Kyiv – In the sixth year of conflict and internal displacement in Ukraine, the employment situation of those who have fled their homes has slightly improved – however, displaced women face particular challenges while seeking employment.

IOM has been assessing the needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Ukraine with the help of its global tool, the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), since March 2016. The latest round of IOM’s survey has been conducted with funding from the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM)*.

The results have been presented in the capital Kyiv today (30 July 2019), in cooperation with the Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories and IDPs and the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine.

As revealed by the latest IOM survey, among those internally displaced persons who have been actively seeking employment, 21 per cent are men and 79 per cent are women.

The share of employed IDPs currently is 48 per cent, a four percentage points increase from the end of the last year. Among the total population of Ukraine aged 15–70 years, the level of employment is considerably higher at about 57 per cent.

“I see that employers refuse me not just because I am an IDP, but because I am a woman with two little children,” said a 40-year-old displaced woman interviewed by IOM. “I always specify that there is a grandmother who will help if a kid gets sick, so I won’t need to take a leave, but I see it does not help to convince the employers.”

Another woman explained that it is difficult for her to find a job due to her age. “Even though I was only 50 when I was displaced,” she said, “I was not invited even for a single job interview over these years.”

Among those IDPs who are actively looking for a job (about 6%), over a third have been unemployed for more than a year, with some up to four years. Meanwhile, 13 per cent had been unemployed for more than four years.

While IOM continues regularly updating and analyzing disaggregated data on the IDP situation, it also provides direct assistance to conflict-affected people. “Since 2014, IOM has assisted over 422,000 vulnerable displaced and conflict-affected people in Ukraine, with women standing for 46 per cent and children for 24 per cent of the beneficiaries,” said Hazim Torlic, IOM Ukraine Officer in Charge.

“IOM has provided over 5,000 displaced and conflict-affected women with grants for micro-business, self-employment or vocational training,” Torlic added.

As of late July, the USD 162 million Humanitarian Response Plan, prepared by humanitarian partners for this year for Ukraine, has been funded only at 28 per cent. About 1.4 million IDPs are officially registered across Ukraine. According to IOM data, the average monthly income per IDP household member is UAH 2,667 (about USD 100), considerably lower compared to the national Ukrainian households’ average at UAH 4,696 (about USD 180).

*The latest survey round was conducted in January–March 2019; a total of 2,402 respondents were interviewed face to face, and 4,028 by telephone.

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For more information, please contact Varvara Zhluktenko at IOM Ukraine, Tel: +38 044 568 50 15, +38 067 447 97 92, Email: vzhluktenko@iom.int