Starting 2021, a shorter list of industries, jobs and professional positions prohibited for women will enter into force in Russia. However, diving operations, unfortunately, still feature on the list of these prohibited occupations.
In November 2019, an international conference on underwater welding was held in St. Petersburg, where professional standards for underwater technical work were discussed. Conference participants from Russia said that the main reason for the absence of female specialists in underwater welding and cutting operations was the gender restriction on diving works for women, which continue to be in place due to of the Russian Ministry of Labor. According to the Russian professional standard, in order for work underwater, a person first needs to get an admission to work as a diver, and then an admission to particular professional occupation.
David Keats, the head of Weldcraft Pro, an international center for training in underwater welding, said that there were no restrictions on professional training and obtaining an international certificate for working as an industrial diver for women, and thus some of the students in their training courses were women.