Since Ukraine has been in the news so much this week, on the 1-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, I thought I’d look into the history of women’s rights in Ukraine. This is necessarily brief, given that I don’t have a whole lot of time and am no expert. But here is what I found.
Prior to 2014, the Ukrainian administration of Viktor Yanukovych was apparently corrupt and pro-Russia, and women and allies protested accordingly. Demands included free trade with the EU and new protections for civil rights.
Unfortunately, I could not find information on gender breakdowns for Ukrainian election results, but presumably with women “pivotal” in the earlier protests, women remained heavily engaged during the following elections.
Disapproval of the Yanukovych administration was so widespread that it was disbanded, resulting in the election of 2014, which Ukrainian billionaire Petro Poroshenko won in a landslide, despite pro-Russian partisans disrupting elections in some areas.
However, change was not sufficient for many, and the Poroshenko administration also seemed to continue much of the corruption. So in 2019, Volodymyr Zelenskyy wonhis election in a landslide on a promise of change, despite a notable lack of real-world political experience (remember, he was a comedian playing a Ukrainian president on TV!). In what now seems a supreme irony, it was said of Zelenskyy at the time [bolding mine]:
His critics [including the replaced Poroshenko], meanwhile, are sceptical about his credentials, with many expressing concern over his close links to the billionaire oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky.
They have expressed doubts that he will be able to take on the country's influential oligarchs and stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
I guess he’s shown them.
So where does that leave Ukrainian women? Much better under Zelenskyy, as explained by Ukrainian author Kateryna Odarchenko:
Ukrainian legislation upholds women’s rights, and specifically opens up opportunities for women (as well as men) to participate in the political life of the nation at high levels. But the country is far from achieving gender equality, both in daily life and in the political arena. In part, some entrenched stereotypes and administrative obstacles prevent Ukrainians from achieving equality between men and women. Societal perceptions of women in politics are positive; however, the results of the 2021 local elections demonstrate differences in trust in women politicians between urban and rural areas. An outstanding question is how to reframe Ukrainian society and the political system in a way that would advance gender equality in Ukraine writ large.
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Nonetheless, according to the Global Gender Gap Index 2020, Ukraine has closed 72 percent of the gender gap in the past three years, placing it among the top third of countries. This survey is based on a comparison of women and men in such categories as economic participation and opportunities (labor force participation, wage equality for similar work, income), educational attainment (literacy, enrollment in education), health and survival (sex ratio at birth and healthy life expectancy), and political empowerment (women in politics). For comparison, the top five countries on the Global Gender Gap rating have closed at least 80 percent of the gap, with Iceland, number one, having closed 82 percent of its gender gap. Both legislation and activism have contributed to Ukraine’s progress, and a greater involvement of women in politics should see continuing erosion of the gap.
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Opinion polls yield optimistic forecasts about Ukrainian women’s future engagement in politics. The same Razumkov Centre poll that elicited a strong belief among respondents that women’s top job was in the house and home also showed that 82 percent of Ukrainian citizens have a positive attitude toward the fact of women entering politics, and 39 percent believe there are too few women in Ukrainian politics. The poll results indicated that almost half of Ukrainians want to see more women in the Cabinet of Ministers, the Verkhovna Rada, and among local elected officials. And 54 percent of respondents believed that not enough parties in Ukraine represented the interests of women.
Ukraine’s women will no doubt be building on these successes for more progress, as soon as the war is over — and maybe even before.
