Nearly 70,000 women serve in Ukraine’s armed forces, with 4,000 on front lines

According to Nataliia Kalmykova, Ukraine's deputy minister of defense, nearly 70,000 women were in the army as of January 2024. This was mentioned during a meeting with Jacqueline O'Neill, Canada's Ambassador for Women, Peace, and Security.

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reports this.

"We continue to implement the policy of attracting, developing, and maintaining human capital, an important component of which is the principles of gender equality in the military. Legally, we actually have no obstacles today. Now, our task is to implement these norms practically. It is not only about providing women's form and creating living conditions. We have formed a policy on the use of gender-sensitive language, we are launching courses on leadership qualities of female military service members, and we are increasing the level of control over the violation of the rights of female military personnel," Nataliia Kalmykova emphasized.

According to her, as of January of this year, the total number of women in Ukraine's armed forces is 66,900, of which 47,200 are service members. At the same time, 6,500 are in management positions, and about 4,000 are on the front line.

"We constantly learn from you and understand how difficult it is to carry out reforms during the war. We want to ensure that Ukraine receives the best possible support in its efforts to implement the Women, Peace, and Security agenda. We are your partners; you can rely on us," Canadian Ambassador for Women, Peace, and Security Jacqueline O'Neill stressed.

Nataliia Kalmykova and Jacqueline O'Neill also discussed expanding cooperation between Ukraine and Canada to ensure gender equality in the military and medical support of the Ukrainian army, particularly by combining diplomatic efforts.

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It should be noted that the number of female service personnel in the army increased by 40 percent compared to 2021.

Rubryka also reported that the study's results showed that all over the world, female managers are in the positions of general directors in companies for a shorter period than men.

In addition, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has actively started implementing the policy of gender equality in the security and defense sector.