The VR Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the EU held a discussion “Gender Equality in the Integration into the EU” 

The Verkhovna Rada Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the European Union, in cooperation with UN Women in Ukraine and with the support of the governments of Denmark and Sweden, held a discussion titled “Gender Equality in EU Integration”.

The event was aimed at raising awareness of MPs and women representatives of the Parliament on their role in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment. The participants discussed the implementation of the best parliamentary practices of the European Union member states, in particular, the analysis and monitoring of legislation, the implementation of the EU acquis into the legal system of Ukraine, as well as legislative initiatives aimed at achieving gender equality.

The discussion was moderated by Ivanna Klympush-Tsyntsadze, the Chair of the VR Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the EU, and Vadym Halaichuk, the First Deputy Chair of the Committee. The discussion was attended by members of the European Parliament and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, representatives of embassies, international development partners, and civil society organisations.

Ivanna Klympush-Tsyntsadze noted that since the beginning of Russia’s war against Ukraine, there has been an awareness of the importance of women’s role in society. “It is now clear to us how underrepresented women are in various areas of political and economic life at the decision-making stage to reflect the real picture in society. Before the war, 55% of Ukraine’s population was made up of women and 45% of men, respectively. Therefore, we all face the challenge of how to effectively use this potential for the development and further struggle of our country,” said the Committee Chair. She noted that Ukraine is currently at a very important stage of moving towards its strategic goals. “We have the candidate status, we have the European Council’s decision to start membership negotiations with Ukraine, and we are now at the stage where we are waiting for the negotiation framework with Ukraine to be approved. We hope that we will be able to get this framework in June to move forward. Gender equality is one of the most important values in the European Union. It must be present in our laws, rules, and procedures,” said Ivanna Klympush-Tsyntsadze.

According to her, today is the right time to work together to develop a solution on how to improve the processes taking place both in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and in the Government with the involvement of civil society, which for many decades has remained almost the only flagship for promoting gender equality, and today is a partner for all government agencies in implementing this policy. The Council of Europe, according to the Chairperson of the Committee, has defined gender mainstreaming as the reorganisation and evaluation of policy-making processes so that a gender perspective is included in all policies, at all levels, by all players involved in the decision-making process. “You and I understand that we are still far from realising that we have a gender equality policy in focus at every stage of decision-making, and that each of the stakeholders uses this lens to make decisions. Therefore, we still have a lot of work to do,” said Ivanna Klympush-Tsyntsadze.

Vice Speaker Olena Kondratiuk noted that today the presence of women in politics is still low compared to Europe (21% in Ukraine versus 31% in the EU). Therefore, we should focus our efforts on finding ways to ensure a quota for women in the supervisory boards of enterprises and the leadership of the Verkhovna Rada committees, and to launch a gender analysis of draft laws so that they take into account the needs of women. Also, how to ensure that women with temporary asylum in EU countries are given the opportunity not only to vote but also to run for office.

The First Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Vadym Halaichuk, stressed the extreme importance of gender equality in various aspects, as the legislative initiatives previously adopted by the Parliament in this area had a wide resonance, which shows how sensitive this topic is for society.

Compliance with formal obligations and a formalistic approach, he said, does not ensure or guarantee the achievement of the declared result. There is still work to be done, particularly in the context of the adoption of further legislative changes, including in the process of joining the EU, and the need to ensure gender balance in the state budget, as budgeting affects everything the country lives on.

“The focus of the conference participants on specific problems and proposals for their solution is a very good result of our today’s panel “Gender Specific Topics in Parliaments”, said Vadym Halaichuk.

EU Ambassador to Ukraine, Katarína Mathernová, noted that European law does not directly regulate many aspects of gender equality. There is regulation of certain issues but overall, gender equality is a fundamental principle. It is more about the spirit of the law rather than the letter. In the EU, she said, there are 27 members with extremely different approaches to gender equality issues.

Katarína Mathernová noted that, on the one hand, the European integration process is a driving force and impetus for change in gender equality issues in Ukraine. On the other hand, however, it also depends on Ukraine’s internal efforts on how these issues will be implemented in practice, and how the gender lens will be applied in different spheres during the creation of different policies.

At the same time, there are directives related to gender issues, which Ukraine will have to implement into its legislation in the process of European integration, she said. One directive regulates equal pay, the second concerns women’s participation in corporate boards, and the third concerns work-life balance. “This is an important part of the legislation, but this legislation does not regulate the issue completely. It is rather the spirit of the law, the adoption of which depends largely on local traditions, policies, and activities,” said the EU Ambassador to Ukraine.

To help prepare the local ground for the widest possible provision of gender equality, the EU supports a number of projects in partnership with local authorities, CSOs, and international organisations, she informed.

Mathernová also noted that during the war, the attitude towards all minorities in Ukraine had improved. Discourses have emerged in Ukrainian society that seemed impossible three years ago. “This is a great foundation for women to become full-fledged participants in the process of making important, strategic decisions,” said Katarína Mathernová.

rmn.sm.gov.ua