On the sidelines of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York, Olha Stefanyshyna called for support for the Government's recovery efforts

On 10 March 2025, a high-level event titled Building Back Better: Gender-Sensitive and Inclusive Post-War Recovery in Ukraine, organised by the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations and the Government of Ukraine, took place at the UN Headquarters in New York on the margins of the 69th Commission on the Status of Women. Participants discussed key aspects of Ukraine's post-war recovery, including the importance of integrating gender perspectives into all stages of reconstruction policy and implementation.

During the event, Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and Minister of Justice of Ukraine, emphasised the leading role of women in defending Ukraine and rebuilding the country. She stressed that 58% of Ukrainian women are involved in volunteering and charity work, which is significantly higher than the EU average of around 11%.

"Ukraine continues to implement the principles of gender equality even in times of war, implementing the best European standards. However, women still face disproportionately high challenges - from rising poverty and forced displacement to gender-based violence and limited access to decision-making," the official said.

Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and Minister of Justice of Ukraine, is heading a delegation of government officials, parliamentarians, and representatives of relevant NGOs from Ukraine to the 69th session of the Commission and takes part in online events.

During the event, she outlined the key areas that Ukraine is currently focusing on as part of its recovery. This includes institutionalising a gender approach to recovery - Ukraine has integrated a gender perspective into national recovery plans by creating a Gender-Sensitive and Inclusive Recovery Platform.

The Deputy Prime Minister stressed the importance of mobilising international support and highlighted the launch of the International Alliance for Gender-Sensitive Recovery of Ukraine in Berlin, which has already contributed to raising funds, increasing women's participation in decision-making and implementing gender-sensitive policies at the national and international levels. She announced that the next meeting of the Alliance would be held this year in Rome.

A separate aspect of her speech was targeted support for women in vulnerable categories. She noted that the Government of Ukraine is working to expand programmes for women affected by the war, including women veterans, internally displaced persons, victims of sexual violence and others.

Summing up, the Government official emphasised Ukraine's gratitude to its international partners for their support and stressed: "Women should not only be recipients of assistance during reconstruction, but also active participants in this process. Investments in gender-sensitive recovery are investments in resilience, justice and sustainable development of Ukraine."

The event featured the following participants: Sima Sami Bahous, UN Women Executive Director and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations; Lisa Paus, Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth of Germany; Hadja Lahbib, European Commissioner for Preparedness, Crisis Management and Equality; Yamazaki Kazuyuki, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations; Aurore Berger, Minister for Gender Equality and Fight Against Discrimination of France, Stine Renate Håheim, State Secretary to Minister of International Development of Norway; Maurizio Massari, Permanent Representative of Italy to the UN; Kateryna Levchenko, Government Commissioner for Gender Policy and others.

Background information

The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is a global intergovernmental initiative that promotes gender equality and the empowerment of women.

The 69th session of the Commission began on 10 March and will last until 21 March. It will focus on the review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration, Platform for Action and the outcomes of the 23rd Special Session of the UN General Assembly.