy Mikhailov, director of the consulting company "Mikhailov and Partners", retraining takes place under conditions of clear motivation.
“A person changes their specialty if they have a profession and cannot find work in their specialty, or this profession does not interest them. Salary also plays a significant role. What, for example, can motivate them to change their profession and become, say, an excavator driver, a journalist, or a doctor? At the same time, the situation has now improved in that all professions and opportunities for obtaining them have opened up for women. If earlier women were hired for driver positions mostly in exceptional cases, now they are more often. And they are even launching retraining programs, which I, in particular, only support,” said Mikhailov.
An excavator operator or construction equipment driver of the 4th or 5th category, not in a combat zone, receives from 25,000 to 50,000 UAH. They mostly offer contract work and provide housing
It should be noted that, according to the Ministry of Economy, a free retraining program is being launched in Ukraine for women who want to acquire construction equipment driving skills.
Participants in the program will have the opportunity to learn how to work on excavators and front-end loaders. The program is organized by foreign organizations with the support of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine. The pilot group will select 12 women aged 18 and over who already have a valid driver's license of any category and driving experience, a letter of recommendation from an employer, "clear motivation" and good health. So, for almost three months, future drivers of a 5th category excavator and a 4th category loader will have a free theoretical course and offline training in a camp in the Kyiv region with meals, 24-hour accommodation and regular medical examinations.
Labor shortage: all industries face it
The need for women to retrain and master “male” professions is confirmed, in particular, by a study by the Ministry of Economy: in 2024, almost every second enterprise faced difficulties in filling vacancies. The main reasons for the shortage of workers are mobilization (67%) and migration (54%).
Vitaliy Mykhaylov also agrees that the shortage of personnel in Ukraine is becoming a crisis.
The main reasons for the labor shortage are mobilization (67%) and migration (54%)
“Given that the pre-war and current situation with the number of vacancies in Ukraine has not changed, and there have been fewer people in the country (about 6-7 million people have left abroad). That is, the working-age population has become smaller, and the number of vacancies has remained at the same level as before the full-scale war. Plus, count how many people we have left for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. So, we have little left of the free labor market, which was assessed based on those who pay taxes (which is approximately 11 million), ”Mykhaylov explained.
Timofiy Badikov, executive director of the NGO "Coalition for Vaccination", agrees with the specialist and emphasizes: Ukrainian communities with up to 30 thousand residents are experiencing a shortage of personnel.
“If we talk about healthcare workers, there are Ukrainian communities that survive only thanks to medical practice. Therefore, the shortage of doctors is a challenge for cities and towns in general: will they be able to exist and finance their current expenses? That is, the shortage of personnel in the medical industry is a problem not only for patients, but also for heads of administrations,” explained Tymofiy Badikov.
According to a nationwide monitoring conducted by the Razumkov Ukrainian Center for Economic and Political Research, there have been certain trends in Ukraine towards a decrease in labor motivation among the population. Both employers and employees recognized that there is still a significant labor reserve in the country that is not being used, namely among those who are currently unemployed.
According to the study, 80% of unemployed people in Ukraine are not looking for work. And they have no intention of looking for it. On average, 16% are actively looking for work
In expert circles, discussions are underway on how to increase this labor reserve. And it is about more actively involving women in the labor market. After all, according to research, 80% of unemployed people in Ukraine are not looking for work. And they do not intend to look for it. On average, 16% are actively looking.
“This is a very low percentage. And this is happening against the backdrop of an increase in the number of vacancies,” said Olga Pyshchulina, an expert on social and gender programs at the Razumkov Center.
She also questioned whether Ukrainian employers are willing to hire women for so-called "male" professions.
"We hear many interviews with representatives of big business that they recruit women for so-called "male" types of employment. However, our research has shown that there are actually not that many such successful examples. These are only isolated cases," the expert added.
Gender gap: women's salary expectations are more modest than men's
A study conducted by the job search site Work.ua proves that it is not only employers who are not ready to offer women the opportunity to master male professions. Ukrainian women themselves have not yet gotten rid of gender stereotypes regarding salary expectations. Currently, they are up to 20% lower than men's. According to the results of the study, 26% of women agree to a salary of up to 10 thousand UAH, while 13% of men agree.
“Our last year's analytics are still relevant today. The fact that women indicate a salary that is lower than that of men is still a stable trend. This is how things remain on the labor market,” Viktoriya Bilyakova, PR manager of the Work.ua portal, Focus
Women are more modest in their financial expectations. Applicants for the same vacancy of different genders assess their professional value in the labor market differently
Therefore, according to the expert, for some positions, the salary expectations of job seekers differ by 20%. Such trends are observed, among other things, in the IT sphere. Women's salary expectations here are 10-30% lower than men's.
“Unfortunately, my experience as a manager confirms that women are more modest in their financial expectations. Applicants for the same vacancy of different genders assess their professional value in the labor market differently. How to overcome this? First, definitely do not call a figure just like that. Only analysis and arguments. My experience suggests that you need to honestly calculate your income and expenses on all points, understand the real state of affairs. Subsequently, set a goal of how much I want to earn and what I need the money for. Step three: analyze your professional experience and strengths, write down why I am worth so much and what I need to do to be worth more,” advises HRD Tetyana Kipiani.
