Reducing the gender pay gap from 18.6% to 13.6% and launching the national campaign "Of Course You Can!" – how is Ukraine moving towards women's economic empowerment in times of great war?

18 September 2024, Kyiv – On 18 September, the world celebrates the International Equal Pay Day. This day is a symbol of the ongoing struggle for equal pay for work of equal value, and also represents a new stage in the fight to end discrimination against women in the labour market. Why are equal economic opportunities for men and women important?

The gender pay gap is not a fiction. In Ukraine, before the full-scale Russian invasion, the gender pay gap was 18.6% in 2021, according to the State Statistics Service. In practice, this means that women have to work harder to earn the same amount as men - an average of 6.5 years of additional work over a lifetime.

In 2015, the gap between men's and women's salaries in Ukraine was 26% and by 2021 it had significantly decreased¹. Today, Ukraine is a leader in terms of engaging women in professional and technical fields. However, only 15% of companies are owned by women, and only 17.7% of businesses have women in leadership positions. Ukraine also ranks first in terms of engaging girls in secondary and higher education, but the gender gap still remains in such specialities as pedagogy, IT, agriculture, etc.  At the same time, a high level of engagement in education does not guarantee that women will not receive less in their chosen field.

The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 has complicated the economic situation of women: they are more likely to be heads of households, take on full childcare responsibilities, volunteer, etc. This voluntary or forced need to combine a large number of different roles often leads to partial or complete loss of work and income.

“Even war cannot justify inequality. On the contrary, fighting for justice, Ukraine should be an example of it in everything. First and foremost, with regard to its citizens and their well-being. Our women have the right to decent pay both in peacetime and in times of war. Therefore, we do not stop or postpone this task of reducing the pay gap between women and men,” Olena Zelenska, First Lady of Ukraine.

To promote women's economic empowerment, on 15 September 2023, the Government adopted the National Strategy for Closing the Gender Pay Gap until 2030 and approved an operational action plan for 2023-2025. The goal is to reduce the gender pay gap from 18.6% to 13.6% by 2030.

"The National Strategy for Closing the Gender Pay Gap contains a very clear set of tools to strengthen the role of women in the labour market. We are also working on changes to labour legislation, such as legalising home or remote work. We are also implementing programmes to support women's businesses. They can receive grants under the "Own Business" programme, grants for women veterans and wives of veterans, and up to half a million can be given to wives of fallen defenders. There is also the Create programme, which provides up to $15,000 for women owners or managers of production facilities. Training and retraining programmes are available. For example, vouchers or programmes that we launch together with our partners. Such steps will primarily contribute to the sustainability of the economy. After all, according to McKinsey Global Institute estimates, if women were involved in the labour market in the same way as men, global GDP would grow by 26% between 2015 and 2025," said Yulia Svyrydenko, First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine.

"One of the important steps we are taking to close the gender pay gap is to develop a new Labour Code. Its adoption will provide women with additional options for professional fulfilment and strengthen the protection of their rights. In particular, the Code will enshrine in law the principle of equal pay for women and men for work of equal value, and regulate the legal protection of working women exclusively within the framework of positive discrimination, which will help to increase their competitiveness in the labour market. In addition, opportunities for women to work flexible working hours, home or remote work will be expanded, and additional guarantees will be provided to employees who are breastfeeding. They will be able to make their own decisions on whether to work at night or be sent on business trips. This is to ensure that every woman can realise her potential,” said Tetiana Berezhna, the Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine.

In addition, the Ministry of Economy, together with UN Women and with the support of the Office of the First Lady and the Government of Sweden, will launch a national information campaign "Of Course You Can!" on 18 September. Its goal is to help overcome gender stereotypes about women's professional development, draw attention to the gender pay gap between men and women, and call for joint efforts to support women's professional fulfillment and equal representation in any field.

"Despite the fact that Ukraine is going through one of the most difficult periods in its history due to Russia's aggression, promoting gender equality and empowering women remains a priority.  Reducing the gender pay gap is a key part of this effort. Only if women are paid the same for work of equal value as men can we achieve true equality. Then women will be able to fully contribute to the country's resistance and recovery," said Sabine Fraser Günes, UN Women Representative in Ukraine. “Through the "Of Course You Can!" communication campaign, we aim to raise public awareness of the gender pay gap and show that government, business and civil society must work together to address this issue. We are proud to be working closely with the Ministry of Economy and the Government Commissioner for Gender Policy to close the gender pay gap. We also look forward to continuing to work closely with the private sector, especially with those companies that have already committed to advancing gender equality by signing the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and joining the “Alliance for Gender Responsive and Inclusive Recovery in Ukraine."

Please visit LINKs to follow the campaign updates.

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/youcan.in.ua/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/youcan.in.ua

¹by 7.4 percentage points according to the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine