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The active role of women in business is not only about gender equality and opportunities for their professional development. It is about real economic benefits for countries and the world as a whole. “If women took the same active part in the economy as men, the world’s GDP would be 20% higher,” said Anna Bjorde, Managing Director of the World Bank, at the World Economic Forum in Davos this year.

The first trainings on the implementation of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) took place on February 17-19. Their goal is to teach Ukrainian businesses and organizations to create a comfortable working environment for women and expand their professional opportunities. Over three days, top experts shared their knowledge on the effective implementation of WEPs and the implementation of initiatives to support the expansion of economic opportunities and women’s participation in decision-making during a full-scale war and reconstruction.

The training, in particular, discussed the topics of the gender wage gap, the use of gender-responsive marketing, and femininities. Olena Strelnyk, Doctor of Sociology, explained why women earn less. Daria Vorona, a public sector communicator, shared insights on whether it is realistic to build a work-life balance and what it should be. Marta Pavlyshyn, a lawyer and program manager at the JurFem: Education center, spoke about implementing gender-responsive policies in a company.

The training was attended by 32 participants representing private and public companies from different parts of Ukraine. In addition, during the event, the participants learned about the opportunity for their companies and organizations to join the Alliance for Gender-Responsible and Inclusive Recovery of Ukraine, which was launched at last year’s Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2024) in Berlin at the initiative of the governments of Ukraine and Germany together with UN Women. The Alliance brings together businesses, international organizations and international financial institutions, as well as governments of different countries to jointly promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in Ukraine. A condition for joining the Alliance is the signing of WEPs, as explained by Julia Broussard, Deputy Representative of UN Women in Ukraine:

“The number of companies that respect human rights and support gender equality is growing: more than 10,000 worldwide and 43 in Ukraine have signed WEPs. UN Women is promoting WEPs to empower women in the labor market and in society in Ukraine. Promoting WEPs is part of a broader effort to support the Alliance for a Gender-Responsive and Inclusive Recovery in Ukraine, which brings together more than 60 members, including governments and the private sector, to ensure that gender equality and women’s empowerment are prioritized in Ukraine’s recovery processes.”

On February 18, a practical workshop “Synergy of Cooperation: Best Practices of Private Companies in Women’s Empowerment” was also held. Representatives of private companies, business associations, and civil society organizations explored effective methods of implementing WEPs using real-life cases. Representatives of Baker McKenzie, Ferrexpo, and Lika-Comfort, who successfully implement WEPs in their company policies, shared their stories.

“Training on the Implementation of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) is an intensive program, with interesting reports by speakers, effective cases, communication between participants, and a warm atmosphere. The event drew the attention of business and society to gender equality issues. And even in such difficult times, there is an opportunity to learn, develop, and deepen one’s knowledge, which helps to realize and break stereotypes that, unfortunately, are deeply rooted in our society regarding the role of women. Thanks to such events and regularity, we will be able to overcome this, create a just society and strengthen the economic situation in our country in small steps,” says Olena Sydorchuk, head of the legal department of the Kakhovka HPP.

“Exchanging experience between companies implementing WEPs is a chance to jointly create new opportunities for women and their professional development. Interaction between representatives of Ukrainian businesses and organizations can become a driving force and accelerate positive changes, because networking is the key to future partnerships and mutual support. It helps strengthen the corporate culture of equality and open up more avenues for women in the professional environment,” comments Iryna Tytarchuk, executive director of the Ukraine Investment and Trade Facilitation Center, which conducted the training and workshop.

Disclaimer:

The training on the implementation of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and the workshop “Synergy of Cooperation: Best Practices of Private Companies in Empowering Women” are implemented within the framework of the “Empowering Women in Business” initiative, which is carried out within the project "Transformational Approaches to Achieving Gender Equality in Ukraine," 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.

These events are part of efforts to promote awareness of the Alliance for Gender-Responsive and Inclusive Recovery in Ukraine and implement its commitments through the implementation of WEPs.

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Ukraine Investment and Trade Facilitation Center

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itfcua

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/itfc-ukraine/

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Background:

Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) are a set of seven principles that serve as a tool to guide businesses in promoting gender equality and empowering women in the workplace, labor market, and society. Through their implementation, companies change their approaches to supporting women, protecting their rights, and treating them fairly in the workplace.

"Empowering Women in Business" is an initiative to raise awareness, conduct training, and provide informational support to representatives of the private sector to improve their professional skills in implementing the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and implementing relevant programs, as well as to facilitate the creation of new partnerships with private companies, business associations, and NGOs to promote gender equality and expand women's economic opportunities.

"UN Women" is the United Nations entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women. It is the leading body coordinating the work of the UN system in the field of gender equality. It is a subsidiary body of the UN General Assembly, established by the Assembly's decision in 2010 to accelerate progress in meeting the needs of women worldwide, increase the efficiency of using available resources, and consolidate the mandates and functions of individual UN system units that dealt exclusively with gender equality and the empowerment of women.

Office Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine ensures the implementation of state policy to ensure equal rights and opportunities for women and men in Ukraine and the corresponding coordination of interaction between central executive bodies.

Ukraine Investment and Trade Facilitation Center is an independent non-profit organization specializing in supporting the development of small and medium-sized businesses, promoting the implementation of women's economic empowerment initiatives, trade, and export.