A gender audit has been launched at Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture to assess the extent to which equal rights and opportunities for women and men are ensured in the work of the Ministry’s staff. The audit is being conducted in accordance with Order No. 925 of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, dated 18 August 2026. Based on the findings, a report and an action plan will be developed to further advance and strengthen gender equality policies within the Ministry.
A working group has been established to conduct the audit, chaired by Anastasiia Bondar, Deputy Minister of Culture for Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitalisation. The group also includes Liza Kuzmenko, Chair of the Board of the Women in Media NGO, and Olena Suslova, an analyst at the Information and Consultative Women’s Centre.
As part of the audit, the working group will analyse the Ministry’s internal policies, documents and practices from the perspective of gender equality and non-discrimination. Particular attention will be paid to personnel policies, working conditions, professional development opportunities for employees, organisational culture, internal communications, and mechanisms for preventing discrimination.
“Gender equality affects not only internal processes within institutions, but also the kind of society we build and the future of Ukraine’s recovery. It is important to look at our own policies and processes, understand where we are already seeing positive results, and identify gaps that require attention. This is precisely why we are conducting the audit — to gain an objective picture and use it as a basis for determining our next steps. The working group is starting this work today, and we look forward to concrete findings and recommendations,” said Anastasiia Bondar.
By 15 September 2026, the working group is expected to conduct an initial analysis of the audit findings and develop a draft action plan to address the issues identified in ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men.
“We thank the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine for its trust. The Ministry’s willingness to open up to an independent external audit involving a civil society organisation is an important step. We already have experience conducting gender audits of the Public Broadcaster and the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting, and we are continuing this work systematically,” said Liza Kuzmenko.
Methodologically, the working group will follow the Methodological Guidelines for Conducting Gender Audits by Enterprises, Institutions and Organisations, approved by Order No. 448 of the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine dated 9 August 2021.
The working group will also use the “Recommendations for Conducting a Gender Audit of Media Outlets: What Editorial Teams Should Know”, developed by the Women in Media NGO in cooperation with the Government Commissioner for Gender Equality Policy.
The audit is provided for in the 2025–2027 Operational Plan for the implementation of the State Strategy for Ensuring Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men through 2030.
The audit is being conducted by the Women in Media NGO with the support of International Media Support (IMS), as part of the project “United for Equality in the Media: Advancing Gender Equality through Cooperation among Civil Society Organisations, Media and Public Authorities.”