JRL NEWSWATCH: “As Ukrainian men head off to fight, women take up their jobs; Mining is one big example” – The Economist
“… Some 4.8m [Ukrainians] lost their jobs … when Russia attacked. Unemployment is estimated [at] 18.4% in October … [down] from [over] 30% in [early] 2022 … [yet still] well above pre-war levels. … [Reportedly] 17% of Ukrainian workers have changed professions …. American officials estimate … at least 70,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died … [with] up to 120,000 more … wounded. As more Ukrainians are called up, demand for workers in sectors traditionally dominated by men is growing. … [T]here are signs … women … increasingly power[] Ukraine’s hobbled economy. Of … 36,000 small- and medium-sized companies registered in Ukraine … this year, [reportedly] 51% are run by women …. More women are starting to work in industry, construction, and mining. ‘We will see this on a larger scale once we start reconstruction,’ … says [Economic Minister Yulia Svyrydenko].”
Post-war Ukraine will need an army of doctors and psychologists, especially to care for veterans, including thousands of amputees and those suffering from combat-related trauma. It is expected that women will make up a significant number of the expanded ranks in those fields.
The defense, energy, and transport sectors are also expected to have expanded significance in the post-war Ukrainian economy, to to attract more female workers.