The all-Ukrainian photo contest "Breaking stereotypes: Strong women of my hromada" will start on May 21 and last until June 11, 2019.

This photo contest is aimed at setting trends and promoting the empowerment of women in the development of community life. It contributes to raising the awareness of the wide range of roles that women fulfil in their present lives, which should be recognized and taken into account when making decisions at the local level. The photo contest shall promote the creation of new role models, especially for the younger generation and young women who will be able to take an active part in economic and political life and assume responsibility.

If studying the opportunities for men and women in business and politics in Ukraine, stereotypes of social roles become highly evident. For instance, 4 out of 10 men in Ukraine believe that entrepreneurship is a male occupation. Half of the respondents are convinced that men are better political leaders than women. Ultimately, such a biased attitude gets reflected also on the employment market. Only 30% of top managers are women while there have been only 12% female deputies in the Ukrainian Parliament since Ukraine’s independence. (based on United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) research). Women are better represented among the deputies of local councils, but they still account for only 14 percent of the deputies of region­al councils and local councils of regional im­portance. On the other hand, women are more likely to have better education than men, but they do not hold positions in central government as often as men. They mainly work in lower-paid economic activities and in lower-level positions than men, such as in the public sector, education, health care and social assistance, libraries, archives, museums etc.

Against this background, the photo contest "Breaking stereotypes: Strong women of my hromada" shall emphasize the achievements of women and make people understand that gender equality is first a fundamental principle of human rights and values but also contributes significantly to the welfare of the society since it allows women to realise their full potential in all spheres of life. In fact, gender equality benefits everyone, and this is best recognized by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UN SDG) where it is reflected in the SDG 5.

How to join the contest:

1. Look around in your home hromada, talk to family members, friends, and neighbours to get to know stories of women in your environment that inspire you.

2. Take a photo of a woman that best illustrates our vision of “strong women in local life.

3. Upload up to three photos to the website hromady.photos

You can find detailed information and entry rules by the following link.

The all-Ukrainian photo contest: "Breaking stereotypes: Strong women of my hromada" is implemented by U-LEAD with Europe: Ukraine – Local Empowerment, Accountability and Development Programme (U-LEAD), which is a multi-donor action of the European Union and its member states Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Poland and Sweden which supports these efforts. The programme co-operates with the Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services in establishing a multilevel governance system that is transparent, accountable and responsive to the needs of the population.

Contact person: Soloviova Vlada, +38 095 529 42 40

vlada.soloviova@giz.de