Kuzmina is one of many women who enter essential service as the war against Russia progresses.

Between January and May, the number of employed women rose from around 45,000 to almost 48,000. And that number could still rise: The number of women like Kuzmina completing vocational training rose by 75 percent to almost 17,000 in the same period, according to a government website.

Due to labor shortages in areas such as driving, mechanics and road construction, the Ukrainian government has launched a program that provides training vouchers for women, allowing them to receive free training in educational institutions or directly from an employer in their desired profession. Yet Ukrainian women still have to deal with employers and even family members who do not always agree with more women taking on traditionally male jobs.

Service in the Army

Kuzmina is no stranger to difficult jobs. She served in the Ukrainian army for two years. After studying accounting and bookkeeping, she joined the army in 2020 as a clerk. Later, she became a grenade launcher in the 46th separate assault, Donbass battalion.

But shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Kuzmina’s commander disbanded the unit due to a lack of resources.

“We had nothing – no ammunition, nothing to defend ourselves with,” she said. Her unit commander “told the battalion commander, ‘I’m not going to waste my people as cannon fodder.'”

She also had personal obligations. Heavy military operations in her hometown of Torestsk made it impossible to get treatment for her sick father. She moved with him to another city and discharged herself from military service to concentrate on caring for him.

In May, she wanted to actively support Ukraine’s war effort in another way and decided to work at a local electrical substation.

“Working in the power grid is important to me because this highly critical infrastructure is currently under constant attack,” she said of Russian attacks on power plants. “The enemy is attacking us from all sides. He is trying to subjugate us to his will.”

The attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities are part of a Russian campaign aimed at causing blackouts across the country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last month that Russia had damaged or destroyed more than half of Ukraine’s electricity generation.

In 2024 alone, there were 11 missile and drone attacks on power plants and gas stations., according to Reuters. Locals are concerned about how the infrastructure will withstand the colder months when energy is needed for heating.

Ukraine is also targeting Russian refineries and oil terminals in order to weaken the Kremlin’s military power.

Employment gap

In its third year, the conflict has created a great need for labour.

According to a Eurostat estimate, tens of thousands of men volunteered for the military, while 650,000 men left the country to avoid conscription. According to the UN, around 6.3 million people, mostly women and children, have left Ukraine as refugees and 3.7 million people are internally displaced, leading to a severe shortage of young, skilled workers.

“It’s fair to say that both blue-collar and white-collar jobs are affected,” says Yana Lukashuk, head of human resources at Lobby X, a Kyiv-based employment agency. “Men who have joined the army and women, with or without children, who have fled the country from all sectors have created a huge talent gap in the market.”

Kuzmina is one of two female employees at her power plant, but also one of several women vying to fill blue-collar jobs that are now vacant because they were mostly held by men.

“More and more female applicants are becoming factory workers, technicians, drivers, etc., as they have no choice but to fill many important vacancies in some regions where there is a shortage of men,” Lukashuk told BI.

Effects of a Soviet-era law

One expert told BI that this trend is particularly noteworthy because during the Soviet era there was a law that prohibited women from practicing around 450 professions.

Ukraine repealed the law in 2017, but its effects are still rooted in society, said Olga Kupets, professor of labor economics at the Kyiv University of Economics.

There is still a legal debate about whether the restrictions should remain, and some trainers and lecturers in the vocational education system are not yet ready to train women, Kupets said. Even if these two problems could be overcome, there is strong resistance from society, according to Kupets.

“On the one hand, there is a shortage of people, of men, and there is an official willingness from the government to help women work in these formerly male-dominated fields,” she said of the government training programs introduced this year. “But at the most basic level, we are experiencing enormous resistance and opposition from employers.”

There have been cases where companies have created jobs for everyone, but bosses have discouraged women from applying, says Kupets.

“This discrimination in the labour market stems from stereotypes, not only of men but also of women such as mothers or mothers-in-law,” said Kupets.

Still, electrician Kuzmina said she sees women working in her community and on social media.

“I was in the army, but I realized I was no longer of any use there,” Kuzmina said. “But I want to help our country, our Ukraine. I couldn’t just sit around.”

If you are from Ukraine and would like to share a story about the war and its impact on your career, please contact: [email protected]