Only 35 per cent of mothers with children under the age of six are in work in Ukraine
In Ukraine, only 35 per cent of women raising children under the age of six are in employment. One of the main reasons for this is a lack of access to pre-school education and childcare services.
In Ukraine, only 35 per cent of mothers raising children under the age of 6 are in employment. One of the reasons is the lack of necessary childcare facilities – these figures are cited in a study by UNICEF, in partnership with the International Labour Organisation, entitled ‘Access to Early Childhood Education and Care and the Economic Empowerment of Women in Ukraine’.
Mothers are often unable to work because their communities lack access to pre-school education and basic childcare. A striking example is when there are no places in nurseries in towns and villages, no crèche groups, or no flexible opening hours for facilities or alternative childcare arrangements. In such cases, mothers are forced to stay at home with their children and put their careers on hold.
Unfortunately, the war has made the problem even more acute. As of December 2025, 132 pre-school education facilities in Ukraine had been destroyed, and 1,353 damaged. Some nurseries are still unable to operate in person due to security risks and a lack of shelters. As a result, families are forced to rely on limited sources of income, which jeopardises their financial stability. This significantly increases the risk of poverty, particularly for single mothers, internally displaced persons, low-income families and families raising children with disabilities. Research data confirms that almost half of single mothers have a monthly income of less than 15,000 UAH, whereas among two-parent families, this figure is only 14 per cent.
This is precisely why traditional nurseries, crèches, short-stay or extended-day groups, mobile and corporate nurseries – and, above all, safe shelters – remain a strategically important part of social infrastructure. According to UNICEF estimates, expanding access to pre-school education could help around 350,000 carers, predominantly mothers, return to the labour market by 2030. Furthermore, investment in this sector alone has the potential to create nearly 177,600 additional jobs.
The quality of pre-school education today is key to the country’s economic stability tomorrow. At the same time, creating a safe, flexible and comfortable environment for raising children will enable millions of our families to return from abroad and help us overcome not only a labour shortage but also a demographic crisis. That is precisely why our shared goal must be to create safe and accessible working conditions for Ukrainian women today.
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