The war is changing the labor market by increasing the number of women in traditionally male-dominated positions. However, working conditions are still worse for them than they could be for men.
Thank you for the story on Natalia! The stories of the burdens Ukrainian women are taking on as this heinous war drags on is critically important to share. As you point out, this is not a new story, women throughout history have been responsible for keeping the home-front stable and secure as men went to the front lines of battle. Your depiction of Natalia's life is a profile in courage and determination.
Thank you so much, Tim. You’re right that women have carried enormous burdens throughout history, but I think this war has made many of those responsibilities visible in new ways
Since roughly 50% of the world's population is female, it has always puzzled me why so many men think they are superior to women. We are equal but different; apart from biological imperative most of us can fulfill any role we choose.
Conflicting experience for me - here in Aotearoa we have had a push for "girls can do anything" a few years ago, to the extent a boy in a family I knew declared one day "I want to be a girl when I grow up!" - the family handled it well thinking they might have a trans-gender child, but it turned out he wanted to be able to do "anything" when he grew up, and to him being a girl gave him more options 🥰 He's not yet an adult, so we will see on all options (gender & otherwise). Also traditionally with a large farming sector, the women on the farm have often been involved in most aspects of running the farm, and many high profile jobs have been held by women, including 3 of our recent Prime Ministers, BUT on the earning front, it is definitely NOT a situation to be proud of in a country that was the first in the world to give women the vote 🙇 and in fact the current govt just dumped several years of progress & negotiation to improve pay equity 🤬 I know I almost always earned less than if I was a man because I did office work, considered "women's work", until I was a back country ranger in a govt agency when we were all expected to do the same tasks within reason.
Will gender roles revert after the war in Ukraine? Obviously for the good of the future of the country as many returning male & female military as possible (particularly if disabled) would need to be employed for primarily their mental health, but I hope the feisty Ukrainian women who have stepped up into new skills will stay in the workforce, family circumstances permitting, because THAT is also good for the country. Also, we proved during COVID that there are many jobs that don't require total attendance at a work site - there are men & women in my life who STILL work largely remotely while being able to handle child rearing duties in tandem with part time help 🤷 This to say that SOMETIMES having seen possibilites outside of the traditional opens up changes in attitude 🤞🤞💙💛
That NZ pay equity rollback is maddening to hear about, especially given the history you’re describing.
To your question about Ukraine — it’s genuinely one of the open debates here. A lot of Ukrainian women who’ve moved into roles that were male-dominated before the war (logistics, engineering, front-line medicine, drone operations) talk about not wanting to go back to being invisible once the fighting stops. But there’s also real pressure, like you say, to prioritize jobs for returning veterans, especially those with disabilities.
It may end up depending a lot on which sectors rebuild fastest and who’s already established in them by the time that happens.
Do you think the remote-work shift you mentioned could end up being the thing that actually protects women’s gains here too?
It's interesting that the indigenous people of Taiwan recognized the value of women. I can't speak about every indigenous tribe in the US, but having researched the Western Keres Pueblos, women were the ones who owned the houses, performed the annual maintenance on them, and owned the livestock. The children belonged to their mothers' clans, the authoritarian of the family was the mother's elder brother, and even though land was generally considered belonging to the tribe as a whole, as sections were allocated to families, they went through the women. Both men and women worked the fields, though the men were responsible for clearing the irrigation ditches each spring. Generally, the attitude was if there was work to be done, the person best suited at the time did the task. The writer Leslie Marmon Silko's book, Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit, has several essays on women and their roles in the pueblos. Although men held the administrative offices in the pueblos, the pueblo was divided into 2 moieties, each of which held power for 6 months and power was exchanged with the solstices. This ensured guardrails against abuse of power, or one half of the population being unfairly treated. Administrative positions usually lasted for the majority of a man's working life. However, a female "representative" was necessary to make the exchange official. Perhaps this is because the government was based on what the female deity, Iyatiku, established, and the creator, Ts'its'tsi'nako, is female. "Ts'its'tsi'nako, Thought-Woman, thought of her two sisters, and together they created the universe.... Thought-Woman, the Spider, named things and as she named them, they appeared." She is often equated with Spider Grandmother because spiders spin webs out of material that comes from inside their own bodies. As a final note, divorce was fairly easy: a man's possessions were left outside the door of the house and he simply returned to his mother's home to live. As an ancient culture, women were valued for their stability and concern for the welfare of the whole, whereas men were seen as being competitive and interested in personal status, often at the expense of everyone else. Also recommended, Paula Gunn Allen's book, The Sacred Hoop: Recovering the Feminine in American Indian Traditions.
This is fascinating, Carol, thank you for laying it out in such detail.
It makes me wonder how much of what we call ‘traditional’ gender roles were actually just the compromise a society settled on for the conditions of a specific era, rather than anything fixed. Do you think crisis is usually what it takes to unlock that kind of flexibility, or can it happen without one?
It depends. If you look at the Christian religion, it is deeply paternalistic. And there is a reason for this. The documents it's based on, none of which were written during Christ's lifetime, are from the culture of Semitic nomads from the Middle East - the same culture and environment that laid the foundation for Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Old Testament, which "professional Christians" like J.D. Vance, for example, like to quote from, describes the values and laws of that culture which do not necessarily apply to anyone beyond that culture. The only reason they were included in the Christian Bible is for the historical references to the prophets of the past who spoke of a messiah, thus giving validity to Jesus and his mission. The Gospels, which tend to be ignored, show Christ was very different in his treatment of women from the males within this traditional society. HIs first miracle was for his mother; he chastised the men about to stone a woman to death for adultery; and when visiting Mary and Martha, he told them to get out of the kitchen and come listen to his preaching with the men - something that would be shocking in a Moslem society today. Since religious belief is tied to the way people perceive what will happen to them after death, it is a very powerful influence. Several Native American tribes that I know of, such as the Sioux (Lakota, Dakota, Nakota) had a female prophet who gave them their laws and the sacred pipe. Besides that, tribes were composed of relatively small populations, and given this, were acutely aware and appreciative of the abilities of women. Individuals depended on the tribe for survival and the tribe depended on the individuals. There are stories about what happened when a people forgot the teaching of "the Mother," and followed a fast talking conman. Eventually, there is famine and ruin, and finally people just walk away, regretful that they listened to the guy in the first place. Two archaeological ruins stand in testimony to the fall of male centered essays into empire: Teotihuacan and Chaco Canyon. Whether the Euro-centric, Christianized societies can accept female values or not is up for grabs. During WWII, women did the work of men, but were required to give it up after the war. It did, however, give impetus to the rise of female status and employment opportunities later on.
I didn't know how to answer the poll. As you discussed in the article, during WW2 American women filled traditional "male" jobs. But when the men came home they wanted their jobs back. Women went back to the home, and then (like magic!) the Baby Boom happened. It took another generation for women to demand more from their lives than housewife and child-rearer.
I don't know what will happen in Ukraine when the war ends (SOON, please!). So many men have lost their lives, so many people have left the country altogether. Will the same thing happen as after World War 2, that the men take over the job market and the skilled women return to "traditional" roles? A Ukrainian "baby boom"? I'm thinking probably yes, but I don't know.
The Ukrainians I know here in America are very traditional people. But this isn't the 1940s and 1950s anymore.
There’s one difference worth sitting with. After WW2, American men came home to a labor market largely still standing. In Ukraine, entire industries and cities have been leveled, so reconstruction itself is going to need a huge, sustained labor force for years, arguably a bigger one than the prewar economy had. That could cut either way, more jobs for men to reclaim, or so much work that there’s no real returning to the old division of labor because there aren’t enough men to fill everything alone. I don’t think anyone here knows for sure either. What made you settle on probably yes?
Good question, Denise. There’s actually a fresh update, Hungary blocked those two negotiating clusters (internal market and competitiveness) again at the July 22 COELA meeting, the last one before the EU’s summer break. So the whole process is now stalled until at least September 1. Do you think this kind of single-country veto power is something the EU will end up reforming, or is Ukraine just stuck working around Hungary?
Natalia is doing great things and I am grateful to her that she is willing to share her story.
I think there will be a significant shift socially once this illegal misery ends. Women are effectively spreading their wings, learning more skills and taking up new positions within the society - and it is all creating positive results. The roles are no longer static and there will need to be accommodation for those shifts.
Thank you for the story on Natalia! The stories of the burdens Ukrainian women are taking on as this heinous war drags on is critically important to share. As you point out, this is not a new story, women throughout history have been responsible for keeping the home-front stable and secure as men went to the front lines of battle. Your depiction of Natalia's life is a profile in courage and determination.
Heroyam Slava!
🇺🇦 💙💛💙💛 🇺🇦
Slava Ukraini!
🇺🇦 💙💛💙💛 🇺🇦
Stand With Ukraine!
🇺🇦 💙💛💙💛 🇺🇦
Thank you so much, Tim. You’re right that women have carried enormous burdens throughout history, but I think this war has made many of those responsibilities visible in new ways
Since roughly 50% of the world's population is female, it has always puzzled me why so many men think they are superior to women. We are equal but different; apart from biological imperative most of us can fulfill any role we choose.
Bravo for women like Natalia. She reminds me of the wonderful woman mechanic character in My Cousin Vinny.
I would love to see more coverage on why Fedorov was ousted after he seemingly turned around Ukraine’s prospects in the war.
Yes, please. I'm seeing there are street protests in Ukraine now over this change, and I'm not sure I understand it.
If you haven’t seen Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny, here’s a great clip:
https://www.facebook.com/tubitv/videos/1395181184390714/?fs=e&mibextid=wwXIfr&fs=e
Love this story!!!
Conflicting experience for me - here in Aotearoa we have had a push for "girls can do anything" a few years ago, to the extent a boy in a family I knew declared one day "I want to be a girl when I grow up!" - the family handled it well thinking they might have a trans-gender child, but it turned out he wanted to be able to do "anything" when he grew up, and to him being a girl gave him more options 🥰 He's not yet an adult, so we will see on all options (gender & otherwise). Also traditionally with a large farming sector, the women on the farm have often been involved in most aspects of running the farm, and many high profile jobs have been held by women, including 3 of our recent Prime Ministers, BUT on the earning front, it is definitely NOT a situation to be proud of in a country that was the first in the world to give women the vote 🙇 and in fact the current govt just dumped several years of progress & negotiation to improve pay equity 🤬 I know I almost always earned less than if I was a man because I did office work, considered "women's work", until I was a back country ranger in a govt agency when we were all expected to do the same tasks within reason.
Will gender roles revert after the war in Ukraine? Obviously for the good of the future of the country as many returning male & female military as possible (particularly if disabled) would need to be employed for primarily their mental health, but I hope the feisty Ukrainian women who have stepped up into new skills will stay in the workforce, family circumstances permitting, because THAT is also good for the country. Also, we proved during COVID that there are many jobs that don't require total attendance at a work site - there are men & women in my life who STILL work largely remotely while being able to handle child rearing duties in tandem with part time help 🤷 This to say that SOMETIMES having seen possibilites outside of the traditional opens up changes in attitude 🤞🤞💙💛
That NZ pay equity rollback is maddening to hear about, especially given the history you’re describing.
To your question about Ukraine — it’s genuinely one of the open debates here. A lot of Ukrainian women who’ve moved into roles that were male-dominated before the war (logistics, engineering, front-line medicine, drone operations) talk about not wanting to go back to being invisible once the fighting stops. But there’s also real pressure, like you say, to prioritize jobs for returning veterans, especially those with disabilities.
It may end up depending a lot on which sectors rebuild fastest and who’s already established in them by the time that happens.
Do you think the remote-work shift you mentioned could end up being the thing that actually protects women’s gains here too?
It's interesting that the indigenous people of Taiwan recognized the value of women. I can't speak about every indigenous tribe in the US, but having researched the Western Keres Pueblos, women were the ones who owned the houses, performed the annual maintenance on them, and owned the livestock. The children belonged to their mothers' clans, the authoritarian of the family was the mother's elder brother, and even though land was generally considered belonging to the tribe as a whole, as sections were allocated to families, they went through the women. Both men and women worked the fields, though the men were responsible for clearing the irrigation ditches each spring. Generally, the attitude was if there was work to be done, the person best suited at the time did the task. The writer Leslie Marmon Silko's book, Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit, has several essays on women and their roles in the pueblos. Although men held the administrative offices in the pueblos, the pueblo was divided into 2 moieties, each of which held power for 6 months and power was exchanged with the solstices. This ensured guardrails against abuse of power, or one half of the population being unfairly treated. Administrative positions usually lasted for the majority of a man's working life. However, a female "representative" was necessary to make the exchange official. Perhaps this is because the government was based on what the female deity, Iyatiku, established, and the creator, Ts'its'tsi'nako, is female. "Ts'its'tsi'nako, Thought-Woman, thought of her two sisters, and together they created the universe.... Thought-Woman, the Spider, named things and as she named them, they appeared." She is often equated with Spider Grandmother because spiders spin webs out of material that comes from inside their own bodies. As a final note, divorce was fairly easy: a man's possessions were left outside the door of the house and he simply returned to his mother's home to live. As an ancient culture, women were valued for their stability and concern for the welfare of the whole, whereas men were seen as being competitive and interested in personal status, often at the expense of everyone else. Also recommended, Paula Gunn Allen's book, The Sacred Hoop: Recovering the Feminine in American Indian Traditions.
This is fascinating, Carol, thank you for laying it out in such detail.
It makes me wonder how much of what we call ‘traditional’ gender roles were actually just the compromise a society settled on for the conditions of a specific era, rather than anything fixed. Do you think crisis is usually what it takes to unlock that kind of flexibility, or can it happen without one?
It depends. If you look at the Christian religion, it is deeply paternalistic. And there is a reason for this. The documents it's based on, none of which were written during Christ's lifetime, are from the culture of Semitic nomads from the Middle East - the same culture and environment that laid the foundation for Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Old Testament, which "professional Christians" like J.D. Vance, for example, like to quote from, describes the values and laws of that culture which do not necessarily apply to anyone beyond that culture. The only reason they were included in the Christian Bible is for the historical references to the prophets of the past who spoke of a messiah, thus giving validity to Jesus and his mission. The Gospels, which tend to be ignored, show Christ was very different in his treatment of women from the males within this traditional society. HIs first miracle was for his mother; he chastised the men about to stone a woman to death for adultery; and when visiting Mary and Martha, he told them to get out of the kitchen and come listen to his preaching with the men - something that would be shocking in a Moslem society today. Since religious belief is tied to the way people perceive what will happen to them after death, it is a very powerful influence. Several Native American tribes that I know of, such as the Sioux (Lakota, Dakota, Nakota) had a female prophet who gave them their laws and the sacred pipe. Besides that, tribes were composed of relatively small populations, and given this, were acutely aware and appreciative of the abilities of women. Individuals depended on the tribe for survival and the tribe depended on the individuals. There are stories about what happened when a people forgot the teaching of "the Mother," and followed a fast talking conman. Eventually, there is famine and ruin, and finally people just walk away, regretful that they listened to the guy in the first place. Two archaeological ruins stand in testimony to the fall of male centered essays into empire: Teotihuacan and Chaco Canyon. Whether the Euro-centric, Christianized societies can accept female values or not is up for grabs. During WWII, women did the work of men, but were required to give it up after the war. It did, however, give impetus to the rise of female status and employment opportunities later on.
I didn't know how to answer the poll. As you discussed in the article, during WW2 American women filled traditional "male" jobs. But when the men came home they wanted their jobs back. Women went back to the home, and then (like magic!) the Baby Boom happened. It took another generation for women to demand more from their lives than housewife and child-rearer.
I don't know what will happen in Ukraine when the war ends (SOON, please!). So many men have lost their lives, so many people have left the country altogether. Will the same thing happen as after World War 2, that the men take over the job market and the skilled women return to "traditional" roles? A Ukrainian "baby boom"? I'm thinking probably yes, but I don't know.
The Ukrainians I know here in America are very traditional people. But this isn't the 1940s and 1950s anymore.
There’s one difference worth sitting with. After WW2, American men came home to a labor market largely still standing. In Ukraine, entire industries and cities have been leveled, so reconstruction itself is going to need a huge, sustained labor force for years, arguably a bigger one than the prewar economy had. That could cut either way, more jobs for men to reclaim, or so much work that there’s no real returning to the old division of labor because there aren’t enough men to fill everything alone. I don’t think anyone here knows for sure either. What made you settle on probably yes?
Thank you for this response, Oleksandra. Obviously, I don't know the situation on the ground in Ukraine.
Great update. Is there more to the story on Hungary blocking Ukraine's accession to the EU ?
Good question, Denise. There’s actually a fresh update, Hungary blocked those two negotiating clusters (internal market and competitiveness) again at the July 22 COELA meeting, the last one before the EU’s summer break. So the whole process is now stalled until at least September 1. Do you think this kind of single-country veto power is something the EU will end up reforming, or is Ukraine just stuck working around Hungary?
I will hope for the best and I will stay tuned on Sept 1
Natalia is doing great things and I am grateful to her that she is willing to share her story.
I think there will be a significant shift socially once this illegal misery ends. Women are effectively spreading their wings, learning more skills and taking up new positions within the society - and it is all creating positive results. The roles are no longer static and there will need to be accommodation for those shifts.