With so many men in uniform, Ukrainian women are helping keep weapons production going.
From: Politico BY VERONIKA MELKOZEROVA
KYIV — Halyna Yavorska is a lawyer, but she’s got a second job that’s at least as important — assembling the drones that are a mainstay of Ukraine’s army as it fights off Russian invaders.
“When my husband went to war, I understood I also wanted to be useful. He is a drone pilot. So, about a year ago, I decided to join the small production of drones,” Yavorska said. “We started from 70 drones a month and now we can produce a couple of thousand in a week. Our team also grew from six people to 40 — 10 of whom are women.”
Yavorska isn’t alone.
Unlike Ukrainian men of fighting age, women have the right to flee the war-torn country, and millions have already done so. But many others have chosen to stay, some volunteering for the military while others step in to fill gaps in the economy caused by the absence of so many men.
While women have replaced men in jobs from construction to driving trucks, they are also a large and growing presence at defense companies, where they make up 38 percent of the workforce at state defense concern Ukroboronprom. Even more work in the private defense sector.
Voice of Ukraine 