Equality Springboard project, supported by Sweden, launches a new communication campaign #CVIDOMI to help youth with career choices and eliminate gender stereotypes in education in Ukraine.
May 17, 2022 - The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Ukraine, in partnership with the Embassy of Sweden in Ukraine, the Minor Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and EdCamp NGO, launches today a nationwide campaign to promote stereotype-free career choices among youth to increase the number of girls in STEM professions and their enrollment in vocational education in Ukraine.
According to a UNFPA 2020 study on the topic, 56% of respondents believe that there are gender-specific professions while 21% of parents force their children to choose a profession based on their gender. STEM specialities, agro-industry, architecture, construction are considered professions for men, while education, pedagogy, and art among others are regarded as jobs for women.
The campaign ‘#CVIDOMI To Choose’ (Conscious To Choose) will target youth aged 12-17 years of 7-11 grades, as this is the age when decisions about career path are made. The campaign will assist young people in overcoming barriers in educational choice, such as lack of confidence, parental pressure, and perception of some professions as unprestigious or inappropriate for girls or boys, combining family and career in the desired field. The campaign will include professional orientation sessions, mentorship webinars with established professionals, inspirational videos with women scientists, useful guidelines for school graduates and networking events.
"Gender equality is an important part of the response to the ongoing crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. This includes the ability of the young generation to pursue careers that will fulfill them, regardless of gender stereotypes. Sweden considers our support to this initiative an important element of the promotion of future inclusive economic growth in Ukraine, for the benefit of the whole Ukraine", - said Tobias Thyberg, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Sweden to Ukraine on the occasion of the launch of the campaign.
"We want Ukraine to capitalize on all the human potential that both women and men can provide for the development of the country. However, traditional understanding of gender roles may limit the fulfillment of women's potential. We want to overcome this. In these extremely difficult times, the #CVIDOMI campaign will empower youth to make confident steps forward, towards their own future and that of Ukraine," - noted Jaime Nadal, UNFPA Representative to Ukraine.
CVIDOMI campaign will highlight the importance of a conscious selection of profession, of the skills required in the job market regardless of gender. Throughout the campaign, UNFPA will actively work with adolescents and their parents, provide assistance to teachers and encourage them to use a modern and non-discriminatory approach in education.
Additional information:
Equality Springboard Project on Social Norms Change and Gender Stereotypes Elimination for Better Resilience and Prosperity of Women and Men in Ukraine’ is implemented by UNFPA with the financial support of Sweden and under the auspices of the Office of Deputy Prime Minister for the European and EuroAtlantic Integration. The Project aims at boosting the process of social norms change and end all forms of gender stereotypes in education, at work, at home and among the community . The initiative will create a supportive environment and a growing public demand for the advancement of equal rights and opportunities for women and men in Ukraine. Video presentation of the project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdm1eKAVnB4&t=1s
The UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund, works to promote gender equality, reproductive health and rights and youth empowerment. Together with partners, UNFPA works in 150 countries and territories. Represented in Ukraine since 1997, UNFPA works to achieve equality, combat gender stereotypes, empower women, and ensure equal distribution of housework, and men's engagement to responsible fatherhood.
