3 September
marks the anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention on the
Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
How do women in law feel? Are the use of gender-specific job titles and
percentages of women’s and men’s representation the markers that really reflect
the situation on this issue? Will women be able to earn on an equal footing
with men? Zakon i Biznes talked about this and other issues with Tetiana
Andrianova, chairperson of the Committee on Gender Policy of the Ukrainian
National Bar Association.
“Over the recent years, significant changes have been introduced in Ukraine, and women’s access to more than 450 occupations has been expanded by eliminating discriminatory norms. Of course, global changes have taken place in the field of security and defence, in particular, due to the protracted military conflict in the eastern part of the country.
However, despite the activity of the state, in 2019, Ukraine was ranked 59th (out of 153 countries) in terms of the gender gap index according to the global report of the World Economic Forum. The economic importance of the issue is confirmed by the fact that the lowest rate of gender inequality is inherent in the most developed countries (including Iceland, Norway, Finland, Sweden).
The existence of gender inequality can be explained not only by the historically formed position of women in society. Important factors include the difference in education, motherhood, and upbringing of children, which, despite all current trends, mostly falls on the shoulders of “weak” women. Yet, as practice shows, even under equal conditions, the wage gap is still usually in favour of men. And, sadly, there are established stereotypes that men are more responsible and resilient, have a different attitude to risks and negotiate better,” says Tetiana Andrianova.
Read the full version of the interview on the pages of Zakon i Biznes in August.