How the War Is Changing the Role of Women in Ukraine

The mindset around how women should be and behave – all the stereotypes – still exists. Nothing has changed compared to the situation before the war. What has changed is that now, no one can ignore women. If you want something done, you need women, because there’s simply no one else. Still, when it comes to many positions, people continue to prefer men.

With one of the projects at our NGO ‘Girls’, we aim to re-skill women and train them in demining land – a task that has become critically important in Ukraine. When we approached the state agency for demining, a high-ranking general told us: ‘You’d better go to the Ministry of Social Policy and ask for measures to encourage more women to give birth. We don’t need women in the armed forces; we need new Ukrainians.’ They still believe women should be pushed into motherhood.

Now, we have 70,000 women on the frontlines – because there is no one else. Women are also in all kinds of management positions – again, because there is no one else. So it’s not that we’ve become super progressive in terms of gender equality. I wish I could say that, but it’s not the case.

Still, what I can say is: women are doing great.

One effect of this situation is that women are finally realizing they can do anything men can – and often even better. In the past, when leadership positions were available, women wouldn’t apply because they thought they weren’t capable. Now, they’re becoming braver, because they know they are.

When I was 18, I had a boyfriend who proposed to me. I said no. I didn’t want to be a wife – I just wanted to study and have a career. I always saw that women in Ukraine were doing much more than men, but without receiving any respect. All the glamorous roles with power were reserved for men. And I wondered: why should women always be in second place?

Through the project at our NGO ‘Girls’, we see women becoming more active and willing to lead. They are incredibly strong.

When you live through war, and every day could be your last, you don’t have time to hide your talent. You can’t wait. You have to act.

Tetiana Kalenychenko is a co-founder of the Ukrainian NGO Dialogue in Action, which initiates projects for social cohesion across the country. The war places an enormous burden on women in Ukraine, Tetiana reports – yet at the same time, it has prompted many to claim a stronger position in society. And the women won’t step back from that, Tetiana insists:

“My husband is a veteran since 2015, so already before the full-scale invasion in 2022, I had learned how to earn an income, manage the household, and care for our children while he was undergoing rehabilitation.

Everywhere in Ukraine, women are now expected to independently handle all aspects of family life: from raising children and maintaining household routines to managing small family businesses and taking care of technical or logistical matters. Simultaneously, they are expected to maintain regular communication with their partners on the frontlines, which itself requires emotional resilience and time. 

This multifaceted burden imposes an enormous psychological and physical toll. Women often face sustained anxiety, disrupted sleep patterns, and symptoms of depression. There is an urgent need for targeted psychosocial support, and policy interventions that address the invisible labor and emotional weight carried by women in wartime Ukraine.

At the same time, many women who had not previously pursued professional development were compelled – either in Ukraine or abroad – to enter the workforce or seek new forms of employment. While this shift was often born out of necessity, it also opened up unexpected avenues for personal growth, self-actualization, and financial independence. For some, the wartime context became a catalyst for rethinking their professional roles and expanding their capabilities in ways they had not previously imagined.

The overall presence of women in the public sphere has not changed significantly in terms of volume, but clear qualitative shifts have occurred. Women no longer need to prove whether they can hold leadership positions or work in fields previously considered traditionally male – they clearly can. It is unequivocal is that Ukrainian women are ready to embrace various challenges, including military service – as evidenced by around 70,000 women currently serving in the armed forces.

However, they continue to experience societal pressure regarding ‘proper female behavior’ as well as expectations around childbearing, which becomes a particular challenge during wartime.

One domain where women still need to actively fight for equal representation and influence is the political sphere. I believe it must undergo fundamental transformation to function within a new dimension and in line with democratic principles, where women’s voices are consistently present – not merely through gender quotas.

Overall, I cannot imagine a scenario in which women would return to their previous roles – they have changed too much to step back.”

Local librarians, for instance, have evolved far beyond their traditional roles. They now organise comprehensive community hubs where veterans, the internally displaced, families who have lost loved ones on the front, and released prisoners of war find support, rebuild their identities, and reconnect with their communities. 

I can’t but help thinking also about the women defending us on the frontline. According to the Ministry of Defense, 70,000 women currently serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine – roughly 15 percent of total forces – with 5,500 in direct combat roles. These numbers represent a dramatic shift from pre-war military composition and challenge long-held assumptions about women's capabilities in warfare.

My friend Kateryna Zarembo embodies this profound redefinition of priorities in a society which faces the threat of erasure. A writer, researcher, and mother of four young children, she worked as a combat medic with a volunteer battalion for a year before joining the regular army this summer. As a woman and mother, she faced no legal obligation to serve, yet she made this choice knowing that there is nothing more important she could be doing for her country and for her children than saving lives of Ukrainian defenders today. She reflects this in her recent essay ‘When Words Fail to Protect your Culture the Armed Forces Will’.

When asked about their gendered experience in the army, many Ukrainian women soldiers report that gender becomes secondary to the experience of fighting, daily losses, and struggle to survive. I would like to cite a translation of a poem by Eva Tur who has been in the military since 2014, with a short break to give birth to her daughter: 

I know how to be a woman in relatively peaceful times,
how to apply makeup and wear jewelry,
how to wear elegant dresses and business suits,
how to wear heels and light ballet flats,
how to choose a hairstyle and new perfume...
but I assure you: I have no idea 
how to be a woman in war,
just as I have no idea how to survive loss,
because every loss will outlive me –
a genderless
creature 
in war.

Eva Tur's words reveal a profound truth: war simultaneously empowers women to transcend traditional limitations while rendering gender categories irrelevant in the face of existential struggle.