In Ukrainian society, the issue of gender equality remains relevant and multidimensional. Despite legally enshrined equal rights, women and men still face unequal opportunities in various areas. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index, Ukraine ranks 66th out of 146 countries. Although the country has made progress in education and legislation, imbalances remain in practice: it may take more than a century to eliminate the gender pay gap worldwide, and in Ukraine itself, full equality still requires considerable effort. Let us consider the current problems of gender equality in two key areas – the labour market and the education system – based on the latest data and examples.
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Gender gaps and barriers in the labour market
The labour market in Ukraine is formally open to everyone, but in reality women often find themselves in less favourable conditions. Historically, there were even direct prohibitions: a list of 450 “dangerous” professions for women was only abolished in 2017. Since then, there have been no legal barriers, and more and more Ukrainian women are mastering previously “male” professions. The full-scale war has had a particularly significant impact on the gender composition of the workforce: due to the mobilisation of men, employers are more actively hiring women for positions that are atypical for them, such as in transport, construction and agriculture. The employment rate for women has even increased during the war (51% compared to 43% before 2022). However, approaching gender balance in terms of numbers does not mean complete equality of conditions.
One of the most notable problems is the gender pay gap. Before the full-scale war began, the difference in average wages between women and men was 18.6%. This meant that women had to work on average almost 6.5 years longer to earn as much as men earn in their careers. In 2015, the gap was even greater – about 26%, meaning that there was a positive trend until 2021. However, the war has exacerbated the gender imbalance: as of 2023, the average salary of Ukrainian women is only 69% of the average Ukrainian man’s salary. In the public sector, the situation is even more contrasting, with women’s salaries falling to ~50% of men’s. This jump is partly due to military realities: the data includes high payments to mobilised personnel, mainly men. However, even without military factors, the problem of unequal pay remains chronic.
The reasons for the gender gap in the labour market are complex. Gender stereotypes and prejudices still influence career choices and opportunities. Men are much more likely to hold management positions, while women are concentrated in less profitable sectors or lower-level jobs. Due to the uneven distribution of family responsibilities (caring for children and the family), women have less time for career development. Maternity leave, which is usually taken by mothers, slows down the accumulation of seniority and experience. Taken together, these factors mean that women are less likely to break into the top management of large companies. Only 15% of Ukrainian companies are owned by women, and only 17.7% of businesses have women in management positions. Thus, the path to the “glass ceiling” is still difficult for many Ukrainian women.
It is worth noting that gender gaps are unevenly distributed across different sectors of the economy. Even before the war, the largest wage gaps were observed in finance and insurance (gap ~32%), culture and sports (~34%), and industry (~25%). In other words, it is in traditionally high-income or “prestigious” sectors that women’s work is most undervalued. Despite this, there are also positive developments: legislation is being strengthened and the government is implementing initiatives to expand women’s economic rights. In 2023, the government approved the National Strategy for Overcoming the Gender Pay Gap by 2030, which aims to reduce the pay gap from 18.6% to 13.6%. The strategy provides for changes to labour legislation (enshrining the principle of “equal pay for equal work”), encouraging flexible forms of employment, supporting women’s entrepreneurship with grants and vocational training programmes for women. In addition, an information campaign called “Of course you can!” has been launched to combat stereotypes about “male” and “female” professions. Thus, even in the midst of wartime, gender equality in the labour market remains one of the state’s priorities.
The obstacles women face in finding employment and building a career are largely laid down at the stage of education. Gender stereotypes influence the professions that girls and boys choose and the opportunities available to them after graduation. The situation in education is closely linked to the labour market, as today’s students are tomorrow’s professionals. Therefore, we will now look at gender balance in education and science.
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Gender equality in education: access to specialities and presence in the field
Education in Ukraine is traditionally considered a field where women have a strong position. According to UN Women, Ukraine is currently the leader in terms of girls’ enrolment in both secondary and higher education. Girls even slightly outnumber boys in the total number of students. For example, according to preliminary estimates, women make up more than half of all applicants for bachelor’s degrees. Formally, girls have equal access to all specialities – there are no legislative barriers. But in practice, the educational landscape remains horizontally segregated along gender lines. In other words, there are clearly distinguishable “male” and “female” fields of study, which is due to established ideas about gender roles in society.
According to a study by the Cedos Analytical Centre (2024), approximately one-third of specialisations in higher and pre-higher education institutions are significantly gender-imbalanced. Men dominate engineering, mechanical engineering, transport and agronomy specialisations, where they account for more than 70% of students. Women, on the other hand, make up the majority of students in the fields of education, medicine, arts and humanities. This distribution is formed from the moment of admission: boys are encouraged to study technical and natural sciences, while girls are encouraged to study humanities and social sciences. The full-scale war has somewhat changed the situation: in 2022–2023, the proportion of young men increased in many specialities that previously attracted mainly girls. But the overall picture still confirms that young people choose their career path under the influence of stereotypes, which then affects the labour market. Ultimately, if women flock to traditionally “female” professions (teaching, caregiving, social work), which are often lower paid, and men to technical and managerial fields, economic inequality is reproduced.
It is also worth looking at the gender composition of the educational environment itself. This sphere has long had a reputation as a “female” domain, and statistics confirm this. More than 693,000 teachers work in secondary and higher education in Ukraine, 80% of whom are women. One in ten working women is employed in education, while only about 2.8% of men choose to become teachers or lecturers. There are particularly few men in primary schools, where the proportion of female teachers reaches a record 99%. The feminisation of education has a downside – vertical inequality. Despite the dominance of women among the teaching staff, senior management positions are predominantly held by men. Universities and scientific institutions are mostly headed by representatives of the stronger sex: only ~9% of rectors of Ukrainian higher education institutions of III-IV accreditation levels are women (20 out of 234). Only recently in the history of independent Ukraine did the first female Minister of Education appear; before that, all heads of the education department were men. This situation is not unique to Ukraine – there are fewer women in academic leadership positions worldwide – but in our reality, the imbalance is particularly noticeable, given how many women work “below”.
Science and research, as an extension of the educational sphere, also show dual trends. On the one hand, almost half of Ukrainian scientists are women (about 45%, which exceeds the global average). On the other hand, female scientists are more likely to work in state academic institutions, while men predominate in the commercial sector of science, where salaries are higher and there are more career opportunities. Therefore, even with equal access to education and science, women do not fully realise their potential due to hidden barriers: stereotypes about “non-feminine” fields, lack of mentoring, combining scientific work with family responsibilities, etc. It is noteworthy that there are more Ukrainian women in the early stages of their academic careers (the majority of doctoral students are women), but there are significantly fewer women at the levels of professors and managers. This indicates a gradual “weeding out” of women from the scene of major research, which is often due not to a lack of ability, but to external social factors.
The state is also taking steps to level the playing field in education. In December 2022, the Strategy for the Implementation of Gender Equality in Education until 2030 was approved, emphasising the need to overcome gender stereotypes in education policy. Curricula, approaches to career guidance and education are undergoing changes so that neither boys nor girls feel restricted in their life choices due to outdated ideas. Such initiatives are designed to ensure equal opportunities from school to postgraduate studies, and thus to shape a new generation for whom gender equality will be the norm. After all, a balanced presence of women and men in all fields – from IT to education – is not only a matter of social justice, but also a prerequisite for the country’s sustainable development. When everyone has the chance to realise their abilities where they are most effective, society as a whole benefits. Ukraine is gradually moving in this direction, overcoming both long-standing stereotypes and new challenges caused by the war. Despite the difficulties, the focus on gender equality in education and the labour market gives hope that in the near future the statistics will change towards greater balance, and the success stories of Ukrainian women and men in any profession will become commonplace.
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