Millions of Ukrainian women lose jobs due to war, some open businesses in Moldova
The war in Ukraine has caused millions of women to lose their jobs, according to Ukrainian Ambassador to Moldova Marko Shevchenko. He said that many women have fled to safer countries, where they continue to work remotely. Others have chosen to open businesses in Moldova.
Shevchenko said that Ukrainian women face a number of specific challenges in the workforce, including access to jobs for people over 40. He said that the Ukrainian government is focused on digitising services and promoting remote work.
"Millions of women have lost their jobs because their businesses have been destroyed or have ceased operations, and many people have fled to safer places," Shevchenko said. "This is a very serious problem, both economically and socially. When we talk about economic life, women have specific problems with jobs, especially those over 40 or those who are just starting their careers. We need all government programs related to digitization or remote services to be fully implemented."
Elena Shaprova is a textile entrepreneur who came to Chisinau from Odessa. Before the war, she owned a company that made school uniforms and children's clothing, which she sold online. This summer, she took business initiation courses organised by the Moldovan Association of Women Entrepreneurs and won a grant of 5,000 euros to open her own business.
"I took two business training sessions, one in the summer and I recently finished the second one," Shaprova said. "The last training ended for me with a great prize, 5,000 euros to open my own tailoring company here in Moldova, where I am currently working and everything is going very well. I produce school uniforms, but I am also working on creating tops, bustier tops with embroidered elements, these will be tops, dresses, I am still working on them."
It is worth noting that there are currently over 100,000 Ukrainian refugees in Moldova.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
