“She Demines” programme is strengthening cooperation to increase women’s participation in humanitarian mine action

Photo: UN Women/Serhiy Minenko

In early June, two strategic meetings were held under the "She Demines" programme to reinforce partnerships, coordinate the next phase of programme implementation, and advance employment opportunities for women in humanitarian mine action and the broader mine action sector.

On 4 June, UN Women hosted the fourth donor and partner coordination meeting of the programme. The meeting brought together representatives of the Governments of Canada and Croatia, UN Women, and implementing partners — the Ukrainian Deminers Association (UDA), NGO Girls, and BBC Media Action. 

Hrvoje Debač, Head of Division for Development Policy and Humanitarian Aid at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia, joined a field visit to the Makariv community in Kyiv region on 4 June. During the visit, non-technical survey specialists from the Ukrainian Deminers Association demonstrated their work in the field, including analysing collected information, identifying areas potentially contaminated by explosive ordnance, documenting survey findings, and using drones for additional land assessment and data collection.  Photo: Ukrainian Deminers Association

Participants discussed the programme’s achievements, current developments in humanitarian mine action, and progress in implementing the Women, Peace and Security agenda, as well as the future direction of the initiative. Partner organizations presented updates on key programme components, including technical training for participants, leadership development and mental resilience support, communications and advocacy activities, and research on the factors that enable or hinder women’s participation in professions where they have traditionally been underrepresented. 

Photo: UN Women/Anastasiia Dereko

“Barriers continue to block more women from working in humanitarian mine action including discrimination, insufficient skills, and lack of knowledge about opportunities in the sector. With Ukraine needing thousands of additional deminers, UN Women with its partners is proud to support Ukraine's efforts to create opportunities for women in this sector in line with the country’s new National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace and Security. We warmly invite women to participate in this programme,” Sabine Freizer Gunes, UN Women Representative in Ukraine.

Наступним кроком стала стратегічна зустріч з операторами протимінної діяльності, що відбулася 5 червня. Вона об’єднала недержавних операторів протимінної діяльності, представників і представниць Міністерства економіки, довкілля та сільського господарства України, Центру гуманітарного розмінування, ООН Жінки, Волонтерів ООН та організацій-партнерів. 

Photo: UN Women/Serhiy Minenko

The next step was a strategic meeting with mine action operators, held on 5 June. The event brought together non-state mine action operators, representatives of the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine, the Humanitarian Demining Center, UN Women, UN Volunteers, and partner organizations.

The meeting presented the results of the "She Demines" programme and profiles of women currently undergoing training, while also providing a platform to discuss workforce needs across the mine action sector. Particular attention was given to practical pathways for the employment of programme graduates, strengthening partnerships with mine action operators, and fostering safe and inclusive working environments that promote equal opportunities for women and men. Participants also reviewed the findings of an online survey on needs specialists for operational positions. Conducted in March 2026, the survey showed that 28 non-state mine action operators expressed interest in engaging women participating in the programme.

The event was attended by Ihor Bezkaravainyi, Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine, who highlighted the importance of increasing women’s participation in humanitarian mine action and strengthening the sector’s workforce capacity. 

Photo: UN Women/Serhiy Minenko

“Women already make up more than 30 per cent of the mine action workforce. I am convinced that this number could be even higher. We are gradually overcoming the stereotype that mine action is traditionally a male profession. Women can work in the field on an equal footing with men, lead demining teams, operate demining machinery, and take on many other roles. Through joint initiatives such as the “She Demines” programme, greater awareness of career opportunities in the sector, and the active engagement of mine action operators, we expect to see even more women joining humanitarian mine action in the years ahead,” said Ihor Bezkaravainyi, Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine.

These meetings marked an important milestone in the implementation of the “She Demines” programme. They strengthened coordination among donors, government institutions, mine action operators, and civil society organizations, while helping identify concrete next steps to support the professional integration of women into the sector.

Through this collaborative approach, the programme continues to create new opportunities for women while contributing to the development of a more inclusive, gender-responsive, and resilient mine action sector in Ukraine.

“She Demines” programme is implemented by UN Women Ukraine in partnership with the Ukrainian Deminers Association (UDA), NGO Girls, and BBC Media Action, in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine, with financial support from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development of Canada and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia.