On February 13, 2024, the first meeting of the Platform for Gender Mainstreaming and Inclusion in Recovery of Ukraine was held, chaired by Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration.
During the meeting, representatives of ministries, the Parliament and other government agencies, and international and civil society organizations discussed goals and objectives on the path to gender-responsible and inclusive recovery of Ukraine, as well as outlined challenges and next steps.
Olha Stefanishyna noted the high level of political readiness of all government agencies, international partners, and civil society representatives to work together in this area.
“We have already done a lot of work in the area of gender equality. However, in times of daily struggle against the enemy, as well as post-war recovery and in the context of Ukraine’s accession to the EU, we have many new tasks and priorities,” said Olha Stefanishyna. “Today it is important to coordinate and identify the main directions of our further joint work.”
Liza Kuzmenko, the head of the NGO “Women in Media,” spoke at the meeting at the invitation of the Government Commissioner for Gender Policy, Kateryna Levchenko. She presented the new Coalition for Gender Equality in Ukrainian Media. She discussed how gender-sensitive recovery places the needs of different groups of women and men at the center of attention, particularly by ensuring their equal participation in the reconstruction of war-affected regions and communities. It is crucial to help Ukrainian media adopt a sensitive perspective for such materials, as professional media have a great potential to make social change.
She also noted that Ukrainian media understand their social mission, and could proactively create self-regulatory mechanisms in the industry without waiting for regulation from the government. This includes covering sensitive topics such as gender-based violence (GBV), including conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), as well as paying proper attention in materials to vulnerable groups: persons with disabilities, elderly individuals, LGBTQI+, IDPs, among whom 60% are women.
She thanked the partners who supported the Women in Media and International Media Support (IMS) initiative in creating the Coalition of independent Media, civil society organizations, and the government bodies. Specifically, the media: Hromadske Radio, Public Broadcasting, Detector Media, Rubryka, Nakypilo Media Group, UKRINFORM,, Divoche.media. Civil society organizations: Ukrainian Women Lawyers Association “JurFem”, IRPP – Institute for Regional Press Development, ZMINA.Human Rights Center, Center for Democratic Reforms. Government bodies: Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine and the Government Commissioner for Gender Policy.
“I believe that Ukrainian professional media are not just a mirror of society; they are capable of changing society and consumer consciousness by disseminating non-stereotypical and inclusive content. And this sets them apart from Telegram channels that operate on rapid emotions,” – Liza Kuzmenko said.