Background and political system
With a population of just over 41 million people as of January 2022, Ukraine is located in Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea and Belarus, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia and Slovakia. Ukraine’s first multiparty elections were held in 1994, the first since Ukraine became independent in 1991.
The Constitution of Ukraine, adopted in 1996 and subsequently amended through 2019, provides the framework for the country’s political institutions and governance. Ukraine is a parliamentary-presidential, unitary republic divided into 24 regions (oblasti), one autonomous region, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (avtonomna respublika), which is temporarily occupied by Russia since 2014, and two municipalities, Kyiv and Sevastopol (mista), and governs via central, intermediate (the Autonomous Republic of Crimea) and local government structures.
Ukraine’s government consists of the Executive and Legislative branches, complemented by the Judicial branch. The President of the Republic, who is elected by the public for a maximum of two five-years terms, acts as Head of State. The Prime Minister is both the Head of Government and leader of the Executive branch and is appointed by the Parliament on proposal from the President of Ukraine. The executive branch’s Cabinet of Ministers consists of the Prime Minister, the First Vice Prime Minister, the Vice Prime Minister and ministers nominated by the Prime Minister and approved by the Parliament. Meanwhile, the Minister of Defence and the Minister of Foreign Affairs are appointed by the Parliament upon the submission by the President of Ukraine. The legislative branch, called the Supreme Council or the Verkhovna Rada, is formed by members directly elected by the public and serve in a unicameral parliament. The judicial branch hosts the Supreme Court of Ukraine, which consists of a maximum of 200 judges, the Constitutional Court of 18 justices, and the High Anti-Corruption Court of 39 judges, in addition to subordinate courts.
Gender equality and women’s empowerment
Women’s right to vote and stand for election was first ensured in the country in 1919 and confirmed on the date of independence in 1991. The first women in Parliament were elected in 1990.
In Ukraine, women still face relevant challenges in the areas of socio-economic and political power, as traditional norms still place the majority of the care burden on women, presenting challenges to sharing domestic work equally and to pursuing meaningful, equally compensated employment outside the home. According to the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Global Gender Gap Index, Ukraine ranks 63rd out of 146 countries, but only 91st under the political empowerment indicator.
However, considerable strides have been made in recent years. According to UN Women, 83.3 percent of the legal frameworks that promote, enforce and monitor gender equality under SDG 5, with a focus on violence against women, are in place.
Structure of parliament
The Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) is composed of 450 deputies elected to five-year terms: of these, 225 members are directly elected in single-seat constituencies by a simple majority vote and 225 members are directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by closed, party-list proportional representation vote. The Parliament is responsible for enforcing legislative initiatives, appointing the Prime Minister, and supervising the work of the Government.
The electoral code adopted in 2019, as amended through 2022, establishes a 40 percent gender quota, specifying that for each electoral zone, the party should ensure a presence in the electoral lists in every five places, starting from the first to the fifth, and so on, of at least two candidates of each sex.
Women's representation in parliament
As of July 2024, the Ukrainian Parliament has 85 women members, out of a total of 401 deputies, representing 21.2 percent. Women are also represented in leadership positions, with Olena Kondratiuk as Deputy Chairperson of the Parliament. Ukraine is currently under martial law, which prohibits national and local elections.
Forecast based on past trends
If changes continue at the current pace, this is how women's representation in parliament will look like by 2030.
We calculated this forecast by taking the average rate of improvement from 1995 to 2023 and projecting it into the future.
Forecast based on recent trends
If changes registered in the past five years continue, this is how women's representation in parliament will look like by 2030.
We calculated this forecast by taking the average rate of change in the past five years and projecting it into the future.
Best case forecast
If the situation improves similarly to the country performing best in the region, this is how women's representation in parliament will look like by 2030.
We calculated this forecast by taking the rate of improvement from the country performing best in the region and accelerating the change with this amount over five years and then keeping it constant.
Worst case forecast
If the situation deteriorates similarly to the country registering the worst drop in the region, this is how women's representation in parliament will look like by 2030.
We calculated this forecast by taking the drop rate in the country performing worst in the region and deteriorating the situation with this amount over five years and then keeping it constant.
Women Chairpersons of Parliament Committees
The Ukrainian parliament has specialized Committees on the topics of Agrarian and Land Policy; Anti-Corruption Policy; Budget; Humanitarian and Information Policy; Environmental Policy and Environmental Management; Economic Development; Energy and Housing and Communal Services; Nation Health, Medical Assistance, and Health Insurance; Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation; Integration of Ukraine with the European Union; Youth and Sports; National Security, Defense and Intelligence; State Building, Local Governance, Regional and Urban Development; Education, Science and Innovation; Human Rights, Occupation and Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, National Minorities and International Relations; Legal Policy; Law Enforcement; Rules of Procedure, Deputies’ Ethics and Organization of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine; Freedom of Speech; Social Policy and Veterans’ Rights; Transport and Infrastructure; Finance, Tax and Customs Policy; and Digital Transformation.
As of July 2024, women are the chairpersons of the Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy (Anastasiia Olehivna Radina), the Committee on Budget (Roksolana Adriivna Pidlasa), the Committee on Integration of Ukraine with the European Union (Ivanna Orestivna Klympush-Tsyntsadze), the Committee on State Building, Local Governance, Regional and Urban Development (Olena Oleksiivna Shuliak) and the Committee on Social Policy and Veterans’ Rights (Halyna Mykolaivna Tretiakova).
Structure of government
Central government
The Ukrainian President is responsible for representing the country in international relations, administering the foreign policy activity of the state, conducting negotiations and concluding international treaties.
The Cabinet is composed of 22 members, who take on the positions of Ministers within the Ukrainian government. Within the executive branch, the Council of Ministers, led by the Prime Minister, constitutes the Government of Ukraine and is responsible for day-to-day government administration and the introduction of legislation to the Supreme Council. The Council of Ministers is held accountable by the Parliament.
The current Prime Minister of Ukraine is Denys Shmyhal, who has been in power since 2020, while the current President is Volodymyr Zelensky, who sworn in as 6th President of Ukraine in 2019. Ukraine has not yet had a woman serve as President, but Yulia Tymoshenko served as Prime Minister in 2005 and from 2007 to 2010.
As of July 2024, there are four women in the Cabinet of Ministers: Yuliia Svyrydenko (Minister of Economy of Ukraine and First Deputy Prime Minister); Iryna Vereschchuk (Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine and Deputy Prime Minister); Olha Stefanishyna (Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine); and Oksana Zholnovych (Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine).
Ministers or Cabinet Members
Yuliia Svyrydenko
Minister of Economy of Ukraine and First Deputy Prime Minister
Iryna Vereschchuk
Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine and
Deputy Prime Minister
Olha Stefanishyna
Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine
Oksana Zholnovych
Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine
Autonomous Republic of Crimea
The government of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea is composed of legislative and executive bodies. The legislative branch’s Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) of Crimea sits in a unicameral chamber, composed of members elected directly, while the executive branch’s Council of Ministers is led by the Prime Minister of Crimea, who is appointed by the Parliament of the Republic of Crimea, upon approval from the President of Ukraine. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea has a Constitution, which is adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and approved by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
Local government
At the local level, the government is organized into upper, intermediate and lower tiers, that hold budgetary, taxation, asset-management, and regulatory authority over local matters. The upper tier consists of the City of Kyiv, the City of Sevastopol and 25 regional-level local government units; the intermediate tier consists of 136 cities of regional significance and district-level local government units; while the lower tier is made up of 1,439 local communities (hromadas). For all tiers, local governments are comprised of deliberative bodies and executive bodies. Local deliberative bodies are made up of elected officials, the number of which is proportional to the population they represent. The gender quota also extends to local government representation, with a 30 percent minimum gender representation requirement for each locality of under 10,000 voters, and a 40 percent gender quota, for localities over 10,000 voters, with a condition that at least two of the first five names on each candidate list be from each sex. Local executive bodies consist of the city and regional administrations and their respective chairperson(s) at the upper tier, the city and district administration and their respective Mayor or chairperson(s) at the intermediate tier, and the executive of the district level of government at the lower tier. During Martial Law, regional administrations are replaced with Regional Military Administrations.
For more information on gender quotas adopted at the national level, visit the women in parliament section.
Structure of public administration
The central government’s roles and responsibilities include carrying out financial, price, investment and taxation policies, as well as actions in the spheres of labour and employment, social protection, education, science and culture, environment protection, ecological security and nature management.
Local government bodies are largely responsible for Ukraine’s public administration when it comes to local matters of politics, administration, and finance. Within each local jurisdiction, local government is in charge of managing and implementing an independent budget, including local taxation; managing communal property, housing services, land regulation, transport and communications; managing education, health, culture and sport; providing social protection services and ensuring law and order; providing local referendums and the implementation of their results; establishing and recognizing communal enterprise, organizations and institutions and resolving local issues ascribed under their jurisdiction.
Women’s representation as employees and decision-makers in public administration
This visualization was developed based on data provided by GIRL@University of Pittsburgh.
Data across countries and territories is not comparable. For more information about the methodology and sources used, read here.
In the context of Ukraine’s public administration, women’s representation has over the years shown both stability and transformation. At the employee level, women’s representation has been mostly stagnant, standing at 66 percent in 2021, which is only a slight decrease from 66.9 percent in 2007. However, there have been more significant changes at the decision-making level. In 2015, women occupied 41.9 percent of decision-making positions in public administration, a significant growth from 10.9 percent in 1995. These numbers show a growing gender balance in which women may increasingly shape public administration in Ukraine.