Ukrainian parents help to advance gender equality for children
Workshops are helping parents to drive gender equality and break the cycle of discrimination.
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A group of parents are meeting at the Zhytomyr Medical Institute in Ukraine to learn how to help their children grow up in an environment free from gender stereotypes.
There, one of the young boys who came to today’s workshop with his mother is busy playing with a toy kitchen. The adults have learned not to interfere or try to redirect his play towards traditionally male-gendered toys like cars or robots.
"Growing up under the influence of stereotypes has a negative impact on health,” explains Halyna Chekurda, a paediatrician and facilitator of the School of Future Parenting. “Children who don't face gender discrimination are healthier, more self-confident, less violent and find it easier to get an education and achieve their goals.”
Halyna’s workshop is part of a programme run by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), offering guides and workshops about gender-transformative upbringing to parents, caregivers, and professionals who work with children and their families.
Today’s workshop for parents began with a discussion centred around societal stereotypes.
"Our society promotes the idea that men should embody strength, resilience and protectiveness. Conversely, women are often expected to be tender and fragile".
"This has prevented women's advancement into leadership roles. For instance, only 21 per cent of Ukrainian parliamentarians are women.” - he adds.
During the meeting, participants discuss the difference between gender and sex, and the influence of fairy tales and children's toys on the formation of gender roles. They are presented with illustrations of different toys and asked to choose which toys they would give to a son and which ones to a daughter.
"All toys are for all children,” says Anna, mother to four-year-old Matvii. “For example, I played with cars and motorbikes all my childhood and my parents were okay with that."
"Raising children without gender stereotypes not only makes life easier, but also guarantees friendship and understanding between partners. A child will carry this example of parental interaction into its own family."
Since the outbreak of full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022, raising children without gender stereotypes has become particularly important. This is because discrimination against boys and girls negatively affects their future, reduces their potential and increases gender inequality, which contributes to violence.
From 2023 to 2024, UNICEF, in partnership with the Divchata NGO and the Centre for Gender Culture, and with funding from the Government of Spain, produced seven manuals on raising children and growing up without gender stereotypes for professionals, parents and caregivers, as well as children of all ages.
UNICEF has already welcomed 804 professionals and 235 parents and caregivers to the Parenting Without Gender Stereotypes training programme, and trained 306 facilitators to share the knowledge in their communities.
