November 10, 2011 a solemn ceremony of awarding winners of the competition “Equal opportunities: the best employer of Ukraine 2011” was held. The competition for the second consecutive year is organized by the European Union project “Women and children’s rights in Ukraine – communication component” with the support of the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, International Labor Organization and the European Business Association.
The competition is to determine the best employer of Ukraine in creating equal opportunities for men and women at the workplace. The issue of gender equality is of interest at this time for our country, because it is an essential attribute of civil society. Availability of appropriate policy and institutions, which implement it, is the key to the European course of the state.
The development of gender equality is also important for the EU. According to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belgium to Ukraine, Ms. Yana Zikmundova, in Europe also, unfortunately, there are still much less women in management positions in both the private and public sector. The European community’s goals for the next decade are the following – to increase presence of women in the labor market, to ensure equal salaries between men and women, if they have the same level of competence, to promote balance between life of a woman in the family and at work, facilitate the presentation of women in responsible positions in politics and economic life.
Organizers of this unique for Ukraine competition can be called path breakers, because in European countries it is a usual thing, though not less important. Over 60 Ukrainian enterprises of all forms of ownership took part in the competition this year, only 5 of them represented agricultural complex. It is especially pleasant that the flagship of agricultural production of Ukraine “NIBULON” got the award in two categories. The company received a gold award in the category “Best business for family” and a silver award in the category “Companies with over 1 000 employees”.
As it was noted by Deputy Minister of Social Policy Vasyl Nadraga in his welcoming remarks, a wide range of participants indicates that the principles of gender equality are becoming increasingly important for Ukrainian employers. “Gender equality has to become a key one in the advancement of production sphere and Ukrainian society in general. In terms of gender mainstreaming society is able to solve many pressing social issues, to achieve a higher level of development, to ensure the European standards of living for all members of society “, he said.
The effectiveness of the principle of gender equality is confirmed by the practice of “NIBULON” as among the managers of its business units number of men and women is equal. In conditions of the Ukrainian village, to achieve parity of women and men is a ticket to success of agricultural activity. In fact, only by providing financial stability and social support for motherhood and families, eliminating the root causes of gender discrimination, not only the efficiency of work of the companies’ employees can be achieved, but also the success of the industry in general.Getting high honors, Deputy Director for personnel of “NIBULON” Larysa Buryk noted that the company ensures equal opportunities for women and men on several levels. One is the strengthening of gender equality and impermissibility of displays of sexual harassment in the local legal documents, including the collective agreement. Another level of gender equality is promotion of the development of social infrastructure in those regions where the company operates. For many years the company has been implementing a program of community development “NIBULON’s standard”. The aim is to ensure qualitative material and technical base of schools in those regions where the branches of the company are located. The company also assists in solving the housing problems of young families. “That is how we can really provide a basis for full implementation of labor and social rights of both men and women by providing effective support for motherhood and family, making long-term investment in the development of potential of the younger generation”, Larysa Buryk said.