Gender doesn't matter when it comes to professionalism. The example of Raisa Dyachenko, acting foreman of the Central Iron Ore Sludge Facility Shop Site, destroys stereotypes about the difference between purely "female" and "male" professions. The former kindergarten teacher has been successfully coping with the giant pumping equipment that pumps enrichment tailings to the sludge storage facility for more than 20 years. And after the foreman of her site left to defend the country, she took on his duties.
According to the State Employment Service, Ukrainian employers faced a number of challenges during the full-scale invasion. The most acute of them is the shortage of personnel. The shortage of specialists has become especially noticeable in the construction, agricultural and industrial sectors. Vacancies often remain open in those areas where men have traditionally worked. However, now the situation is changing. More and more women are mastering "male" professions. At Metinvest, this process began even before the start of the full-scale war. At Central Iron Ore, more than 100 people currently work in Sludge Facility Shop. At the tailings transportation site, most of the employees are women.
"The main task of Sludge Facility Shop is to receive and deposit ore beneficiation waste at the tailings storage facility. The shop has three subdivisions: process site for transporting tailings, repair and mechanical and repair and electrical sites. In the percentage of process personnel to repair personnel, it turns out to be about 40% to 60%. And it is mainly women who work on the transportation of tailings, although in principle it is quite physically difficult work. Not every man will be able to replace the gland seal on a pump. We even have a woman who is a dredger driver. This is something like a floating excavator that hydrotransports slurry," says Yevhen KUCHER, Head of Central Iron Ore Sludge Facility Shop.
Raisa Dyachenko is one of those who break stereotypes. She has been working at Central Iron Ore since 2003. Prior to that, she raised children in preschool education institutions. But somehow her life and career changed radically when the woman decided to change the humanitarian profession to a technical one. The motivator and support for Raisa during this period was her mother-in-law, who at that time worked at Sludge Facility Shop as a pumping plant operator.
"My husband's mother's proposal interested me and I also came to the shop as a pumping plant operator. I remember that at that time I was very afraid even of having to work the night shift. After all, like every ordinary woman, a mother of small children, I wanted to be with them at night. It was difficult, because it was really a new job, but I gradually gained skills, and then I began to understand technological processes. And it was also necessary to take into account that the equipment was large, the pumps were super-powerful. They had to be serviced with huge wrenches, which was not easy for a woman. Now I think this way – if I've stayed so long, then I've succeeded," says Raisa DYACHENKO, acting foreman of the Central Iron Ore Sludge Facility Shop Site.
In 2023, after the mobilization of a colleague of hers, Raisa Vladimirovna began to perform the duties of the site foreman. Her team is both men and women. Together, they make sure that waste from the factory safely enters the sludge storage facility.
"Now there is more responsibility. You have to make decisions about how to work, how best to organize work. If, for example, it is a morning shift, you have a lot of assistants, managers with whom you get in touch, communicate and ask. But at night it is more difficult. Of course, we can call the manager 24/7 in contradictory cases, but still the responsibility increases significantly. Because you have to control not only the operation of the equipment, but also be responsible for people," says Raisa Volodymyrivna.
The enterprise personnel is sure: Gender is not an argument when it comes to professionals. The effective work of a large team is, first of all, motivation, support and mutual understanding. As an example, Central Iron Ore Sludge Facility Shop was recognized as one of the best divisions at the end of the mining year and received a certificate of honour from Yuriy Ryzhenkov, Metinvest CEO. And in addition, Raisa Dyachenko's colleague, Oleg Savochkin, a power engineer at Sludge Facility Shop, was awarded with the Gold Star of Metinvest in 2025. According to the woman, she is calm and confident when she works in the same shift with this polite and friendly young man.
"Our team is a big family. We help each other solve the issues that the management requests from us. In my shift, the foreman is Raisa Volodymyrivna. Working with her is comfortable and pleasant. She carefully and diligently performs the "male" work in a feminine way. Since we spend at least a third of our lives at the enterprise, it is important for us to maintain friendly relations. For productive work, so that we do it without accidents and our actions are coordinated, in particular, during emergency situations. And during the full-scale war, we face the following risks: Either blackouts, or shellings, so it is important to hear and understand each other. Everything is fine in this respect in our team," Oleg SAVOCHKIN, a power engineer at the Central Iron Ore Sludge Facility Shop Site.
Currently, Metinvest supports gender equality and professional adaptation of women during the war. And while the mining and metallurgical industry has historically employed mostly men, the situation is now changing due to the expansion of the skills of female employees and their courage to take on more responsibilities.
