Being a Young Female Migrant in Ageing Society. Life Strategies of Ukrainian Women in Wrocław (Poland)

After the fall of communism and especially after joining the European Union, Poland became a significant place of opportunity for people from the post-Soviet bloc. Due to the cultural and linguistic proximity, Ukrainians chose Poland for various reasons: work, higher education or because of their Polish ancestral and familial ties. In a country where approximately 25% of the population is elderly, Poland has been admitting young migrant workers. The number of Ukrainian citizens in Poland increased significantly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when many were forced to migrate. By January 2024, they represented 2.5% of the population in Poland and 22.5% in Wrocław, transforming Polish society from an ethnically homogeneous to a multicultural one. Migration and ageing present important considerations for national and local authorities as well as for migranticised people themselves. Spatial mobility can be a deliberate life strategy or forced by war or other structural conditions.

Our paper aims to explore the life strategies of young Ukrainian women living in Poland by addressing the following questions: What strategies do they adopt in relation to mobility, education, work, and family formation? What are the factors that determine their mobility and shape their life trajectories? How do they reflect on the impact of migration on their life strategies, identity-formation, norms, and values? How do they, as young, female, migranticised individuals, perceive the problem of the ageing society in Poland? The paper is based on biographical narrative interviews and episodic interviews conducted with young (18-36) female Ukrainians as part of the LYMAS research project funded by the Volkswagen Foundation. It will highlight the formative events, coping mechanisms, and future scenarios of young Ukrainian individuals in Wrocław (Poland) and their perceptions of the implications of ageing on their life trajectories.