Women at the wheel: how the share of female drivers in taxis is growing during the war

With the outbreak of full-scale war, the Ukrainian labor market has undergone dramatic changes, and these transformations have not spared even such a traditionally “male” sphere as taxi services. UNN journalist found out how much the share of female drivers has increased and what motivates them to work in taxis at Bolt and Uklon.

In Ukrainian business, the number of women who are learning or already working in “male” professions has begun to grow. Economic instability, job losses, relocation, and mobilization are forcing women to look for new sources of income, and more and more of them are choosing to work as taxi drivers.

However, is this trend really widespread? According to those who regularly use taxi services, there are indeed more women. And what do companies say - has the number of women who have become their partners really increased?

According to Bolt's press service, the flow of drivers and orders is very dynamic, and the situation can change from day to day, influenced by many factors, such as seasonality, weather conditions, etc.

In general, companies note that the number of women in their niche is growing, although not too significantly.

For example, the share of active female drivers in Bolt is less than 10%. In 2024, the share of female drivers increased slightly compared to previous years.

 “Now we have 2% of female drivers out of the total number of drivers working with us. This is not much, but a year and a half ago we had only 0.5%. The process is gradual, and we don't expect a quick result. By the end of the year, we plan to increase this figure to 3%,” Uklon said.

The company is also planning several internal initiatives to help attract more female drivers.

The main reasons for the growth in the number of women in taxi companies are the challenges of a full-scale war: job loss, relocation, and mobilization. Both companies believe that it is the flexible schedule and stable earnings that motivate them to work as taxi drivers.

Uklon also noted that the company is not experiencing an acute shortage of drivers.

Recall

The Kyiv Metro said that four more women are preparing to become electric train drivers , while they also note a shortage of personnel in a number of technical professions.