In February-March 2025, the NGO Girls and FSD conducted a study to better understand women's attitudes towards this field. It involved 16 online in-depth interviews and a survey of 122 women humanitarian demining workers.
The study results showed that women already working in this field are eager to help the country, have stable jobs, and the opportunity to study and reach their full potential in a new career. The respondents are satisfied with their work and feel useful.
However, there are barriers hindering new women employees, such as a lack of information about the specifics of the job, fear, gender stereotypes, and resistance from family. 54% of the respondents believe that this is “a job for men”. Uncertainty about training, conditions, schedule, and safety only reinforces these doubts.
To make demining more open to women, it is important to improve communication, i.e., to hold introductory sessions, open days, and inform about training, career prospects, and social guarantees.
This study was a first step towards a deeper understanding of what motivates women to engage in humanitarian demining and what stops them. An inclusive and safe environment in this field is not only a matter of equity, but also of efficiency.
