MIGRATION FOCUS OF THE POPULATION OF UKRAINIAN CROSS-BORDER REGIONS: GENDER ASPECTS

Abstract

The paper investigates the migratory sentiments of the population of cross-border regions of Ukraine. The study has revealed that 37.5% of the polled men and 40.4% of women were willing to work abroad in the future. At the same time, as little as one third of female respondents and every fourth male respondent view Ukraine as an only place of their employment. The United States is the most desired country for potential migrants: one third of the women surveyed and almost half of the men chose this answer in their questionnaires. The foremost reason for choosing particular countries for labour migration is the fact that the respondents like their overall image, their lifestyle, and the level of general well-being. The second motive is higher wages at workplaces in selected countries. It is worth noting that this factor is more important for women than for men. The best conditions of work is the third parameter in order of importance for both men and women. The vast majority of the respondents of both sexes choose short-term labour migration, i.e. no more than 3 months. Low wages in our country appear to be the most critical factor, which compels / can possibly compel people to find work abroad. Furthermore, this is the reason that leads the list of responses for both men and women. However, the priority of the other factors varies considerably depending on gender. For women, the second ranking has the opportunity to increase its material wealth (38%), the third reason is the lack of prospects for professional growth (30.9%). Whereas almost 44% of men are more sensitive to the high level of corruption at all hierarchical levels in Ukraine. Under theseconditions, it is truly a necessity to develop and implement genderbased measures that will optimise flows of foreign labour migration from Ukraine, as well as guarantee equal rights and opportunities for women and men.