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How Ukrainian refugees hit a glass ceiling working in Poland [1]

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Date: 2025-10 

These two groups of Ukrainian migrants – those who arrived before, and those who arrived after the war began – are similarly sized, with just over a million in each group. They are also similarly educated – the share of post-2022 arrivals with higher education is only a few percentage points greater than for those who arrived earlier.

But two main differences between these groups stand out. Pre-war migrants generally came to work temporarily in Poland and maintained ties with Ukraine. They also showed a relatively even gender split: 54% women and 46% men. War-time refugees, in contrast, are 76% women and 24% men. They arrived with children or elderly relatives in need of care, fleeing immediate danger and their length of stay uncertain.

Both groups could access the labour market, but these socioeconomic differences have led to different outcomes. Ukrainian female heads of households have particularly struggled. Despite work rights, their care duties have proven to be a severe disadvantage. Research from the National Bank of Poland shows that refugees with children faced a higher risk of unemployment, especially those with more than one child.

For pre-war migrants, family circumstances have had a far smaller impact on economic activity. This is because far fewer had brought their children with them, and those who did generally also came with partners – so are now more able to share care duties than those who arriving effectively as single parents.

Doors wide open

The special law didn’t happen in a vacuum. In response to high numbers of Ukrainians fleeing the conflict after February 2022, the European Council activated the Temporary Protection Mechanism for the first time in its history. This afforded refugees residency, employment and social security rights in member states.

Poland implemented this directive and went a step further by enacting its own legislation, the Act on Assistance to Citizens of Ukraine in Connection with the Armed Conflict on the Territory of that Country (the special law). This law was exceptionally liberal: any person who legally entered Poland from Ukraine after 24 February 2022 was granted a national ID number, access to healthcare and social benefits, and, crucially, an expedited right to work under conditions nearly identical to those of Polish citizens.

The effects were immediate. Reports from 2022 and 2024 show that employment rates among Ukrainian refugees quickly reached around 65%, and among working-age women, even exceeded 80% – one of the highest such figures in Europe.

But the Temporary Protection Mechanism and the special law were originally designed as short-term emergency measures. Both have been repeatedly extended, but never to the point of offering a chance at long-term integration. This temporariness translates into job insecurity (e.g. employers were not able to sign contracts longer than the duration of the protection) and little incentive for professional development. This, like the care duties of Ukrainian mothers, has undermined the surface-level potential of the special law.

The underemployment problem

This brings us to the heart of the issue. While the system made it relatively easy for Ukrainian refugees to find some form of employment, it has proven largely ineffective in helping them find stable work that matches their qualifications.

A recent report by the Centre for Social and Economic Research (CASE), a Polish research institute, details the lengthy and expensive process for recognising foreign credentials in Poland – which can take over a year and cost hundreds of pounds. It brings forward testimonies of refugee professionals – teachers, doctors, nurses – who struggle to navigate inconsistent procedures, limited information, and language barriers, often rendering years of education irrelevant to the Polish labour market.

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[1] Url: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-trafficking-and-slavery/how-ukrainian-refugees-hit-a-glass-ceiling-working-in-poland/

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