Women This Week: Russia’s War Against Ukraine Reverses Progress for Women and Girls

Three Years Since Invasion Shows Significant Humanitarian Impact 

UN Women is calling for a scale-up of assistance to women in Ukraine in light of the conflict’s profound impact on women and girls. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has reversed decades of progress for women and girls. The war has forced more than 1.8 million women out of their homes and has led to approximately 6.7 million women requiring humanitarian assistance. And thousands of women have lost their lives—conservative estimates show that more than 3,799 women and 289 girls have been killed, although the figure is likely higher. UN Women’s Representative for Ukraine, Sabine Freizer, emphasized that “[t]he full-scale war has pushed an entire generation of Ukrainian women backwards.” Rates of gender-based violence have increased significantly, women’s employment has decreased—especially amongst displaced women—the gender pay gap has doubled, and the burden of unpaid care work is increasingly and disproportionately affecting women. Despite these, Ukrainian women are continuing to help lead humanitarian responses and recovery efforts. Women are aid workers, leaders, security professionals, and entrepreneurs—in fact, half of businesses today in Ukraine were founded by women. 

United Kingdom Shows Strong Growth in Women’s Leadership at Top Companies  

The Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) Women Leaders Review and the Government of the United Kingdom published a report this week illustrating how women now hold a record number of leadership positions across the country's top businesses. According to the data, women hold 43.4 percent of all board positions and 35 percent of leadership roles in the 350 countries that comprise the FTSE exchange. The 50 largest companies that make up the FTSE are keeping pace with this number on the leadership metric—in fact, women now hold 37 percent of leadership positions at the top 50 companies. However, board representation is falling a bit short, with women making up roughly 31 percent. But overall, the UK is doing exceedingly well in growing women’s leadership. With these increases, the UK is now second only to France for the number of women in the boardroom. Vivienne Artz, the CEO of FTSE Women Leaders Review, said “in an increasingly disruptive world in which companies are faced with a combination of economic, geo-political and technological change British businesses are setting an international standard for balanced and inclusive leadership.” FTSE 350 businesses hope to increase women’s representation to 40 percent by the end of 2025 in both board and leadership positions, and the latest report demonstrates that over half of the companies are close to this target. 

Rise in Sterilization Procedures in the Wake of Abortion Bans 

A study published by the journal Health Affairs shows that the rates of permanent contraceptive methods—including tubal sterilization and vasectomies—rose significantly among young adults who live in states that were likely to have restrictive abortion policies after the fall of Roe v. Wade. The study found that among people between the ages of nineteen and twenty-six, tubal sterilization visits increased by 70 percent and vasectomies by 95 percent. There were roughly double the number of tubal sterilizations sought out over vasectomies, with young women largely citing the political climate as their reason for undergoing the procedure. One twenty-four-year-old woman said, “The pill isn’t 100% effective, and I’m afraid of losing access to it, and I do not want children in the future and would much rather be sterilized. I’m afraid of getting pregnant and not being able to make decisions for myself.” 

Diya Mehta is the intern for the Women and Foreign Policy Program.