AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
With the war between Russia and Ukraine well into its third year, more women in Ukraine are getting behind the wheel - some big wheels. NPR's Ashley Westerman has more from Kyiv.
(SOUNDBITE OF KEYS JINGLING)
ASHLEY WESTERMAN, BYLINE: Iryna Savchuk fires up the engine of the huge truck she'll be taking out for a driving lesson today. She's petite, around five feet tall, but she grabs the large black steering wheel with confidence. Then she checks her mirrors and turns to her instructor, Ramis Ahmedov. Pressing slowly on the gas, the 12-foot-tall, 30-foot-long vehicle lurches slowly down the busy street in Northwest Kyiv.
IRYNA SAVCHUK: (Laughter).
WESTERMAN: Savchuk's first task is to enter a roundabout and take the second right turn.
SAVCHUK: (Non-English language spoken).
WESTERMAN: "I make the right turn, and I'm slowly leaving the roundabout without interfering with cars," she says calmly. Savchuk stays right until she's cleared the pedestrian crossing, then moves slowly to the middle lane.
SAVCHUK: (Non-English language spoken).
WESTERMAN: "I look in the mirrors to make sure there are no cars," she says, her instructor nodding in approval. Thirty-eight-year-old Savchuk is actually a doctor, a dermatologist, but she's here in the capitol Kyiv to get her Class C license, which will allow her to drive trucks weighing more than 7.5 tons. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, Savchuk has traveled often near the front line for work.
SAVCHUK: (Non-English language spoken).
WESTERMAN: "On one trip, we drove through shelling, and my driver was wounded," she said. "And I realized that I may one day need to take the wheel. "So she joined the program Reskilling Ukraine, which teaches truck and bus driving courses to women. Savchuk says she had to get used to the size of the vehicle.
SAVCHUK: (Non-English language spoken).
WESTERMAN: "But now I don't have any discomfort," she says. A month and a half later, Savchuk is ready to take her state driving exam. If she passes, she'll join the over 100 women who have graduated from Reskilling Ukraine. Viktoria Posieva is communications director for the NGO, established in October.
VIKTORIA POSIEVA: We have a big interest from Ukrainian women in general, and we received more than 1,300 applications.
WESTERMAN: The free program is funded by the Swedish government and currently has 300 women enrolled, Posieva says. Thankfully, there has been little resistance to hiring its graduates. Reskilling Ukraine is currently working with 20 companies and public entities, like local governments, to get the women hired.
POSIEVA: This project is not about replacing men. It's about giving opportunity to women, but we need to focus on rebuilding human capital.
WESTERMAN: Similar programs have popped up across Ukraine, as factors such as conscription, refugee outflow, and a growing shadow economy have reshaped the job market here, as well as who is available to work. Some of the hardest-hit economic sectors are ones where males are overrepresented, says Hlib Vyshlinksy, executive director of the Kyiv-based think tank Center for Economic Strategy - agriculture, transport, metallurgy, and construction. So, women are stepping up to fill these roles, he says, and they're being trained to keep them, even after the conflict ends, and people return home.
HLIB VYSHLINKSY: We have such big demographic losses in terms of this war. I could not expect for a foreseeable future in Ukraine to have the issue with unemployment.
WESTERMAN: Back at the driving lesson, Iryna Savchuk has one final task to complete - a U-turn. Instructor Ramis Ahmedov gently encourages Savchuk as she eases into a sharp left turn in the middle of the road.
RAMIS AHMEDOV: (Non-English language spoken).
WESTERMAN: "Good," he says. "Now we look carefully. Don't be in a hurry." Eventually, the truck is facing the opposite direction. With a sigh, Savchuk drives the truck back to the starting point. Ahmedov says Savchuk has been a great student. This is his fourth group of women to teach as part of the Reskilling Ukraine program.
AHMEDOV: (Non-English language spoken).
WESTERMAN: "Women are known to be more responsible and attentive to the road," he chuckles. I won't deny it. There are some girls who are better drivers than the men. As we say goodbye, two more women show up, ready to take the wheel.
Ashley Westerman, NPR news, Kyiv. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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