Topic: Womens Access to Education

Country: Ukraine
Committee: UN Women

Women throughout history have been severely limited in their opportunities to

pursue an education. While the gender biases relating to education can easily be seen in
historical examples, the problem is just as prevalent in the 21st century. According to
UNESCO as of October 2013, 31 million young girls of primary school age do not attend
school, and the numbers only worsen as age increases. Comprising of the worlds
illiterate population, women, based on their lack tutelage in usable skills, are unable to
contribute to economic growth, thereby confining themselves to lives of subservience to
more educated males. Gender equality in education enrolments is high in Ukraine. In
primary school, the Gender Parity Index (GPI) is 1.00, which is on par with other
countries in the region. In secondary school the GPI drops to .94, which is high overall,
but very low for the region and sub-region. The vestiges of the Soviet system usually
make for high gender equality, given the extensive education coverage during the Soviet
years. In higher education, the gender ratio flips, with a GPI of 1.2. This indicates that
girls are more likely to complete secondary education and to pursue higher education.

In 1979, the United Nations General Assembly signed the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, whose third article
specifically stressed the importance of solidifying educational opportunities for women.
Since then, over 50 countries have ratified the document, but many nations where its
declarations are the most pressing have refused to abide by its guidelines. Among other
instances, these goals were reaffirmed in 1995 at the Fourth World Conference on
Women in Beijing, where the Beijing Declaration cited their desire to promote people-
centred sustainable development, including sustained economic growth, through the
provision of basic education, lifelong education, literacy and training, and primary health
care for girls and women. The Beijing Platform for Action called on Governments to
eliminate disparities between women and men in both access to education and
educational outcomes. This concerns all levels and forms of education, including basic
and primary education, secondary and advanced studies, vocational and labour market
training, adult literacy and lifelong learning. The Beijing Platform for Action
commitments should be seen in the context of the 1990 World Conference on Education
for All, at which the international community set the challenge of achieving universal
primary education by the year 2000. High on the Education for All agenda was improved
access to quality education for girls and women, including the removal of obstacles to
participation and the elimination of gender stereotyping in education. Progress was
reviewed mid-decade and the Amman Affirmation of 1995 stated that: the priority of
priorities must continue to be the education of women and girls. With the creation of UN
Women in 2010, the United Nations reaffirmed their significant commitment to
combating gender inequality globally. Inspired by the previous work of the Division for
the Advancement of Women, International Research and Training Institute for the
Advancement of Women, Office of the Special Advisor on Gender Issues and the
Advancement of Women, and the United Nations Development Fund for Women, the
newly-created body strives to promote international cooperation and implementation of
new legislation for the implementation of gender equality in society.
Topic: Womens Access to Education
Country: Ukraine
Committee: UN Women
A policy on achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women has been
formed in the Ukraine at the national and regional levels. To realize this policy, in 1997,
the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved a National Action Plan for improving the
situation and the status of women in 1997-2000, and in 1999, the Supreme Council of
Ukraine adopted a declaration on the fundamental principles of state policy with regard to
the family and women. On 6 May 2001, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine passed a
resolution affirming a new National Action Plan to improve the situation of women and
promote the implementation of gender equality in society in 2001-2005. The plan
provides for considering gender aspects in the formation of state policy and in the
creation of programs and projects, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender in the
labor market, in hiring, and in promotion, developing programs in the interests of women
who have suffered negative consequences from economic reforms, as well as solving the
problems of womens employment and creating conditions for developing their
entrepreneurial activity, assuring the legal literacy of the general population and access of
the public to information on existing national and international mechanisms concerned
with the violation of the rights of women, developing educational programs on human
rights and international human-rights law from the point of view of gender At the
instruction of the Prime Minister of Ukraine on 10 July 2003, positions have been created
with responsibility for implementing gender equality in all areas of activity and in the
regions through expanding the powers of deputy ministers and heads of the regional
administrative. The National Action Plan was created to implement the provisions of the
Millennium Declaration and Millennium Development Goals, specifically directed at
achieving gender equality, which is laid out in the Ukraine as a separate sixth Goal. A
benchmark thereof is the achievement by 2015 of a ratio of 30% to 70% of gender
representation at the highest positions of state power and in Parliament, and also a
reduction by a factor of two of the difference in salaries between men and women.

Ukraine strongly believes in gender equality in education. As a possible solution

to bridge the gap of gender inequality, countries can promote health in schools by putting
in place programs that focuses on teaching young women about health and social issues
from HIV/AIDS to hygiene, from nutrition to drugs through activities designed to
develop life skills such as communication, cooperation and problem-solving. Countries
can also promote sports in schools; providing girls with access to sport can also
contribute to achieving gender parity in education. With sports in many countries a
traditionally male domain, girls participation challenges gender stereotypes, breaking
down entrenched attitudes. Providing early childhood programs can also decrease the gap
in gender inequality in education. All children are likely to benefit from pre-school care,
but evidence suggests that it enhances girls preparedness for school more than boys.
Enabling young mothers to return to school is another solution. In many countries girls
who become pregnant while at school are forbidden to return to their studies. It necessary
for countries to guarantee the right of girls to continue and complete their education,
while demanding from schools the necessary academic facilities. In some countries and
regions where ethnic minorities, people living in rural areas and the poor face
discrimination and exclusion, girls often suffer multiple disadvantage because of their
gender. The more disadvantaged the girl, the more essential it is that the education system
should reach out to her through special measures, rather than just assuming she will be
Topic: Womens Access to Education
Country: Ukraine
Committee: UN Women
drawn in as part of a general drive for education for all. One way of reaching girls, who
have dropped out of school, as well as other groups such as working children and
children in conflict situations, is through education centers established outside the formal
school system. All theses solutions can ultimately help reduce the gap of gender
inequality in education, and promote the empowerment of women in countries
worldwide.

Works Cited

Education in Ukraine. Unicef. Unicef, 2008. Web. 15 Mar. 2017.

Ukraine. UN. UN, 2015. Web. 15 Mar. 2017.

Education and Training of Women. UN. UN, 2015. Web. 15 Mar. 2017.

Strategies for Girls Education. Unicef. Unicef, 2008. Web. 25 Mar. 2017.

https://www.unicef.org/ceecis/Ukraine.pdf
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/Review/responses/UKRAINE-English.pdf
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/beijingat10/B.%20Education%20a
nd%20training%20of%20women%20(Sep%2009).pdf
https://www.unicef.org/sowc06/pdfs/sge_English_Version_B.pdf
Topic: Womens Access to Education
Country: Ukraine
Committee: UN Women