hen Russia invaded Ukraine, women and children migrated in massive numbers to Poland and other parts of Europe. Over 94% of the over 8 million people who have fled Ukraine are women and children. This massive influx of women and children has impacted Poland’s ability to respond to the refugee crisis and changed the face of its workforce, possibly for decades to come. Most did not believe the conflict between Ukraine and Russia would last this long—especially the women who left their homes to seek refuge elsewhere. This demographic shift in Poland will have important ramifications for Polish society and the well-being of refugees in the country.
“We were already accustomed to their presence. And with the conflict so close to our borders, it was obvious we would respond the way we responded…We are proud, as a nation we were able to rally and support the influx of refugees and we’re going to continue to do so. We call them guests, we don’t really call them refugees.”—Michalina Sielewicz, International Development Director for the EWL Group in Poland.
Prior to the Russian war, more than one million Ukrainians already lived and worked in Poland. This process began after the first Russian invasion in Crimea in 2014, when Poland experienced an influx of migration which was made easier by accessible work and resident permits for migrants. Since the start of the war, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimates 8.4 million people have fled Ukraine and up to 3.1 million of them have returned to date. The largest share of refugees, 51%, went to Poland—with children under the age of 18 accounting for just over 45% of them and women between 18 and 65 accounting for approximately another 45%.
With the influx of refugees, the Polish government adopted a new act that states “the stay of Ukrainian citizens in Poland must be considered legal if they entered Polish territory on or after February 24, 2022, and they declared their intention to stay in Poland.” However, the question of what to do with this influx of women refugees remains. According to Sielewicz, the majority of the women that are entering Poland through Ukraine right now are women with advanced degrees—doctors, business women, and others—who have children. Early in the invasion, most women believed they would be able to return home soon, but with the conflict still ongoing, that looks to be an unrealistic goal. Many women are turning to new priorities—enrolling their children in Polish schools and finding work to support them.
“Most of the women we are seeing are skilled professionals seeking careers that provide for families, however, we’re seeing more and more women starting employment outside and below their educational level because those jobs are easy to get,” said Sielewicz. There is also the issue of location. At the beginning of the conflict, most women settled in large cities where they had more access to resources. Now that the outlook is longer-term than originally anticipated, migration to smaller cities where there are more jobs is likely to increase.
So far, Poland has welcomed the Ukrainian refugees with open arms, but that has not always been the case. Migrants and refugees crossing the Belarusian boarder with Poland between 2015 and 2016 were not as welcome as Ukrainians—and conflicts with refugees sometimes ended in violence. In 2016, 73% of the Polish population said they viewed refugees from places like Iraq and Syria as a “threat to their country.” This sentiment was further stoked by political leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski and his xenophobic comments about the “diseases” that Syrian and Iraqi refugees might bring to Poland. Ukrainian migrants to the country also faced prejudice. Between 2016 and 2017, many Ukrainian migrants experienced unsafe working conditions due to the political tensions between Poland and Ukraine at the time.
That does not seem to be the case facing Ukrainian refugees today, when 77% of Polish citizens have helped Ukrainian refugees since the beginning of the war. Though it is hard to say why, the Polish Economic Institute suggests that a similar historical and political past in addition to a sense of “it could happen to me too” make it easier for Polish citizens to choose between helping and ignoring Ukrainian refugees in this particular crisis. This new wave of refugees—largely women and children—are finding safer and more welcoming conditions than migrants in the past.
Right now, the European labor market is responding to the wave of women and children coming from Ukraine. However, the longer the conflict with Russian continues, the more likely that is to change. Currently, the unemployment rate in Poland is at a 30 year low of 4.9%, but as women turn to long-term employment options, the shift in job availability will shift as well. What the Polish labor market is confronting now is a mismatch between the jobs available and the people to fill them. Jobs in manufacturing, construction, logistics, and shipping are widely available and the market is desperate to fill vacancies that have traditionally been filled by men. However, as Ukrainian men return home to fight the invasion, those jobs are left vacant.
The hope is that the women refugees continue to find work throughout the conflict—regardless of how long it lasts. However, with a radically different demographic migrating into Poland, the labor market may need to make an equally radical change in order to support the great migration of women and children into the country.
a global affairs media network
Ukrainian Women and the Great Migration
Photo by Vlad D via Unsplash.
September 6, 2022
Over 94% of the over 8 million people who have fled Ukraine are women and children. This massive influx of women and children has impacted Poland’s ability to respond to the refugee crisis and changed the face of its workforce, possibly for decades to come, writes Coby Jones.
W
hen Russia invaded Ukraine, women and children migrated in massive numbers to Poland and other parts of Europe. Over 94% of the over 8 million people who have fled Ukraine are women and children. This massive influx of women and children has impacted Poland’s ability to respond to the refugee crisis and changed the face of its workforce, possibly for decades to come. Most did not believe the conflict between Ukraine and Russia would last this long—especially the women who left their homes to seek refuge elsewhere. This demographic shift in Poland will have important ramifications for Polish society and the well-being of refugees in the country.
“We were already accustomed to their presence. And with the conflict so close to our borders, it was obvious we would respond the way we responded…We are proud, as a nation we were able to rally and support the influx of refugees and we’re going to continue to do so. We call them guests, we don’t really call them refugees.”—Michalina Sielewicz, International Development Director for the EWL Group in Poland.
Prior to the Russian war, more than one million Ukrainians already lived and worked in Poland. This process began after the first Russian invasion in Crimea in 2014, when Poland experienced an influx of migration which was made easier by accessible work and resident permits for migrants. Since the start of the war, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimates 8.4 million people have fled Ukraine and up to 3.1 million of them have returned to date. The largest share of refugees, 51%, went to Poland—with children under the age of 18 accounting for just over 45% of them and women between 18 and 65 accounting for approximately another 45%.
With the influx of refugees, the Polish government adopted a new act that states “the stay of Ukrainian citizens in Poland must be considered legal if they entered Polish territory on or after February 24, 2022, and they declared their intention to stay in Poland.” However, the question of what to do with this influx of women refugees remains. According to Sielewicz, the majority of the women that are entering Poland through Ukraine right now are women with advanced degrees—doctors, business women, and others—who have children. Early in the invasion, most women believed they would be able to return home soon, but with the conflict still ongoing, that looks to be an unrealistic goal. Many women are turning to new priorities—enrolling their children in Polish schools and finding work to support them.
“Most of the women we are seeing are skilled professionals seeking careers that provide for families, however, we’re seeing more and more women starting employment outside and below their educational level because those jobs are easy to get,” said Sielewicz. There is also the issue of location. At the beginning of the conflict, most women settled in large cities where they had more access to resources. Now that the outlook is longer-term than originally anticipated, migration to smaller cities where there are more jobs is likely to increase.
So far, Poland has welcomed the Ukrainian refugees with open arms, but that has not always been the case. Migrants and refugees crossing the Belarusian boarder with Poland between 2015 and 2016 were not as welcome as Ukrainians—and conflicts with refugees sometimes ended in violence. In 2016, 73% of the Polish population said they viewed refugees from places like Iraq and Syria as a “threat to their country.” This sentiment was further stoked by political leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski and his xenophobic comments about the “diseases” that Syrian and Iraqi refugees might bring to Poland. Ukrainian migrants to the country also faced prejudice. Between 2016 and 2017, many Ukrainian migrants experienced unsafe working conditions due to the political tensions between Poland and Ukraine at the time.
That does not seem to be the case facing Ukrainian refugees today, when 77% of Polish citizens have helped Ukrainian refugees since the beginning of the war. Though it is hard to say why, the Polish Economic Institute suggests that a similar historical and political past in addition to a sense of “it could happen to me too” make it easier for Polish citizens to choose between helping and ignoring Ukrainian refugees in this particular crisis. This new wave of refugees—largely women and children—are finding safer and more welcoming conditions than migrants in the past.
Right now, the European labor market is responding to the wave of women and children coming from Ukraine. However, the longer the conflict with Russian continues, the more likely that is to change. Currently, the unemployment rate in Poland is at a 30 year low of 4.9%, but as women turn to long-term employment options, the shift in job availability will shift as well. What the Polish labor market is confronting now is a mismatch between the jobs available and the people to fill them. Jobs in manufacturing, construction, logistics, and shipping are widely available and the market is desperate to fill vacancies that have traditionally been filled by men. However, as Ukrainian men return home to fight the invasion, those jobs are left vacant.
The hope is that the women refugees continue to find work throughout the conflict—regardless of how long it lasts. However, with a radically different demographic migrating into Poland, the labor market may need to make an equally radical change in order to support the great migration of women and children into the country.
