On 9 September 2025, the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine, led by Minister Oleksii Sobolev and Deputy Minister Darina Marchak, held a working meeting with representatives of UN Women Ukraine. The discussion focused on gender equality, human capital development, greater participation of women in the labor market, and the humanitarian demining sector.

“In the area of human capital, we are placing special emphasis on expanding opportunities for women: many still face labor market barriers that prevent them from accessing desired jobs. Our strategy is to close the employment gap and build macro-frameworks that ensure every Ukrainian woman has equal chances to realize her potential. We want women to discover new professions and opportunities, including in sectors where they are still underrepresented,” — emphasized Minister Oleksii Sobolev.

The Minister thanked UN Women for leadership in the project “Ukrainian Women at the Forefront of Demining and Recovery”, financed by the Government of Canada. The project foresees training 220–240 women in humanitarian demining, running an awareness campaign, and supporting their employment in mine action organizations.

“A key priority in human capital development is broader involvement of women in the labor market, and the creation of local support mechanisms for women entrepreneurs — including mentoring programs, business incubators, and microgrants. We are also working to institutionalize gender-sensitive approaches in employment and entrepreneurship policies, and to promote the economic reintegration of displaced women and returnees. I thank UN Women for its continued partnership and systematic support in these critically important areas,” — said Deputy Minister Darina Marchak.

The Ministry also underlined the importance of cooperation within the information campaign “Of Course You Can!”, implemented by UN Women in partnership with the Office of the First Lady with support from the Government of Sweden.

Other topics discussed included:

• supporting Ukraine’s European integration and adoption of EU gender standards;
• increasing women’s participation in employment and ensuring equal pay, including developing a methodology for gender-neutral job evaluation;
• implementing the National Strategy to Reduce the Gender Pay Gap by 2030 and engaging the private sector through the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) initiative;
• promoting women’s participation in the labor market through the “Women For The Future” initiative, offering professional development and employment opportunities;
• developing a digital system for labor market services.

Both sides reaffirmed readiness to continue cooperation to ensure equal opportunities, strengthen human capital, and expand women’s participation in the labor market — especially in fields where they remain underrepresented, such as humanitarian demining.

For reference

UN Women has been active in Ukraine since 2015, with a country office established in 2018. Its efforts focus on three priority areas: governance, leadership and the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda; women’s economic empowerment and scaling of opportunities; and humanitarian response and coordination, ensuring that women’s voices and needs are central in these processes. In 2023, UN Women in Ukraine provided more than USD 10.5 million to women-led organizations.