The percentage of women among staff at Metinvest enterprises is growing

The percentage of women working at Metinvest Group’s enterprises is constantly growing, which indicates that they are ready for new realities and mastering new professions. Zoya Geyntse, a representative of Metinvest, spoke about this at the eighth Ukrainian Women’s Congress.

In addition, the share of women who have decided to study at the first non-governmental mining and steel university, Metinvest Polytechnic, is increasing – it is already 20%.

According to Heinze, the mining and metals industry has historically been dominated by men, as the industry involves physical labor and work in difficult or dangerous conditions. Currently, the company employs about 30% of women.

Since the beginning of the war in 2014, the gender composition of Metinvest has been affected by mobilization: about 10,000 men (almost 17% of the workforce) have been drafted into the Armed Forces.

After the government repealed the law that prohibited women from going underground, the company created the first female team at its Pokrovsk mine, where they operate mining equipment. In addition, the company employs women as crane operators, electricians, electricians, etc.

The principles of gender equality are enshrined in the company’s Human Resources Policy. Only professional qualities and skills are the basis for promotion, hiring, and setting salaries.

The company offers a stable salary and retraining for all women who want to work for the group’s companies. However, it takes some time to acquire a new qualification, from 3-6 months to 1-3 years. Therefore, it is impossible to completely fill 4,000 vacancies in the group with women.

Zoya Geyntse believes that one of the challenges affecting the gender balance in industry and business in general is to ensure conditions for Ukrainian families to return from abroad. Unfortunately, the enemy is destroying schools, kindergartens, and homes. The company representative reminded that Metinvest has already developed standard steel construction projects as part of the Steel Dream concept for rebuilding the country.

The Ukrainian Women’s Congress is a public national platform that shapes the gender policy agenda for the parliament, government, local communities, private and public sectors, and the media community.

As GMK Center previously reported, Metinvest was shortlisted for the top eight finalists of the Reuters Sustainability Awards 2024 in the Diversity, Equality and Inclusion category. The nomination for the world-famous award was the first in the company’s history. The project “Hero’s Path: Metinvest’s Veterans’ Integration Ecosystem” was recognized in this category. The company’s initiative was the only one among all the finalist programs focused on supporting war veterans.