Since its launch in 2015, the CCP Women's Network has made considerable gains in fulfilling global commitments to gender equality and women’s empowerment. Owed primarily to initiatives such as the Women's Network and gender sensitization training components, the representation of women in Port Control and Air Cargo Control Units (PCUs/ACCUs) has almost doubled, reaching 22% in 2022 compared to 12% in 2015. As for UNODC CCP staff, some of the newest members of the team include two women trainers with a Customs and border management background, Maya Abi Adam (Lebanon, who joined in April) and Oksana Nazarchuk (Ukraine, who joined in May). We hope their life experiences will inspire many more women interested in joining the field.
Oksana to Maya: understand that you come from a Customs background; when and how did you start your career in Customs? What inspired you to join Customs work?
Maya: I have always been interested in the field of macroeconomics and public administration. Customs work involves both of these roles, which are key aspects of a country’s economy. Considering my interest, I felt it was the right thing to do. When the Lebanese civil service announced this opportunity, many people were interested; men and women applied and got in with the assumption that this would be a desk job, especially the women. After we joined, it was a real wake-up call to realize that the job had active fieldwork components.
Oksana: Are you saying the women who joined did not know what they were signing up for?
Maya: Many assumed we would sit behind the desk like any other government job, so most of the women took administrative positions during the first few years. Even the Administration was unsure if they wanted to send us to the border for inspections or keep us in the office. Only after some time were men and women assigned the same tasks.
Maya to Oksana: What was it like to be a woman in a profession where women are substantially underrepresented and gender parity is yet to be attained?
Oksana: I thought the same when deciding whether to enter Ukraine’s border guard service. When I joined, I was part of the third cohort admitting women; even then, women represented only 2% of all recruits in the academy. In a way, we were an experimental group, as the previous recruitments were comprised of men only. Today, roughly 20% of graduates of the National State Border Guard Academy of Ukraine are women, most of whom are assigned to the Chief of Shifts at border crossing points (BCP) during the early phases of their career−quite a critical level. Compared to many other law enforcement agencies, the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service is quite advanced in mainstreaming gender on the operational and middle management levels. However, the long-standing issue of assigning women officers to higher management positions persists, as in many other spheres.
Oksana to Maya: Some women may hesitate to join customs and other law enforcement agencies for fear of losing their professional/personal life balance. Can you reflect on this?
Maya: I think this is a significant concern amongst women in my region. This is because the majority of family tasks and household responsibilities fall on women's shoulders. While I appreciate women choosing to stay at home and raise families out of their own volition, I also want to encourage those who wish to pursue their interests and career plans out in the world. It may be that a profession such as a border management or customs official in the field at BCPs or in regional units isn’t a favourable environment for women, but I say, go for it without fear. Women may suffer a bit initially, and the work demands may take a heavy toll on their physical and social life, but if they are passionate enough and strong-willed, they can do it.
Oksana: I guess in societies where such expectations are in place, a woman should anticipate a triple workload and several challenges both in her professional and personal life. But whether she succeeds or not depends purely on her perseverance and desire to succeed. And under these circumstances, it helps to have an extensive network of supporters, including immediate family members willing and able to adjust to your professional needs. Just manage your expectations. You must be persistent about following your passion and defending your rights in the home and workplace because no one will voluntarily make it easy for you. But it is worth it, even for your children, who will find you inspiring and will grow to appreciate your pursuit of passion – therefore, the social impact is never to be underestimated.
Maya: You are right. I experienced this with my kids. My daughters defend and express themselves well. To them, the sky is the limit. My boy accepts strong, independent women. While I am happy to witness this, I still grapple with working-mom guilt. Nevertheless, I never let it get overwhelming and I deal with it head-on.
Maya to Oksana: What advice would you give to women considering joining Customs or other law enforcement work as field officers or trainers like us?
Oksana: If you want to progress in this field, where men usually have a stronghold, you should know that resistance awaits. Be it at work or home, you must communicate your goals clearly and set your boundaries early on. Modern-day border work demands the capacity to communicate across the layers of hierarchy inside and outside the services, including seeking, obtaining, and analyzing information – all skills many women excel at. Dare to pursue management positions as well, dare to influence the system, and change it to the extent possible.
Maya: If you can be placed in the field, at the border, I say take it. Actively ask for such placements. Test yourself, surprise yourself. And do not feel bad for seeking help and building support networks, starting from home and family members to your place of work.
Oksana to Maya: What do you think of current CCP engagements, including hiring more women trainers? And how can CCP influence gender equality within Customs and border management work?
Maya: When CCP sends women staff members and especially trainers to different countries, I believe it encourages Customs Administrations to give women a chance and trust in their capacities – surely if a woman is experienced enough to be a trainer, she must be capable of handling a diverse set of roles within the border control landscape. It also shows the women attending these training themselves that progressing within this line of work is possible. I believe CCP can, as an initial requirement, request the inclusion of at least one woman while setting up PCU units in different countries and especially in the Middle East and North Africa. This will encourage administrations to appoint more women to participate in border management work and PCUs.
Oksana: I have also witnessed in our training that, more often than not, the women already represented in the PCUs lack a support system and a safe space to discuss their concerns. While WhatsApp groups are certainly of value, creating other platforms and ways of engagement might be necessary. It would also be great to introduce and promote accountability of these gender equality measures through the engagement of prominent national figures visiting the borders to check on staff and highlight such progress.
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