Women are ready to take responsibility for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, but they have limited access to decision-making. The problem can be solved by consolidating efforts at the levels of government and society.
These are the conclusions of the work of the Ukrainian Women's Congress, which took place on April 5 in Poltava.
Ukrainian Women's Congress in Poltava
The goal of the UWK was, through discussions, to find solutions that would help strengthen the role of women on the path to rebuilding the country, said Vice-Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, co-founder of the Ukrainian Women's Congress Elena Kondratyuk.
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— Until we hear what is happening in the regions, how women feel here in power, in business, in social activism — we will not be able to formulate adequate government policies in the field of gender equality, — noted the vice speaker.
According to the UN system coordinator in Ukraine Denise Brown, women are underrepresented at the decision-making level. That is why, in her opinion, it is necessary to join forces to strengthen the role of women at the regional, national and international levels.
The results of a recent survey conducted by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) show that almost 80% of Ukrainians want to see more women in leadership positions.
— Europe is committed to female leadership, and Ukraine should take advantage of this too, — advised the director of NDI in Ukraine Marcin Walecki.
During the congress, representatives of women's public organizations admitted that due to the attention to humanitarian work, the focus had shifted from gender work for some time. Also, activists have a request to receive third-party psycho-emotional help.
In turn, People's Deputy of Ukraine, co-founder of the Ukrainian Women's Congress Maria Ionovanoted the importance of strengthening women's entrepreneurship and promoting women's startups, since “innovation requires diversity, and without involving women, opportunities for creating unique solutions are lost”.
Closing the Ukrainian Women's Congress in Poltava, its co-founder Svetlana Voitsekhovskaya added that women's leadership in Ukraine is rapidly developing and inspiring.
— Today's participants of UZhK.Poltava showed their maturity and most importantly — state thinking. We didn't just talk about problems. We talked about solutions. How we see them, what we can do and what power we have to do it, — Woitsekhovskaya summed up.
The event was attended by public activists, women entrepreneurs, representatives of local and central authorities, ambassadors of the G7 countries, as well as representatives of international organizations.
