On 14 August 2025, the inaugural meeting of the “Women in Local Self-Governance” network initiative was held in Lviv. The meeting brought together women leaders of hromadas and members of national associations of local self-government bodies – the All-Ukrainian Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities, the All-Ukrainian Association of Communities, and the Ukrainian Association of Rayon and Oblast Councils. The event took place with the support of the Swedish-Ukrainian Polaris Programme “Supporting Multilevel Governance in Ukraine.”
The participants discussed the key needs of women leaders, formed a vision for the development of the network and its next steps, and elected a delegate to represent the newly established network and Ukraine at the Women’s Forum in Stockholm, “Reframing Power for Equality: Women’s Political Participation and the Future of Democracy.” This honourable role will be carried out by Nataliia Petrenko, Deputy Head of the All-Ukrainian Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities, Head of the Luhansk regional branch of the Association, and Head of Shulhyn hromada in Luhansk oblast.
“It is a responsibility — to speak about our experience, about the strength of women who hold hromadas together even in the darkest times, about democracy, which for us is not an abstraction but a daily struggle. I am grateful for this trust and convinced that our voice must be heard globally. Because we are fighting not only for Ukraine, we are fighting for the future of democracy and equality for generations to come,” said Nataliia Petrenko. This marks the first step towards creating a united platform for peer learning, strengthening political leadership, and expanding opportunities for women in politics.
“The involvement of women in governance processes is not merely a matter of gender equality, but a fundamental precondition for successful and effective governance at all levels. The representation of women in local self-government bodies corresponds to international standards and Ukraine’s European integration course. In this context, the Polaris Programme’s initiative to establish the ‘Women in Governance’ network is another important step towards supporting strong women’s leadership,” noted Olena Dmytrenko, Vice-President of the Ukrainian Association of Rayon and Oblast Councils for national health, medical care, and health insurance, and Head of Chernihiv Oblast Council.
A key element of the programme was a speech by Lena Lindgren, Head of Political Leadership, Democracy Section at SALAR, on the creation and development of networking.
“Networks of women political leaders are vital for strengthening women’s leadership. Back in 2007, SALAR launched such a network to strengthen and develop political leadership for governing municipalities and regions, as well as local-level leadership overall — today and in the future. The work of this network directly influenced the fact that, following the 2010 elections, Sweden saw the largest number of women politicians ever to head local authorities in the country’s history,” emphasised Lena Lindgren.
“The ‘Women in Local Self-Governance’ network creates opportunities to exchange experience, strengthen the political potential of women leaders, and jointly address pressing issues of local governance. The Polaris Programme supports such initiatives because they help reinforce women’s leadership from the hromada level up to the national level,” said Yuliia Savielieva, Polaris gender expert.
