The majority of both men and women in Ukraine strive to see changes in traditional gender roles, according to the results of the first national survey on the equality of men and women, carried out by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Ukraine, commissioned by the office of Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze.

According to the deputy premier's press service, 77% of Ukrainians claim that equality between men and women is important for them, 71% believe that men and women should be equally involved in family life and only 40% agree that the current situation is such.

Two thirds of Ukrainians see that at present men dominate the political life of the country, but only 36% believe that this is how it should be.

Men, as well as women, are concerned about sexual harassment in the workplace. Some 13% of respondents indicated that they know someone who has been the victim of sexual harassment. A quarter of respondents know personally someone who has been the victim of domestic violence. Most of these cases were not notified.

"The global experience proves that societies that have achieved greater equality between men and women are safer and more successful. Obviously, for Ukrainians, as for people in other European countries, equality between men and women matters. They want equality, because this reflects the needs they face on a daily basis, for example, most people want both parents to take part in raising children equally. Two thirds of Ukrainians are not satisfied with a male-dominated political system," Klympush-Tsintsadze said, presenting the results of the survey.

She stressed that the government had already developed a program for ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men and is taking decisive steps to introduce equality and counter discrimination, which also encompass the security and defense sector.

"We have abolished the ban on the use of female labor in many professions that have been denied access to women. We are also working to counter gender-predetermined violence, including conflict-related sexual violence. We are updating government policy on gender equality and working with the government ensuring a more balanced representation of men and women in the next convocation of parliament," she said.