The Washington Post recently highlighted the crucial role of women in Ukraine's energy sector, featuring DTEK's initiative to employ women in underground coal mining roles. The article, "Ukraine confronts labor shortage as need for soldiers drains workforce," sheds light on how the ongoing war has reshaped the workforce in critical industries.
Tetiana Ustymenko, one of the pioneering women working underground at DTEK's Pavlohrad mine, shared her experience with the American publication: "It's peaceful. You forget there's a war going on."
DTEK's decision to allow women to work underground for the first time in the mine's history came in response to the urgent need to maintain operations after many male employees joined the military. DTEK invited women who had been working jobs on the surface to apply for work underground — an opportunity for a higher salary and the chance of overtime shifts. More than 120 women now work underground, proving that the energy front is held not just by men but also by brave and capable women.
Olha Khandryha, who has worked in the mine for two years, said “At first, the men didn’t quite understand how this could work…Now no one even remembers that they once said such things.”
To read the full article, please visit The Washington Post.
Photo by Serhiy Morgunov for The Washington Post.
