It is a priority for Ukraine to ensure equal rights and opportunities for women and men. In particular, in the public service. In times of war, this is a factor in the capitalisation of institutions, the professional growth of employees and, in general, the development of the country's management potential. 

This was stated by Nataliia Aliushyna, Head of the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service, during the international seminar "Transformation of Women's Leadership in Times of War: New Challenges and Prospects". The event on gender equality was held for the third time as part of the Richelieu Forum on Public Service.

"We want to introduce gender mainstreaming in the public service, in particular among the senior civil servants, category A. They are responsible for the integrity and effectiveness of institutions, as well as for strengthening human resources. Gender balance at the decision-making level should be considered a priority for Ukraine's European integration. I would like to note that the number of women in category A positions in Ukraine is growing, reaching 31% as of June 2023. And this is an important factor in the integration of gender equality in the public service," Nataliia Aliushyna said.  

Formation of responsible women's leadership in public administration during martial law, mentoring as a tool for the formation of such leadership, successful educational cases of professional training on ensuring equal rights and opportunities for men and women - these were the key topics during the thematic panels. 

The participants were authorised persons/coordinators for ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men, representatives of units dealing with gender equality, local government officials, educators and experts. 

The speakers were Uliana Tokareva, Deputy Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine, Julia Broussard, Deputy Representative of UN Women in Ukraine, Pavlo Zamostyan, Deputy Representative of the United Nations Population Fund and Kathryn Coppens, Executive Director of the Dr. Denise Mukwege Foundation, Kateryna Levchenko, Government Coordinator for Gender Policy, and Victoria Pokatys, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Mind.ua, author of the book "Unbreakable". 

It is important that the number of topics and programmes on state gender policy is growing every year. Last year, 5,087 people were trained in regional training centres and the Higher School of Public Administration on gender equality and non-discrimination. In 2023, the Higher School, together with experts from the EU for Gender Equality project, developed and implemented four advanced training programmes and trained 50 civil servants as trainers. 

The NAUCS, together with the Higher School, with the support of NDI, launched the Gender Mainstreaming School. It trains 15 commissioners for equal rights and opportunities for women and men (category A). And in September, 45 employees of departments responsible for ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men (categories B and C) began training there.