Development of the National Strategy to Reduce the Gender Pay Gap in Ukraine: a peer-to-peer learning session with international experts
Gender equality in the world of work, including equal pay for work of equal value, is a crucial boost to the sustainable development of a country and the empowerment of individuals.
As part of Ukraine’s EPIC commitments, the Government of Ukraine is working to ensure an inclusive and participatory development of the National Strategy to Reduce the Gender Pay Gap through the engagement of different stakeholders, including the representatives of governments, employer’s associations, trade unions, academia, and civil society. On 26 October 2022, a peer-to-peer learning session with international experts was organized with support of ILO and UN Women to share the recommendations and policy advice, as well as some good practices from the EPIC member states.
The learning session participants were addressed by Mr. Rakesh Party, Director General, International Affairs, Government of Canada, ESDC-Labour, Chair of EPIC, and Ms. Tetyana Berezhna, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine.
“The war proves that women defend the country just as much as men: they are engaged in combat activities, they work in the economy, and continue to implement care duties. In this context, equal pay is becoming an increasingly acute issue to solve, since it is about a human right to fair compensation that should not wait until the war is over,” highlighted Ms. Berezhna.
The leading international experts, including Ms. Karen Jensen, Equal Pay Commissioner of Canada, Mr. Simon Hilber, Equal Pay Specialist, Federal Office for Gender Equality, Switzerland, Ms. Micaela Lois, International Affairs Officer, Federal Office for Gender Equality, Switzerland, and Ms. Jessica Mace, Policy Official, UK Civil Service, contributed to the discussion and experience sharing.
The discussion was focused on:
– Improvement of the national legal and policy framework in Ukraine with consideration of the experience of the EPIC member-states,
– Tools for EOs and best practices on reducing the gender pay gap at the enterprise level,
– Overcoming of gender stereotypes, ensuring women’s equal access to the workplace, including addressing the unequal distribution of household and care work, and
– Implementation of other effective mechanisms to contribute to reducing the gender pay gap in Ukraine.
Earlier in October 2022, Ukraine’s stakeholders gathered for a strategic session to identify the root causes of the gender pay gap in Ukraine. Based on this analysis and on the experience learned from international experts, the stakeholders will further convene for determining the goal, objectives and the action plan to address root causes and thus implement the National Strategy for the benefit and reflective of the perspectives of men and women.
A video of the event is available on EPIC YouTube channel.