News
A workshop was held to share experiences on improving the situation of women in Ukraine: what was discussed at the event
19 December 2023
On December 19, 2023, the workshop "Synergy of cooperation between business and public organizations to improve the situation of women in Ukraine" was held. The event took place within the framework of the Empowering Women in Business Initiative.
The initiative promotes the use of transformative approaches to promote gender equality and women's empowerment. It aims to engage private companies in implementing programs to achieve gender equality and economic empowerment of women in the workplace, supply chains and communities.
The workshop is relevant because 61% of the registered unemployed in Ukraine are women, and those who work receive, on average, 18.6% lower wages than men. As for those women who run a business, 19% in 2022 noted the negative and prejudiced attitude of the environment towards their activities.
How was the workshop
The workshop aimed to exchange experiences between representatives of private companies, business associations and civil society organizations regarding the implementation of initiatives to support the empowerment of women during full-scale war and reconstruction processes.
A total of 40 people took part. The largest number were representatives of Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Lviv and Kharkiv regions from various sectors of the economy, such as the service sector, education, IT sector, service services of civil society organizations and associations, consulting services, creative industries, processing industry, trade, agriculture .
During the workshop, participants got acquainted with the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and learned how they can be implemented in their companies or create partnerships for their implementation. Presentations of the initiative contained cases of successful implementation of WEPs in Ukraine and ideas for strengthening the economic capacity of women in regions and communities.
Participants also took part in a discussion using the "World Cafe" method - discussion of topics in small groups and exchange of ideas. The groups discussed issues of support for women, ways of cooperation and building synergy between business associations, private companies, non-governmental organizations and authorities.
The greatest motivation was the opportunity to learn about the activities of each participant, as well as to promote the activities implemented by various companies and organizations for women.
What are the Principles of Women's Empowerment?
Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) are a tool for achieving gender equality, raising business awareness of gender equality and combating gender discrimination in the workplace. Any company can implement these Principles in the workplace and monitor progress towards achieving them.
“The International Labor Organization estimates that some 2.4 million jobs have been lost since the start of the full-scale war, which is about 15.5% of pre-war employment, and the poverty rate has risen from 5.5% to 24%. In this context, supporting inclusive economic growth is the main priority for the early recovery of Ukraine. That is why strengthening the economic capacity of women is one of the main directions of our work to promote gender equality. By providing such support to women, we also contribute to the prevention of such phenomena as gender-based violence, because very often it is economic dependence that becomes one of the factors that determines that a woman continues to be with an abuser in a family relationship. In addition, economic capacity contributes to the expansion of women's participation in the political and social spheres of the country's life," said Lyudmila Kovalchuk, an analyst from the project coordination of UN Women in Ukraine.
According to research results, young people under 35 see more opportunities for women in income and career, as well as partly in access to political activity.
"Gender equality is an inseparable component of responsible business behavior, as well as international and national systems for the protection of human rights, including labor rights. There is growing evidence that empowering women is not just a matter of getting one's reputation right; it is also an effective business solution, and the development of partnerships to promote women's rights and opportunities can make such solutions innovative and tangible for the country's economy," says the executive director of the NGO "Ukrainian Center for the Promotion of Investment and Trade" Iryna Tytarchuk.
Disclaimer:
The workshop "Synergy of cooperation between business and public organizations to improve the situation of women in Ukraine" is implemented within the framework of the Empowering Women in Business Initiative, which is carried out within the framework of the Project "Transformative approaches to achieving gender equality in Ukraine", which is implemented by UN Women with the financial support of the Government of Sweden in cooperation with the Office Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine
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Information about the Workshop "Synergy of cooperation between business and public organizations to improve the situation of women in Ukraine" and Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) in social networks:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itfcua
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Backgrounder:
The Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) are a set of seven principles that are a tool to guide businesses in promoting gender equality and empowering women in the workplace, labor market and society. Thanks to their implementation, companies are changing their approach to supporting women, protecting their rights and treating them fairly in the workplace.
Empowering Women in Business Initiative is an initiative to raise awareness, conduct training and provide information support to representatives of the private sector to improve their professional skills in implementing the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and implementing women's empowerment programs, as well as promoting new partnerships with private companies, business associations and public organizations to promote gender equality and women's economic empowerment.
UN Women - United Nations Framework for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment. The leading body that coordinates the work of the UN system on the issue of gender equality. It is a subsidiary body of the UN General Assembly, created by the Assembly's decision in 2010 with the aim of accelerating progress in meeting the needs of women around the world, increasing the efficiency of using available resources, and unifying the mandates and functions of individual units of the UN system that were exclusively engaged in issues of gender equality and empowerment of women.
Office Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine - ensures the implementation of the state policy of ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men in Ukraine
Ukraine Investment and Trade Facilitation Center is an independent non-profit organization that specializes in supporting the development of small and medium-sized businesses, facilitating the implementation of initiatives on women's economic empowerment, trade and export.