What percentage of entrepreneurs and company heads are women in Ukraine? How does Ukraine compare to the rest of Europe in the gender balance in business?

Find out the answers to these questions and more at the “Women Economic Empowerment as a Pathway to Gender Equality and Resilience to Crisis” roundtable, which UNDP will hold on 6 April by Zoom.

The roundtable will focus on a presentation of the study “Women and Men in Leadership Positions in Ukraine”.

The study was supported by Switzerland as part of the Swiss-Ukrainian Project "Strengthening Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Business Membership Organizations in Ukraine (Phase II)", implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine in cooperation with the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine. The purpose of the project is to support the development of small- and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine, and increase their competitiveness through developing more professional and customer-oriented business associations.

The roundtable discussion aims to shed light on the gender balance of women in business in Ukraine. Equality and the empowerment of women is the fifth of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and is an integral part of inclusive and sustainable development. It aims to empower all women and girls by promoting the equal rights of women and men to economic resources, property ownership, and financial services.

Nicole Ruder, Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office in Ukraine, Dafina Gercheva, UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine, and Sergei Savchuk, ILO National Coordinator in Ukraine will give opening addresses at the event.

The roundtable will also feature a panel discussion “Insights for further support of women entrepreneurs and improvements on the gathering of sex-disaggregated data”. Invited speakers include:

✅ Olga Onishchuk, Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine for State Registration

✅ Igor Verner, Head of State Statistics Service of Ukraine

✅ Ella Libanova, Director, M. V. Ptukha Institute for Demography and Social Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

✅ Nurgul Asylbekova, International Project Manager, “Advancing Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment through Decentralization Reform of Ukraine” project, UN Women

✅ Vlada Kotyash, Co-Founder, Digital Women

The event will be held via Zoom

When: 6 April, 10.00-12.00 (Kyiv time)

To register for the event, fill in the online form below. Only those who have registered in advance will be able to take part in the event and receive event materials: https://forms.gle/ftrJ6GUiZ9uuhsVL6

Deadline: 4 April, 9.00 pm Kyiv time