This article is written by Kateryna Onyiliogwu, Consultant, UNDP Ukraine.

  • The problem: Despite the high number of women civil servants in Ukraine and globally, there is a severe lack of women leaders in the public sector.
  • Why it matters: Women leaders are often responsible for gender equality, family and children affairs, social inclusion and protection in government so their absence from leadership in other spheres, such as digitalisation, is troubling.
  • The solution: A leadership programme for women to increase their representation in government and support their needs.

As highlighted in the 2022 report by UN Women, a concerning lack of women leaders persists in the public sector globally. For instance, only four of 19 Ministers in the Cabinet of Ministers in Ukraine are women. Moreover, despite the fact that over 75% of civil servants in Ukraine are women, they occupy merely 33% of the highest-ranking civil service positions, as reported by UN Women Ukraine. Women are predominantly responsible for gender equality, family and children affairs, social inclusion and protection in cabinet ministers' roles worldwide. Meanwhile, digital transformation in government remains predominantly male-dominated, reflecting the realities of the IT sector in both public and business settings. Nonetheless, Ukraine stands out as women professionals actively participate in the digital transformation of government at all levels, paving the way for future government services and, crucially, increased representation of women in leadership positions within the sector.

A leadership programme to support women

To support the advancement of women professionals involved in digitalising public services within central government bodies, the UNDP in Ukraine, with financial support from the Government of Sweden, has developed a leadership programme. This programme supports 16 specialists from the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the State Tax Service and the National Health Service, among others. The programme consists of several days of training and peer-to-peer learning on leadership and people management, developing emotional intelligence, stress resistance and many others.

The focus was to facilitate a safe, warm and friendly atmosphere where women felt that they could openly and without judgement discuss these barriers and share how to overcome them.

As a result of the programme, numerous valuable insights have validated and challenged certain preconceptions regarding women's leadership and support programmes, which have become more common across the globe.

Challenging traditional leadership ideas

It is common for women occupying leadership positions to question their leadership abilities due to traditional gender biases prioritising stereotypically masculine traits such as assertiveness, competitiveness and a more hierarchical approach to decision-making. Despite trends towards embracing more inclusive leadership styles such as transformational, participative and servant, conventional leadership models persist particularly within government institutions. The programme aims to challenge traditional leadership styles, discover each participant's leadership approach and recognise further leadership potential. The emphasis on a more collaborative, empathetic and inclusive leadership style, cultivating positive perceptions about participants' leadership abilities, is at the centre of the programme.

Prioritising soft skills development

During the programme's design phase, there is often a desire to impart as much knowledge as possible, but it is crucial to recognise the limitations of any learning programme. Participants are true innovators, having developed digital solutions for Ukraine during the war, a unique condition not shared by other countries. Given their outstanding technical skills, focusing on soft skills, such as effective communication with team members, motivating others and emotional intelligence, countering a professional burnout syndrome, was identified as a shared learning need. Some studies suggest that emotional intelligence is four times as important as technical abilities for leadership positions. During the programme, the dynamic participation of women during these sessions was a testament to the effectiveness of the programme's targeted approach.

Providing space for reflection

While designing the programme, the aim was to move from traditional learning towards more interactive learning with plenty of space to reflect. Since all participants are accomplished professionals with plenty of knowledge and experience, providing time and space for group discussions and self-reflections has more value for leaders. Women leaders often bear significant responsibilities both in the workplace and at home, hence finding time and space to reflect on their emotions, management practices and behaviours can prove challenging. Consequently, leadership development programmes should prioritise providing such space for reflection to enable effective personal and professional growth. Reflection is a vital tool for developing self-awareness and awareness of others; thus, the programme's design should incorporate it throughout the course.

Facilitating a safe environment for peer exchange

Women face many barriers, such as gender biases, stereotypes and other challenges associated with juggling the roles of leaders in the profession and at home. When designing the programme, we were mindful of not creating an artificial space dedicated to discussing these issues. Instead, the focus was to facilitate a safe, warm and friendly atmosphere where women felt that they could openly and without judgement discuss these barriers and share how to overcome them. This approach worked, and it organically facilitated these discussions. While women worked in different government departments, they shared similar problems as leaders. There is a scarcity of existing forums and opportunities for such discussions among women professionals. Still, a careful and empathetic programme design would allow for discussion of leadership challenges and strategies for addressing the unique issues women leaders face.

UNDP Ukraine Women Leadership TrainingUNDP Ukraine Women Leadership Training

The leadership programme for women in the digital transformation of government is still ongoing. The upcoming study tour to Great Britain will inspire them and expose them to more women leaders abroad who similarly create digital solutions to tackle societal problems. We believe that learning from real, inspirational women from abroad will foster growth for Ukrainian digital leaders. And as for the organisers, it's another opportunity to reflect on the programme and plan on how to scale it for more women leaders in the future.

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