Why Ukrainian women are seizing opportunities in the labor market
Ukraine is a land of heightened turbulence, yet this is also our strength. War is separating families, increasing the number of temporary single-parent households and placing a heavier burden on women. As the human capital market faces one of its greatest crises, there is a profound transformation of women’s roles occurring in the economy.
Ukrainian women are not only defiantly refusing to scale back their commitments at work and in their personal lives, but are also taking more initiative, retraining and switching to traditionally male-dominated professions. But are all women ready for such bold steps, and will burnout and stress stand in their way?
Motivation for changing occupations
The rise in prices and inflation caused by the war has undoubtedly influenced women to step up and support employers facing a human capital crisis. Without the need for additional income, the readiness of women to learn new skills would likely not have been as pronounced.
According to a quick survey conducted by Gradus Research and Deloitte, 88 percent of respondents are considering acquiring new professions and lifelong learning if it would lead to higher earnings.
Unfortunately, critical attitudes toward older people are still common in Ukrainian society. The frequency of career changes among Ukrainians increases with age: the older a person gets, the more inclined they are to seek new prospects through acquiring new knowledge.
Although most gender and age groups have experience in changing professions, 79 percent of respondents in the 45-plus age group have switched occupations. Interestingly, half of the Ukrainian women surveyed have changed careers at least three times.
In the public consciousness, women are seen as the primary candidates for retraining.
The market has already realized that the shortage of personnel due to full-scale war and the migration it has triggered will only worsen, so retraining is one of the obvious solutions. Additionally, in the public consciousness, women are seen as the primary candidates for retraining: 50 percent of respondents hold this opinion.
New professions, according to Ukrainians, are also suitable for veterans (44%), people with disabilities (43%) and older people (42%). All of these groups undoubtedly include women.
It is crucial for businesses to support the desire for learning and retraining and to offer growth opportunities. Ukrainian women are open to new things but remain quite cautious. Forty-five percent of the women surveyed are considering the possibility of obtaining a new profession, traditionally seen as male-dominated. Interestingly, younger women and those from the western regions, northern regions and Kyiv are more inclined toward this.
There is always room for improvement
As a professional who has independently climbed many steps on the path of personal growth, I can affirm that it is important to find opportunities for personal development. Despite the full-scale war in Ukraine, this option remains available and Ukrainians are eagerly taking advantage of it.
Once a year, or even more frequently, one-third of the Ukrainians we surveyed take additional training to improve their qualifications. Again, women and the younger age group are leading in this area. Thirty-five percent of women lean toward such qualification-enhancing courses.
Often, a more comfortable presence in the professional environment is associated with increasing the level of digital literacy, which also applies not only to women. Even though, according to our data, the majority of Ukrainians rate their level of digital skills as average or above average, 79 percent plan to improve their confidence when using various digital tools.
It is crucial for businesses to support the desire for learning and retraining and to offer growth opportunities.
Mastering foreign languages has become an even greater challenge. Ukraine is now at the forefront of the world’s socio-political agenda. Our businesses are looking forward to new partnerships, Ukrainian producers are increasingly oriented toward foreign consumers and service providers are gaining clients from abroad.
However, a significant portion of the workforce only has basic knowledge of English, which unfortunately limits their opportunities in the labor market.
According to the results of the Gradus Research and Deloitte express survey, 39 percent of respondents have an English language proficiency level of Elementary A1. Another 21 percent are at the Basic level A2. This is insufficient for effective communication at the international level. Only five percent of respondents can boast of Proficiency C1 or Fluent C2 levels.
It is important to listen to your emotional state
We all hope to rest after the war. When this ‘after’ will come, no-one can say. But until then, we will approach it with greater resilience.
Unfortunately, our research shows that the level of stress and burnout among Ukrainian women is only increasing. Forty-five percent of respondents report a higher level of stress compared to last year, while 38 percent of surveyed women say they feel more burned out.
It is clear that when survival becomes the main factor for development, psycho-emotional issues take a back seat.
However, on the path to personal transformations, it is still important to take care of one’s health. Ukrainian women need to look after this as responsibly as they care for their household and wellbeing during the war.