Not only do Ukrainian women defend their right to be in politics and other government domains but also their right to influence how decision are made, Iryna Gerashchenko, first deputy speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, has said.
In her address to the Second Ukrainian Women’s Congress in Kyiv on December 7, she said that the current convocation of the Ukrainian parliament includes only 49 women; however, they have been very active. “Not only do we fight for being in the Rada but also for influencing how decisions are made. Not only to decorate but also to influence the decision-making processes in the state,” she said.
Gerashchenko said: “Our task is not only to increase the number of women in politics because women cannot have influence in only one particular domain. Our task is to overcome the stereotypes and sexism in those areas, which have traditionally been very conservative in relation to women. First of all, we are talking about the law-enforcement bodies and the army.”
She said she was happy about a law being passed that has allowed women to be appointed to commander-level posts. She said at present there are 25,300 women serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, with 3,300 of them holding senior management posts.
“We are confident that step by step stereotypes towards those women who have chosen to serve in the army must be overcome,” she said.
Gerashchenko said the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry continues to be conservative in terms of the gender: even though there are a lot of women holding middle-level posts within the ministry, there are only a few female ambassadors.
