The full-scale invasion and mobilization have forced employers to get more women to take 'men's' positions, which, in turn, opened up new opportunities. The experience of Ukrainian companies, and particularly Metinvest Group, is discussed in the NV article "The Country of Women. What happens when truck drivers, electricians, fitters and other go to defend the country".
Artem Logachov
Metinvest began to hire significantly more female workers wherever possible, and their number in the overall workforce gender structure has gone up 9%. "This increase is significant for us," says Artem LOGACHOV, director of Organizational Management and Compensations Department of Metinvest Group. "We are talking about the professions where female employees worked even before and the necessary infrastructure is already in place. For instance, the company is trying to increase the presence of women in plant maintenance - electricians, electrical fitters, conveyor operators. This helps release the men for the jobs the women will not agree to do, for example, excavator operator at the open pit mines.
At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Metinvest even had a surplus of workers due to a forced reduction of production volumes, whereas now the situation is has changed.
Out of 60,000 company employees, nearly 8,000 serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Given the current level of production, the workforce shortage amounts to c. 4.7 thousand employees. "It is most seen at metallurgical enterprises in Zaporizhzhia and Kamianske. The situation is also difficult at coke and chemical enterprises and mining and beneficiation plants," says Artem Logachov. At the same time, the official hiring of men is sometimes complicated by their reluctance to become 'visible' to the territorial recruitment centres.
Read the full text of the article on the NV website.
