The work of the Platform for Gender Mainstreaming and Inclusion in Recovery: achievements of the past year and future priorities

The Platform for Gender Mainstreaming and Inclusion in Recovery was launched on 18 September 2023. The Platform acts as an advisory body under the Commission for the Coordination of Executive Bodies’ Cooperation on Ensuring Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men. Its mission is to ensure coordinated cooperation between ministries, other central executive bodies, civil society, business representatives and international organizations, and to integrate the principles of gender equality and inclusion into Ukraine’s recovery process.

The discussion on the occasion of the first anniversary of the launch of the Platform took place at the Media Center Ukraine.

During the discussion, Kateryna Levchenko, Government Commissioner for Gender Policy and Deputy Coordinator of the Platform for Gender Mainstreaming and Inclusion in Recovery, emphasized that one of the significant achievements in gender mainstreaming and inclusion in recovery is the incorporation of a strong gender component in the updated State Strategy for Regional Development. According to her, more and more documents at the strategic level now include gender equality as a key principle.

Kateryna Levchenko noted that many important steps have been taken over the past year in the area of gender inclusion, involving various stakeholders. For example, the Ministry of Social Policy is working to ensure gender mainstreaming at the level of various documents. The Ministry has developed methodological recommendations for the integration of gender approaches in activities at the municipal level, which have been approved by a ministerial decree and are mandatory for implementation.

The Ministry of Economy is also working in this area, particularly through training initiatives. A notable example is the Ministry of Economy’s support for women-owned businesses, as well as a retraining program that became more active in 2024. In addition, the National Agency for Civil Service also contributed to the issue of gender inclusion.

Civil society organizations have also made significant contributions over the past year, particularly through the work of analytical centers. At the request of the government, these centers have produced important analytical materials on how to incorporate gender equality and inclusion standards into recovery efforts.

“For us, it is very important that the movement we have started continues – both nationally and internationally. It is often difficult to start a process, but it is even more difficult to keep it going. That is why we expect more cohesion and more concrete work,” said Kateryna Levchenko.

In particular, it is worth noting that among the priorities of the Platform for 2024-2025 are: amendments to legislation aimed at enhancing the integration of gender mainstreaming and inclusion in the recovery process; implementation of the Strategy for Ensuring Gender Equality in Education until 2030 and the Action Plan for its implementation; implementation of the National Strategy for Overcoming the Gender Pay Gap in Ukraine until 2030 and the Action Plan for its implementation.

Read more: https://mediacenter.org.ua/news