The round table discussion was dedicated to the fact that both the government and employers across the world recognize the problem connected with the return of parents to professional life after a child-care leave. This problem is quite topical for Ukraine.
The results of three researches on the return of parents to professional life after a child-care leave were presented during the event.
The people’s deputies, representatives of specialized parliamentary committee secretariats, personnel of the Ministry of Social Policy, experts on social policy, as well as representatives of employee’s associations, trade unions and publicity convened to discus problems and mechanisms of professional reintegration in Ukraine.
It was stressed that Ukrainian legislation fairly well protects interests of women as mothers but when it comes to practical implementation problems with employment and return to work; deficit of kindergartens and lack of child care infrastructure, etc. arise.
“In practice, all this quite often results in unequal conditions for women, willing to successfully combine family and work,” noted Iryna Herashchenko, the Co-Chairperson of the Inter-faction deputy union “Equal Opportunities”.
I.Herashchenko stands for increasing responsibility of managers of business corporations for unequal pay
for men and women. She informed that the respective bill is already registered
in the Verkhovna Rada at the initiative of the Inter-faction deputy union
“Equal Opportunities”.
Co-Chairperson of the Inter-faction deputy union “Equal Opportunities”
Olena Kondratiuk thinks that “women who want to successfully combine family,
motherhood and career, now need support and help both from the state and from
the employer.” “Special attention should be given to women who reintegrate to
professional life after their maternity leaves, particularly, a possibility to
have a flexible schedule, to work part time, to have breaks for feeding the
child, if necessary – to improve their professional skills, to get
physiological help and legal advice,” noted O. Kondratiuk. Her point of
view was supported by the people’s deputy Pavlo Rozenko, who claimed that “the
state should encourage women. Only by this can the social standards of living
be raised, poverty be fought with and self-fulfillment be
motivated”.
The research results show that in the context of European integration
special attention should be devoted to implementation of gender equality,
particularly, applying social agreement on the basis of European
practice. Following the results of the research, the recommendations have been
made and will become a basis for future legislative initiatives of the Inter-factional
deputy union “Equal Opportunities”.