This year, 59% of new businesses in Ukraine were started by women. This was announced by First Lady Olena Zelenska in her speech at the eighth Ukrainian Women’s Congress held in Kyiv under the slogan ‘Women’s Potential: New Roles, New Quality’.
The participants of the Congress discussed how women’s leadership contributes to overcoming the challenges of war and how it can play an important role in the future reconstruction and modernisation of the country.
Olena Zelenska added that, according to the Ministry of Economy, 48% of this year’s participants in the Vlasna Dela grant programme are women; 22% of senior positions in diplomatic missions are also held by women, and almost 20% of volunteers, according to the Ministry of Defence, are women.
‘I must admit right away that this potential often comes at a high price. This year alone, I’ve had the privilege of meeting some incredible women, including teachers. Such as Larysa Fesenko, who survived 45 days in a Russian detention centre and returned to her home school in Kharkiv region after the de-occupation. Or Olena Vlezko, who continued to teach children remotely from the basement of her parents‘ house in Myropillia, on the border with the aggressor state, under constant shelling,’ the First Lady said.
She also stressed that despite the war, Ukrainians have a chance for post-traumatic growth.
‘Not all current events are holding us back. Along with pain and loss, new opportunities are emerging. And it is important for all of us – women and men – to believe in this if we want to build a strong society . Not everything that is happening now is holding us back. There are opportunities alongside our trauma and pain, sometimes even as a result of it. And we all – women and men alike – should believe in this if we want to build a strong society,’ Zelenska concluded.
