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ABSTRACT
In the context of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, the technology sector has acquired strategic importance. Gender-balanced participation within the framework of comprehensive defence increases the resilience of any economic sector to various challenges (e.g., mobilisation, relocation) and enables the diversification of risks associated with human capital engagement. This applies both to sectors traditionally dominated by men and to those dominated by women.
Women’s participation in the defence technologies sector remains low due to systemic barriers. The study comprised desk-based and field research, including in-depth interviews and an online survey. The findings indicate that women’s opportunities for economic participation are significantly constrained by persistent gender stereotypes; lack of transparency in career advancement; low representation, particularly in leadership positions; and the double burden, including unpaid care work.
Despite shortages of human capital, state policy does not provide for systematic measures to integrate women into strategic sectors. An analysis of international experience demonstrates the positive impact of gender equality on innovation and the resilience of the defence technologies sector. The recommendations address state institutions, businesses, and civil society and aim to remove barriers, develop human capital, and foster inclusive human resource policies. Gender integration in military technologies is not only a matter of justice but also a strategic necessity for Ukraine’s defence capability.
Keywords: women, labour market, economic empowerment, human capital development, defence technologies, Russia’s war against Ukraine, Ukraine.
ABSTRACT
ABBREVIATIONS
BRIEF SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION
METHODOLOGY
CHAPTER 1. AN OVERVIEW OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN CREATED BY THE GROWING TECHNOLOGIZATION OF WAR
1.1. Summary of Chapter 1
CHAPTER 2. KEY BARRIERS TO EXPANDING WOMEN’S ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES IN THE FIELD OF ADVANCED MILITARY TECHNOLOGIES
2.1 Educational and Professional Barriers
2.2 Personal and Psychological Barriers
2.3 Barriers in Job Search
2.4 Summary of Chapter 2
CHAPTER 3. PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AND BARRIERS TO THE DEVELOPMENT AND RETENTION OF WOMEN IN THE ADVANCED MILITARY TECHNOLOGIES SECTOR
3.1 Gender (In)equality in Access to Professional Development
3.2 Low Levels of Women’s Involvement in Large-Scale Projects and the Undervaluation of Their Expertise
3.3 Opportunities for Professional Growth and Skills Development in the Workplace
3.4 Lack of Transparency in Career Advancement Processes
3.5 Insufficient Management Support and the Lack of Gender-Sensitive Policies in Companies
3.6 The Need for Constant Proof of Competence
3.7 Infrastructure and Security Factors
3.8 Combining Work and Care: The Double Burden of Professional Development
3.9 Summary of Chapter 3
CHAPTER 4. ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL BEST PRACTICES FOR INTEGRATING WOMEN INTO THE ADVANCED MILITARY TECHNOLOGIES SECTOR
4.1 Gender Inclusion in Defence Technologies: The Cases of DIVERIS (EU) and Brave1 (Ukraine)
4.2 Analysis of Best Practices in Ukraine
4.3 Summary of Chapter 4
CONCLUSIONS
I. An Overview of the Current State of Advanced Military Technologies and Prospects for Women’s Engagement
II. Key Barriers to Expanding Economic Opportunities for Women’s Engagement in the Advanced Military Technologies Sector
III. Professional Opportunities for Developing and Retaining Female Employees in the Sector
IV. Holistic, Sustainable, and Long-Term Inclusion of Women in the Sector
V. Recommendations for Expanding Women’s Economic Opportunities in the Context of the Technologization of War
REFERENCES
Appendix A. Survey Questionnaire
Appendix B. Legal Frameworks for Ensuring Equal Rights and Opportunities in Advanced Military Technologies and defence
Appendix C. International Examples of Institutional Support for Women in Defence Technologies and Defence
BRIEF SUMMARY
Context. Since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Ukraine’s defence manufacturing has expanded thirty-fivefold, driven by close cooperation among defence companies, state institutions, and military units. As a result of the full-scale war, Ukraine’s technology sector has acquired strategic importance for national defence. The IT sector, drone manufacturing, cybersecurity, and military engineering have become critical to national security. At the same time, women’s participation in these fields remains under-researched, in particular due to the lack of publicly available data.
This study confirms the assumption that women’s participation remains low due to gender stereotypes, limited access to education, and the absence of state policies on gender integration. International experience—including that of Sweden, the European Union (EU), and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)—demonstrates that gender equality in defence technologies enhances innovation and resilience in the military technology sector. Ukraine requires a rethinking of human resources policies in strategic sectors, including through research into existing barriers and the development of tools to expand women’s economic opportunities. Globally, including in Ukraine, women face restricted access to economic participation due to gender stereotypes, pay inequality, and a disproportionate burden of care work.
Prior to the war, men dominated the labour market, particularly in high-paying sectors. The full-scale war has exacerbated these inequalities. The mobilisation of men and forced displacement have created labour shortages, thereby stimulating women’s entry into traditionally “male-dominated” fields. It is projected that by 2032 Ukraine will require 8.6 million new workers, including for post-war recovery, which necessitates the active integration of women and other marginalised and underrepresented population groups.
Women’s engagement in advanced military technologies is therefore not only a matter of professional equality, but also a key objective of contemporary national security policy. In the context of European integration and Ukraine’s commitments to gender equality, this approach is aligned with the principles of inclusivity and the sustainable development of the security and defence sector. Comprehensive defence, understood as a strategy for mobilising all societal resources to protect the state, presupposes equal participation of women in technological development, enabling an expanded talent pool, increased innovation potential, and a more balanced approach to addressing strategic challenges.
The research methodology comprised both desk-based and fieldwork stages, including in-depth interviews with representatives of civil society and the business sector, as well as an online survey of women employed in the defence technologies and STEM sectors. This approach enabled a comprehensive assessment of motivational factors, barriers, and prospects for women’s participation in the field.
Chapter 1. Overview of the Current State of Advanced Military Technologies and Prospects for Women’s Engagement.
The military technologies sector, particularly the production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), is developing rapidly, in part due to women’s advocacy efforts highlighting the sector’s potential even prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Despite this growth, women’s overall participation remains low, especially in leadership positions and among business founders. Owing to workforce shortages, manufacturers increasingly recognise the untapped potential of engaging women, notably in production, partnership development, and communications, sales, and general management.
At the same time, state policy does not provide targeted measures to expand women’s participation in the sector. Order volatility, export restrictions, and the lack of transparency in resource allocation hinder long-term planning and the implementation of gender-sensitive strategies. Pilot initiatives such as Women in Drones, as well as the experiences of individual women startup founders and business leaders, demonstrate the potential of targeted support and help identify emerging strategies. Promising directions include reskilling programmes for women, information campaigns, support for women-led startups, and the creation of safe and flexible working conditions, alongside mentorship and visibility initiatives showcasing women’s success stories in the defence technology sector.
Chapter 2. Key Barriers to Expanding Women’s Economic Opportunities in the Advanced Military Technologies Sector.
Within a comprehensive defence framework, women’s limited access to education and professional development in the technology sector contradicts the principle of mobilising all available resources. Educational programmes often fail to account for women’s needs, remain outdated and inflexible, and thus contribute to alienation and increased dropout risks. More than 30% of respondents to the online survey believe that existing programmes require modernisation.
Personal and psychological barriers, such as impostor syndrome and social pressure, significantly constrain women’s participation in military technology projects. Over 40% of surveyed women working in the sector report difficulties in balancing work and family responsibilities, while 53% indicate doubts about their own capabilities already at the training stage. Gender stereotypes and discrimination in employment remain persistent barriers: 52% of women experience pressure during the stage of professional self-determination, and 18% encounter biased attitudes from employers.
These factors reduce the state’s mobilisation potential and weaken its defence capacity. Gender stereotypes and biases remain among the most entrenched obstacles to women’s integration into advanced military technology fields. Low levels of representation create a “minority effect,” intensifying pressure and increasing the risk of burnout. Vertical segregation and the “glass ceiling” limit women’s access to leadership positions even when their qualifications are comparable to those of men. Collectively, these dynamics result in the loss of women’s innovative and managerial potential. In the context of comprehensive defence, gender stereotypes constitute not only a social challenge but also a strategic risk that undermines the state’s human resource capacity.
Chapter 3. Professional Opportunities and Barriers to the Development and Retention of Women Employees in the Sector.
The study demonstrates that despite a gradual increase in the number of women in the sector, the challenge of sustainable professional retention remains unresolved. Analysis of survey data identifies a range of issues that directly affect women’s motivation to remain in the profession, from limited access to professional development and career advancement opportunities to insufficient leadership support, non-transparent promotion procedures, and the absence of gender-sensitive policies within companies.
In particular, 56% of respondents reported inequality in access to professional development opportunities, 45% cited the lack of career planning, and more than 40% pointed to difficulties in balancing professional and family responsibilities. These findings indicate that even as gender equality becomes increasingly institutionalised at the level of discourse, women’s actual working conditions in the sector remain asymmetric.
The results also show that employers who implement training programmes, flexible work arrangements, and safety standards demonstrate higher workforce stability and lower staff turnover. Consequently, the effectiveness of engaging women in advanced military technologies depends directly on the extent to which companies systematically integrate gender-sensitive approaches to staff development aimed at long-term professional sustainability.
Chapter 4. Analysis of Leading National and International Practices for Engaging Women in Advanced Military Technologies.
Based on the analysis, several key factors facilitating the sustainable engagement of women in the defence technology sector were identified. These include synergy among stakeholders through diverse formats of cross-sectoral cooperation; a shared value-based and regulatory framework ensuring coherence in approaches to gender integration; strengthened institutional capacity through gender mainstreaming across all aspects of operational activity and human capital management; and targeted support for persons with limited mobility and marginalised and underrepresented groups through training, reskilling, and human capital development programmes.
Despite the existence of individual successful initiatives aimed at expanding women’s economic opportunities in Ukraine, no sustainable or systemic practices of such support were identified in the advanced military technologies sector. Existing examples are fragmented in nature, have limited scalability, and are heavily dependent on foreign donor funding. It is therefore required to develop a state strategy to expand women’s economic opportunities in defence technologies.
Conclusions and Recommendations.
The study formulates a set of recommendations for the state, business, and civil society aimed at expanding women’s participation in the defence technologies sector. For public authorities, the recommendations include implementing gender equality standards already articulated in the Strategy for the Implementation of Gender Equality in Education until 2030, developing formal and non-formal education, creating reskilling programmes, and introducing grants for research and innovative production targeting girls and women in advanced military technologies.
State support for women-led startups through initiatives such as BRAVE1, along with public investment in production safety—such as adequate ventilation of facilities and shelters—is critical for women’s decisions to retrain for manufacturing roles in military technology production. Particular attention should be paid to supporting women exposed to intersectional discrimination, including internally displaced persons (IDPs), single mothers, and women raising children with disabilities.
Businesses are encouraged to implement inclusive hiring policies, introduce flexible working arrangements, support women’s professional networks, promote mentorship by women who have already achieved success in the advanced military technologies sector, conduct gender audits, and foster new narratives about women’s roles in security and technology.
Civil society actors, including professional associations of manufacturers contributing to the technological advancement of warfare, can focus on promoting women’s participation in advanced military technologies through awareness-raising campaigns, scaling up public events and media projects, and developing mentorship programmes.
The research was conducted by the non-governmental organisation (CSO) Expert Resource Gender in Detail as part of the project “Gender Approach in the Context of Comprehensive Defence”, funded by the grant “Best Practices of the Swedish Gender Approach as a Tool for Empowering Ukrainian Women to Implement Sustainable Reforms and Promote Ukraine’s European Integration”, with financial support from the Swedish Institute and in partnership with the Swedish International Liberal Centre.
The project draws on gender mainstreaming practices within Sweden’s comprehensive defence system. It represents the first attempt in the Ukrainian context to explore the possibilities of implementing a Swedish-style comprehensive defence strategy in Ukraine while simultaneously integrating a gender perspective across key sectors, including the economy, care work, the armed forces, civil defence, governance, information policy, and the volunteer movement.
The project’s concept author and project lead is Tamara Zlobina, PhD in Philosophy, and Head of the CSO Expert Resource Gender in Detail.
Project mentors and reviewers of the analytical reports:
Olena Strelnyk, Doctor of Sociological Sciences
Hanna Hrytsenko, Gender Expert
Project managers: Alyona Hruzina, Halyna Repetska
