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<\/p>\nThe challenges faced by Ukrainian society have transformed people\u2019s perspectives on many aspects of life: mental health care, professional development, and strategies for the future. The population\u2019s involvement in resisting russian armed aggression and volunteering has significantly shifted traditional gender roles. The third wave of the “Pulse of Women’s Wellbeing” survey, conducted by Gradus Research and Biasless, revealed both women\u2019s growing readiness to take on greater responsibility and the numerous challenges associated with it.<\/p>\n
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47% of female respondents reported a rise in stress levels \u2014 an 8% increase over the past two years. 45% of surveyed women reported a decline in health, compared to 39% the previous year.<\/p>\n
Emotional burnout was reported by 39% of respondents, yet only 3% are receiving adequate psychological support. This is largely due to growing responsibilities, including health-related care (52%), household chores (41%), and caring for relatives (32%).
\nAt the same time, more women have adapted to these conditions \u2014 60% now successfully balance work and personal life, up 10% from last year. The survey also revealed that nearly half of the women are ready for career advancement and leadership roles in the workplace.<\/p>\n
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The main external factors hindering professional fulfillment are peace \u2014 cited by 49% of women \u2014 and economic instability (40%). As for personal factors within women\u2019s control, the most cited were a lack of confidence (35%), courage and determination (30%), and knowledge (20%).<\/p>\n
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First of all, it\u2019s important to note that 20% of female respondents already work or have worked in male-dominated professions such as technical specialties, IT, logistics, B2B sectors, emergency response, or top management\/strategic roles in technical fields.
\nMeanwhile, 76% of surveyed women stated that they neither work nor have ever worked in such fields.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, the majority of women are willing to help fill the labor shortage \u2014 84% assess their potential as high or moderate. The biggest obstacle they foresee is balancing work with family responsibilities.<\/p>\n
Looking at age groups, younger women more frequently encounter emotional barriers during retraining, while older women face a lack of resources and support. Among respondents aged 18\u201324, 51% pointed to discrimination, 41% to fear of judgment, and another 41% to societal prejudice. In the 55+ age group, the main barriers were balancing work and family (50%), lack of employer support (33%), and limited access to training programs (16%).<\/p>\n
Women see favorable conditions for retraining as access to free courses, employer support, and flexible schedules.<\/p>\n
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“In order for women to fully realize their potential in the face of external and internal challenges, it’s crucial to create an enabling environment for professional development, retraining, and transitioning into new roles. We\u2019re already seeing a growing demand for free educational opportunities and quality psychological support. Employers should consider implementing flexible work schedules and providing encouragement to women who, despite the heavy burden of family and health responsibilities, are eager to work and contribute to the country,” \u2014 comments Evgeniya Blyznyuk, CEO and founder of Gradus Research.<\/p>\n
“This wave of research has shown us for the first time that despite challenges, biases, and self-doubt, women are beginning to value themselves more, recognize their own strength and potential, and show a willingness to claim what\u2019s theirs \u2014 in responsibility, income, and opportunity. But they are still more reactive than proactive in doing so. To empower their ambitions to lead and strengthen the nation\u2019s development and recovery, they need more proactive encouragement from employers, better communication about role models and opportunities, and fair (read: equal to men\u2019s) pay,” \u2014 notes Iryna Rubis, founder of Biasless and D&I coach.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The full survey report is available for download via the form below.<\/em><\/p>\n
The survey was conducted by Gradus Research in partnership with Biasless using a self-administered questionnaire in the Gradus mobile app. Target audience: women aged 18 and over residing in Ukraine, excluding temporarily occupied territories and areas of active hostilities. Sample size: Wave 1 \u2014 1,029 respondents; Wave 2 \u2014 1,168 respondents; Wave 3 \u2014 1,000 respondents. Fieldwork periods: Wave 1 \u2014 April 6\u20138, 2023; Wave 2 \u2014 May 17\u201323, 2024; Wave 3 \u2014 March 10\u201311, 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Less fear, more power: the pressure of circumstances raises more women leaders<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2249,"template":"","report_cat":[],"class_list":["post-256","report","type-report","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gradus.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/report\/256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gradus.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/report"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gradus.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/report"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gradus.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gradus.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"report_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gradus.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/report_cat?post=256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}