Vice speaker O. Kondratiuk stands for all-out gender expertising of bills in Parliament and Cabinet
27 February 2020, 17:00
“Gender assessment of bills should be conducted in all committees of the Verkhovna Rada as well as at the governmental level,” -- Olena Kondratiuk
The vice speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Olena Kondratiuk held a working meeting with Dafina Gercheva, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative to Ukraine.
In the course of the meeting, there were discussed the cooperation of the Ukrainian parliament with UNDP, a range of events scheduled to mark International Women's Day, as well as needful preliminaries to the fourth Ukrainian Women's Congress.
“We attach great importance and are grateful to the UNDP institutions for their cooperation and assistance in reforming the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine,” Olena Kondratiuk emphasized. She added that this relates to further democratization of the parliament, its modernization, implementation of the gender equality principles, and strengthening VRU’s traditions of parliamentarism.
In her turn, Dafina Gercheva wished the Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada further success in the implementation of gender equality in Ukraine. “I had the privilege of attending the Third Ukrainian Women's Congress and was amazed at the potential of Ukraine’s women. I am sure, once gender equality is achieved and women's equal access to political life is ensured, then this potential might be realized at full blast,” Dafina Gercheva said.
Olena Kondratiuk reminded that since the very inception of the Equal Opportunities Caucus in 2011, a great deal of work has been done to ensure women’s political activity. “As a result, the Verkhovna Rada of the ninth convocation already sees 21% of female parliamentarians against the listed strength,” the politician elaborated. She also expressed keen interest in UNDP’s assistance in organizing the Ukrainian Women's Congress in late 2020.
Particular attention was then paid to the issue of conducting gender expertise. “As for me, it is a priority to apply the gender expertise tool to each and every bill that ought to be subsequently held in every parliamentary committee. All the same should be done by the government,” Olena Kondratiuk stated. Dafina Gercheva backed the idea Olena Kondratiuk pronounced. As an example, she adduced the UNDP’s practice, where each project does undergo gender expertising.