Female applicants make up nearly 20% of recruits at Ukrainian army centers – defense ministry

Nearly one out of every five candidates who applies to the Ukrainian army's recruiting center and continues with them is a woman. However, the overall percentage of women currently serving in the Armed Forces is less than 5%.

According to UNN, Oleksiy Bezhevets, the authorized representative of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine on recruiting issues, reported this.

"At the end of last week, there were 6,600 requests (to the recruiting centers of the Ukrainian army – ed.). This is actually in a few months because we have actively started to develop the network in the last two months. Of these 6,600 requests, approximately one and a half thousand are currently being processed; that is, these people are either being selected for vacancies, or they are in contact with military units, etc. 150 orders have already been issued, that is, they are already military personnel, some are still in training centers, and some are in their own military units," Bezhevets said.

When asked how women actively apply to recruiting centers, Bezhevets answered:

"Interesting dynamics. Out of the total mass, more than 10% apply, and of those who applied and continue communications, i.e., continue to move along this track, this is 17%. That is, almost every fifth candidate with whom they continue to work is a woman. This shows potential. Because in reality, the specific percentage of women in the army is less than 5%, and here we see that almost 20% are in the process of registration," the authorized representative of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine in matters of recruiting said.

During a meeting with Canada's Ambassador for Women, Peace and Security, Jacqueline O'Neill, the Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine reported that almost 70,000 women were serving in Ukraine's armed forces as of January 2024.

It should be noted that the number of female service members of the armed forces increased by 40 percent compared to 2021.

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Rubryka also reported that the study's results showed that female managers hold positions of general directors in companies for a shorter period of time than men worldwide.

In addition, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has actively started implementing the policy of gender equality in the security and defense sector.