Ukraine to enhance gender equality measures in armed forces, says defense ministry

Ukraine needs to create and improve mechanisms to achieve gender equality in the armed forces, Government Commissioner for Gender Policy Katerina Levchenko claimed. 

Women should be provided with proper living conditions in the military and have opportunities for career growth, as stated by Deputy Minister of Defense Natalia Kalmikova. The official emphasized the need for the government to implement measures to combat sexism, improve corporate ethics, and actively promote women into leadership positions in the army.

The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine not only posed a grave challenge for women but also sped up the process of equalizing their rights with men in many spheres, Minister of Social Policy Oksana Zhulnovych stated, as per UkrInform. 

Even after the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea, Ukrainian women were barred from serving in combat positions. The situation changed in 2018 after the implementation of a presidential decree that equalized the rights of men and women in the military.

From pregnancy fatigues to lip balm: volunteers supply gear for women at war

As of today, military service for women in Ukraine is voluntary. Although many potential frontline defenders have the right to leave the country, thousands of female conscripts volunteered to fight against Russian occupiers.

Earlier, the Ukrainian government repealed a ban restricting women from working underground in coal enterprises after the beginning of the full-scale war in 2022 – the work that was earlier considered too physically demanding.

Reuters: Ukrainian women join coal mines to fill staff gaps amid Russian war

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