In the conditions of widespread mobilization caused by the full-scale invasion of Russia, Ukrainian women are en masse occupying jobs that were traditionally considered men's. Men go to the front to defend the country, while women take on new roles in society, working as truck and bus drivers, welders in steel plants, and warehouse workers. However, these efforts cannot yet fully compensate for the loss of the workforce, writes The New York Times.
Ukrainian women are becoming the backbone of a workforce that has long been dominated by men, facing prejudices inherited from the Soviet era. Hleb Vyshlinskyi, executive director of the Kyiv Center for Economic Strategy, notes: "There was a perception of women as second-class workers and less reliable." According to him, women were excluded from certain jobs because of the physical demands, but also because of stereotypes that they could not cope with such difficult tasks.
But even with the increase in the number of women in the workforce, economists warn that it is not enough to replace all the men who have gone off to fight. A recent survey showed that three-quarters of Ukrainian employers are experiencing a labor shortage. Before the war, 47% of Ukrainian women worked, but with the beginning of the invasion, about 1.5 million women left the country.
The phenomenon of attracting women to workplaces is particularly noticeable in the mining industry. After the start of the war, the Ukrainian government suspended the law prohibiting women from working underground and in dangerous conditions. Companies are also trying to attract more women through training programs. Pokrovska mine, for example, launched a program that allowed 32 women to work underground. The Swedish non-profit organization Reskilling Ukraine offers accelerated courses for women who want to become truck drivers.
Oleksandra Panasiuk, program coordinator, notes that the demand among women for such professions is growing: "Many women wanted to become drivers, but for a long time society did not allow them to do so. Now the situation is changing."
