UN Women and Global Partners Launch Alliance to Address Gender Inequality in Ukraine's Recovery Efforts

The Alliance unites 15 governments, major international financial institutions, UN agencies, the EU, and numerous civil society and private sector partners.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine continues to disproportionately affect women and girls, exacerbating issues such as poverty, displacement, and gender-based violence. Women constitute the majority of those needing humanitarian assistance in the conflict-stricken region.

Recent OECD data highlights a concerning trend: despite a dramatic increase in official development assistance to Ukraine, rising from USD 1.3 billion in 2021 to USD 18.9 billion in 2022, 90 percent of this funding—amounting to USD 17.1 billion—lacked gender equality objectives. Only USD 44 million was specifically allocated to advancing gender equality.

In response, UN Women Ukraine has initiated the “Alliance for Gender-Responsive and Inclusive Recovery,” in partnership with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The Alliance was launched at the Ukraine Recovery Conference on June 12, 2024, in Berlin.

The Alliance unites 15 governments, major international financial institutions, UN agencies, the EU, and numerous civil society and private sector partners. It aims to support initiatives that promote gender equality, protect women and girls, and empower marginalized groups such as displaced women, returnees, disabled women, veterans, rural women, and LGBTIQ+ persons. The goal is to ensure their active participation in recovery decision-making processes.

Alliance signatories have committed to:

1. Increasing Funding for Gender Equality: Allocate more resources to projects advancing gender equality and protecting women and girls, following the OECD DAC’s gender policy marker.
2. Supporting Women's Participation: Ensure full, equal, and meaningful participation of women and women’s rights organizations in decision-making at all levels.
3. Providing Gender-Responsive Assistance: Deliver financial and technical aid addressing the specific needs of women and girls, using tools for gender-responsive planning and budgeting. This includes financing projects identified in the Ukraine Plan and the Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment.

The business community is also encouraged to adopt the UN’s Women’s Empowerment Principles and implement them within Ukraine as part of their commitment to this initiative.

Sabine Freizer Gunes, UN Women representative in Ukraine, emphasized the significance of this effort. “This year’s URC has spotlighted women and girls’ recovery needs and their leadership in responding to Russia’s aggression. The Alliance sends a strong signal of international unity to further strengthen support for gender equality and women's empowerment in Ukraine, in partnership with the Government of Ukraine and civil society.”

By prioritizing gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, the Alliance aims to ensure that Ukraine's recovery efforts foster greater equality for all, laying the groundwork for a more inclusive and equitable future.