The She Drives pilot project: Moving Forward – Progress, Challenges, Solutions

The event entitled “The Way Forward – Progress, Challenges, Solutions”, which took place on November 27 in Kyiv, became a platform for discussing the status of the project implementation and its impact on the development of women’s leadership in the transport sector, as well as for forming a vision for the possible scaling of the initiative.

Recall that 97 women have studied or are still continuing their training to become bus drivers.

🔹 79 participants passed the theoretical exam;

🔹 74 participants completed practical training;

🔹 61 participants received a certificate.

27 participants have completed or are continuing their training for category “C” / “CE”.

🔹 16 participants are undergoing practical training;

🔹 11 participants have completed practical training;

🔹 7 participants have received a category “C” / “CE” certificate.

“She Drives is not just a training program, but a real tool for change in the transport industry. It showed that women aspire to work in the transportation sector, but at the same time highlighted systemic barriers: from the quality of training and outdated material base of driving schools to the difficulties of employment and stereotypes in the labor market. Our task today is to honestly talk about these challenges and equally honestly seek solutions together with communities, employers, driving schools and international partners. We want the participants’ path to the profession to be fast, safe and effective. And we are convinced: where there is cooperation, there is progress. That is why She Drives continues to change not only the fate of individual women, but also the culture of the entire sector,” emphasized the Deputy Minister of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine Serhiy Derkach. 

“The open discussion within the She Drives project was a great opportunity to highlight our achievements and openly discuss the challenges we faced within the pilot initiative. Participants and partners shared valuable insights – from overcoming complex recruitment and training processes to breaking down entrenched stereotypes that limit women’s access to decent work. At the same time, all expressed a strong desire to do more and work even more effectively to increase the number of female bus drivers across the country. Thanks to this pilot project, the number of female bus drivers in some cities has tripled, and in some cases quadrupled, and more cities are eager to follow suit. We plan to continue the initiative, building on the lessons learned,” said Sabine Freizer Gunes, UN Women Representative in Ukraine.

Key issues for discussion included the project’s key achievements, including increasing women’s access to transport professions, building partnerships between communities, transport operators and educational institutions, and building a foundation for the development of a women’s transport community.

Special attention was paid to the analysis of the challenges faced by participants during training and employment, and the search for systemic solutions to overcome gender barriers.

“She Drives and its results would not have been possible without the participants – strong, motivated women who dared to change their lives and challenge stereotypes about “unfeminine” professions. The project’s experience has shown that retraining should combine professional training with motivational and psychological support, confidence building and adaptation to the profession, and also requires the development of a network of driving schools ready to work according to modern standards. The success of integrating women into the profession depends not only on training, but also on the willingness of enterprises to adapt,” emphasized Kateryna Datsko, Executive Director of the NGO “Foundation for Institutional Development”.

A panel discussion was held as part of the event with the participation of representatives of state bodies and partner employers. In particular, the discussion was joined by Regina Kharchenko, Acting Mayor of Zaporizhzhia - Secretary of the City Council, Volodymyr Sukhachov, General Director of the Zaporizhelectrotrans Municipal Enterprise, Orysia Hrymak, Business Development Manager of FlixBus, Svitlana Strelyana, Founder of Kharkiv ATP-16363, and Tetyana Shlinchak, HR Manager of KLR.

The stories of the project participants were also heard, who shared their professional path, challenges and transformations that became possible thanks to participation in She Drives.

“I work as a bus driver in Lviv and I get real pleasure from it. At first, everything seems difficult, but if you perceive the process as personal development, then each next step brings incredible joy. You will still remember the first time you got behind the wheel of a bus, and after a few months you will not believe that it is you who is driving so confidently. My employer was very supportive: together we chose a route that suited me, and from my previous work experience I brought the habit of keeping a logbook to record all the technical nuances, to record all the technical points and improve the operation of the bus. And believe me, in this profession there will always be colleagues who will ask “need help?”, and not understanding something at the beginning is absolutely normal,” shared her path Tetyana Zherebetska, a bus driver at Lviv Municipal ATP-1.

“Many women I spoke with did not believe that training could be free, but I was excited and applied. It became one of the most important decisions in my life. I was worried about my age and stereotypes, but step by step I realized: this is just the first step among many, there are challenges, doubts, views and tests of strength ahead. There are all kinds of things on the road: snowy passes, a damaged truck, stressful situations with the police or parking, but at the same time there is support from colleagues, mentors and an employer who believed in me and gave me a chance. I want to tell girls: if your heart beats when you see a truck or a bus, and you feel that this is yours - don’t stop, because this profession is difficult, but it is definitely worth it,” said Vera Babiy, a truck driver at the MHP.

A number of important conclusions were reached during the event.

🔹 Retraining programs should include not only technical skills, but also motivational modules, psychological support, confidence development and adaptation of women to work in the transport sector.

🔹 The system of training female drivers needs to be strengthened, in particular by developing a network of training centers and driving schools that are ready to implement such programs.

🔹 The successful integration of women into the transport professions depends not only on high-quality training, but also on the willingness of enterprises to change corporate approaches and create inclusive working conditions.

More active involvement of local authorities in the development of the transport sector and support for women who aspire to work in this field is necessary.

The practical result of the event was the joint development of a roadmap for the development of the women's community in the transport sector and the agreement on possible formats for further scaling up the initiative. The work is ongoing. We continue to direct our efforts to strengthening the role of women in the transport sector and expanding their rights and opportunities.

The project "Expanding the professional potential of women in the field of transportation" is being implemented by the NGO Foundation for Institutional Development on the initiative of the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine, in partnership with UN Women and under the financial support from the governments of France, Poland and Sweden.

Photo: Ilya Chervonyashchy / She Drives