The primary incentive for highly qualified Ukrainian women to return to Ukraine could be the loss of their professional and social standing abroad, where they are unable to realize their specialized potential.
Director of the Institute for Demography and Social Studies of the National Academy of Sciences, Ella Libanova / © Screenshot from video
Highly skilled Ukrainian specialists abroad do not always have the opportunity to utilize their abilities. Therefore, the prospect of working in their field again could become a significant motivator for their repatriation.
This viewpoint was shared by the Director of the Institute for Demography and Social Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Ella Libanova, in an interview with The Ukrainians Media.
Loss of Status as a Return Incentive
The researcher highlighted an interesting life paradox faced by our compatriot women after relocating to other countries. Abroad, a Ukrainian woman might feel completely safe and earn considerably more money than in her homeland, but simultaneously, she inevitably loses her professional standing. As an illustration, the expert cited the situation of medical professionals who, abroad, have to accept significantly lower positions.
“A doctor in Ukraine, a surgeon. What will she work as in Europe? A nurse, and in most cases, without a diploma, meaning a caregiver. Will this satisfy her? I’m not sure,” the demographer explained the core of the issue.
According to her, precisely this painful loss of professional status could become one of the main factors that will prompt a substantial portion of Ukrainian women to return home. The institute’s director hopes that the most qualified personnel will return first, as they have experienced the greatest career setbacks in emigration.
Why Other Women Will Remain in Emigration
Conversely, for women who continue to work in their usual professions within the service sector abroad, the situation is entirely different. Convincing them to return to Ukraine after the cessation of hostilities will be exceedingly difficult, as they adapt quickly to new economic conditions and experience no career-related losses.
Representatives of professions such as hairdressers or nail technicians are employed in analogous roles and maintain the exact same social status they had at home. The only difference is that they receive significantly higher financial compensation for their work in the European market.
Realistic Forecasts and the Educational Phenomenon
Assessing the overall prospect of Ukrainian refugees returning, Libanova admitted that her expectations have considerably shifted compared to the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Over time, the expert’s perspective on the demographic situation has become much more pragmatic and less optimistic than it was two years ago.
In the spring of 2022, the expert hoped that about half of those who left would return home, even dreaming of a figure of sixty percent. Now, her expectations are significantly more modest, so she anticipates the return of at least thirty percent of our citizens. A notable characteristic of the current unprecedented wave of migration is also the departure of a vast number of exceptionally educated women from Ukraine.
“Seventy percent of our women aged 25 and above who have left the country hold higher education degrees. That’s a fantastic figure,” the scholar emphasized during the conversation.
This high level of education among female refugees is largely linked to the geography of combat and evacuation at the onset of the full-scale war. Those who primarily left for abroad at that time were residents of major cities, particularly women from Kharkiv and Kyiv, among whom people with university diplomas traditionally form the majority.
As a reminder, passport exchange for Ukrainians abroad has been simplified. Now, individuals aged 18 to 60 outside the country no longer need to present a military registration document or the “Резерв+” app to process documents.
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