GENDERED IDENTIFICATION OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC NEEDS IN THE COMMUNITY

Two most pressing socio-economic needs that were identified in all three communities were about employment and social infrastructure . Fieldwork revealed that responses to the question “what are the most pressing needs in your community” were gendered: men began by listing unemployment as the main problem, followed by transport, and largely omitted other infrastructural concerns, while women firstly noted inadequate social infrastructure, especially in healthcare .

This gendered identification of needs can be explained by the prevailing patriarchal norms in the Donbas, where men are expected to be breadwinners (so lack of employment opportunities challenges their sense of identity, as well as having a negative economic impact on the household, and leading to other potential problems like alcohol abuse and domestic violence), while women see their role as caregivers, who are thus in charge of securing household’s social, educational and healthcare needs (so women are more likely to turn to these social infrastructure sites for assistance, as well as more likely to be employed in the public service sector) .

This key finding is discussed below, looking at male and female experiences with regards to employment, use of social services, and gender-specific vulnerabilities:

Employment

Social services

Vulnerabilities Men

in a patriarchal setting men see themselves as breadwinners, prefer formal employment in industry with above-average salaries, and are less likely than women to take on part-time or minimum-wage jobs as well as entrepreneurship small grants women are mostly employed in the public service sector, humanitarian NGOs, or in the informal sector, and are more eager than men to take on part-time and minimum-wage job offers and entrepreneurship small grants

men rarely visit sites of social service provision, but are more likely to benefit from legal advice offices to assist with questions related to employment, labor migration and risks of human trafficking women as “dominant helpers” are main caregivers in their households and primary beneficiaries of social service infrastructre (with healthcare infrastructure as top priority), thus infrastructural development benefits women

male unemployment leads to substance abuse and domestic violence, thus programs to combat domestic violence should try to address questions of job provision and substance abuse rehabilitation elderly women, single mothers and female-headed households are among the main beneficiaries in targeted service provision

Women