September 16, 2021, Kyiv, UNFPA Ukraine in partnership with the CSR presented the key findings of the Family-friendly companies Ranking at the V Ukrainian Women's Congress, as well as discussed the best practices that have been already introduced among Ukrainian companies. According to preliminary data, Nota Group, Vodafone Ukraine, METRO Cash & Carry, Intellias are among the ranking's leaders. The purpose of the ranking was to identify companies that recognize the value of families and promote their practices. The Ranking has been conducted in frames of the "Equality to Springboard" Project, implemented by UNFPA Ukraine in partnership with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine with the financial support from Sweden.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced companies and employees to shift to the work-from-home model. Heavy workload both at home and work has affected people's mental and physical health. Due to this situation companies around the world seek new ways to maintain work-life balance for their employees. MP Maryna Bardina noted that “maintaining a balance between professional and family responsibilities has also become a priority for public policy. This year a law on paternity leave has been adopted. These legislative changes are important not only in the context of ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men, but also in terms of the demographic challenges Ukraine is facing now ”.
“The Swedish model of parental leave was elaborated to encourage fathers to take care of their children on an equal footing with their mothers. According to the legislation, mothers cannot take 100% of parental leave, the fathers have to be involved in the childcare process. But the COVID-19 pandemic has changed realities and affected women more than men because of the disproportionate division of family responsibilities. The crisis increased inequality", Tobias Thyberg, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Sweden to Ukraine, said.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the work environment dramatically. We are pleased that both the Ukrainian government and the corporate sector are responding to these challenges and making changes to their policies to ensure equal opportunities for men and women. During the coming years UNFPA will be working with private sector companies to assess, develop and pilot ‘family friendly’ gender sensitive corporate programmes for employees. It's not only the right thing to do from a social and human rights' perspective, it is also a smart decision to recruit and retain employees, and to boost productivity", Jaime Nadal, Head of the United Nations Population Fund in Ukraine, UNFPA, said.
Tetyana Strekal, Chief Operating Officer of StarLightMedia, Member of the Board, talking about the importance of these initiatives, noted: “StarLightMedia is one of the Ukrainian companies that actively implements family-friendly policies. Among the benefits of family-friendly policies are increasing staff involvement, employer brand enrichment, and growing business efficiency. Most importantly, we do this for people. These include parent training courses, flexible working hours, equipped remote workplaces, transportation, courier deliveries, and paid parental leave”.
“Work-life balance practices are not yet widespread among Ukrainian companies. Probably because work-life balance policies are not among the most important criteria while choosing an employer in Ukraine. However, some companies in Ukraine are already implementing such practices. Ranking was conducted to mark these companies and disseminate their practices. We evaluated companies according to the following criteria: corporate culture, flexible working hours, workplace, social and material support of the family. In total more than 50 companies from 16 sectors of the economy submitted their applications”, Maryna Saprykina, Head of the Center for Corporate Social Responsibility Development.
