CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2025
| Author | Chorna, Anna |
|---|---|
| Title | Gender Sensitivity and career opportunities of women in the Armed Forces of Ukraine |
| Summary | This thesis research aims to investigate the obstacles to the professional development of female military personnel in the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the full-scale war by the Russian Federation. The focus is placed on analysing the interaction of official and real practices that affect the integration of female military personnel into full-fledged military service. As part of a qualitative study based on 1) expert interviews with gender experts and gender advisors, as well as 2) categorisation of key barriers based on a literature review, the thesis developed a typology of 5 levels of obstacles. Among them: political, institutional, sociocultural, individual/personal, and physical/environmental barriers. These categories do not exist separately; on the contrary, they form a system of restrictions that not only complicates the usual service of female military personnel but also jeopardises the opportunity to gain combat experience, higher ranks, military training programs, and to make strategically important decisions. Moreover, during the empirical analysis, it was found that although the number of women in the Ukrainian army has increased, and steps have been taken to allow women to study in a military lyceums and to formally open combat positions to females – these developments remain within the framework of visible inclusion, where formal changes and quantitative presence do not transform into an indicator of real change. Thus, the problems arising from these barriers require a strategic, systematic, and careful approach to reforming the established system. |
| Supervisor | Bogaards, Matthijs |
| Department | Political Science MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2025/chorna_anna.pdf |
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