Russia to Further Cut List of Jobs Barred to Women Amid Labor Shortages

Russia intends to further shorten the list of occupations prohibited for women, officials announced on Tuesday, as the country grapples with a worsening labor shortage. First Deputy Labor and Social Protection Minister Olga Batalina stated at the Women of the North forum that working conditions are improving due to digitalization and safer production methods, making more previously male-dominated professions accessible to women. She also noted that Russia recently appointed its first female freight locomotive driver.

The list of banned professions has already been cut from 456 to 100 in 2021, after concerns that certain jobs could harm women's reproductive health. Current restrictions still cover roles in chemical production, mining, metallurgy, oil and gas extraction, drilling, and some radiotechnical and printing occupations. The government now plans to further trim the list by 2027 under a roadmap approved as part of its national business development strategy, which will require amendments to a Labor Ministry order defining harmful working conditions.

Russia's labor shortage has become a major economic challenge. Bloomberg estimates a shortfall of about 1.5 million workers, while researchers at Moscow's Higher School of Economics put the figure at 2.6 million. The Labor Ministry forecasts the gap could widen to 3.1 million workers by 2030. Meanwhile, the reserve labor force has shrunk sharply: according to audit firm FinExpertiza, the number of people available to enter the workforce has fallen 40% since 2021, to 4.4 million.

To address the shortage, officials have proposed various measures. Moscow Children's Rights Commissioner Olga Yaroslavskaya suggested allowing children as young as 12 to take official summer jobs, while Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said Russia is prepared to accept an "unlimited number" of migrant workers from India for manufacturing and retail vacancies.

Demographer Igor Yefremov attributed the tightening labor market to military mobilization and wartime recruitment, which he estimates drew around 1.7 million people into military service between 2022 and 2025. He also noted large-scale emigration—between 600,000 and over 1 million people have left Russia since the war began—and a decline of roughly 1 million migrant workers following stricter migration rules.