Ukraine

Ukrainian writer Maria Matios wrote: “Nowadays a Ukrainian woman is a giant holding life on her shoulders.” These words reflect the everyday life of today's Ukrainian women. While women constitute 54 percent of the Ukrainian population, they comprise 55 percent of persons with higher education and half of the labor force.

After Ukraine declared independence in 1991, it committed itself to international standards and norms of gender equality. The country participates in the Convention to End Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Actions, and the United Nations Millennium Declaration. In 1996, Ukraine was among the first to introduce a gender equality clause (24) in its constitution. In 2005, the Equality Law was adopted, and 2007 was celebrated as the Year of Gender ...