Childcare gaps hold back women’s employment in Ukraine

Childcare gaps hold back women's employment in Ukraine

A new ILO-UNICEF study calls for a coordinated response involving governments, employers and workers' organizations to support women's labour market participation.

28 August 2026

BUDAPEST (ILO News) -- As Ukraine confronts the pressures of war and reconstruction, a new ILO-UNICEF study finds that inadequate childcare is keeping many mothers out of the labour market and deepening gender inequality.

The report argues that expanding childcare is essential but not sufficient. Only an integrated care economy approach - combining childcare services, family-friendly jobs, paid leave and stronger gender equality policies - and a shift in social norms can fully support women's economic participation.

The study, Access to Early Childhood Education and Care and Women's Economic Empowerment in Ukraine, surveyed 3,639 parents across the country. It found that only 35 per cent of mothers with children aged 0-6 are employed, compared to 94 per cent of fathers. Employment falls to just 13 per cent among mothers with children under two, highlighting how strongly access to childcare shapes women's ability to work.

Many mothers who remain economically active are pushed into insecure or informal work. Self-employment rises sharply among mothers of infants, while 40 per cent of employed mothers with babies work fewer than four hours a day, often spread across six or seven days to fit around care routines. Nearly half work from home, often without contracts or social protection. The report describes these arrangements as "rational responses to constrained options" rather than real choices.

The study shows that Ukraine's childcare system was already under strain before the war. Coverage for children under three stood at only 18 per cent, compared to the OECD average of 36 per cent. Rural families face the greatest difficulties. More than one quarter of rural mothers with children aged 3-6 report using no childcare at all.

The conflict has since worsened the situation significantly. By early 2025, around 7,000 kindergartens still required shelter construction or repairs, while total enrolment in early childhood education and care had fallen by one third since 2021. At the same time, the sector faces staff shortages and low wages that undermine recruitment and retention.

Despite these challenges, parents who can access services value them highly. More than 80 per cent of mothers using public kindergartens rate them positively. The central problem, the report argues, is availability of childcare services rather than quality.

The report also highlights the significant economic benefits of investing in childcare. According to ILO estimates, every dollar invested in closing Ukraine's childcare gap could generate USD 6.52 in returns through higher lifetime earnings for mothers. Universal childcare investment could also create nearly 177,600 jobs by 2030, most of them filled by women.

However, the study stresses that childcare alone cannot remove all barriers. Many women continue to face low wages, rigid work schedules and discrimination from employers. More than two thirds of women surveyed believe employers hold negative attitudes toward hiring mothers with young children. Parental leave is also overwhelmingly taken by women, while paternity leave uptake remains below 10 per cent.

The report recommends a range of measures, including introducing state-funded paternity leave, expanding childcare subsidies, strengthening anti-discrimination measures and promoting flexible work arrangements.

Ukraine's reconstruction, the report concludes, offers a rare opportunity to build a stronger and more inclusive care economy. Supporting mothers to work is not only a question of equality, but also an economic necessity for a country facing labour shortages and the immense challenge of rebuilding after war.