The dissertation work is a scientific study that aims to develop theoretical and
legal characteristics of implementing the principle of gender equality under Ukraine's
labour legislation. It establishes directions for further improving the legal regulation
of this principle in the field of labour and employment.
Today, in the context of labour law, “gender” is understood as a social
construct that is reflected in labour legislation and defines the roles of men and
women in the workplace without discrimination. The principle of gender equality
under labour legislation is thus a conceptual framework that outlines a number of
requirements for labour relations. Firstly, the principle of gender equality requires that
every person, regardless of gender, should have a common work-related status, be
able to freely realise this status under equal and inclusive conditions that promote the
freedom of labour and labour potential, and be protected from gender discrimination
in the workplace. Secondly, gender equality requires that factors that
disproportionately affect an employee's level of social security due to their gender,
especially women, be eliminated or compensated through positive gender
discrimination measures. The fulfillment of these fundamental requirements of the
principle of gender equality constitutes the formal implementation of the principle in
the field of labour and employment. This is significantly facilitated by the non-gender
approach that primarily regulates the principle of gender equality in Ukraine's labour
legislation. Under this approach, an employee's status is defined without taking into
account gender characteristics, which could otherwise be taken into account through
special employee status designations.
The fulfillment of the requirements of the principle of gender equality under the
labour legislation of Ukraine is not haphazard but instead is carried out through
specific forms and appropriate ways to implement this principle. The forms of
achieving gender equality under Ukraine's labour legislation are external expressions
of directions for creating equality for all employees, regardless of gender. These
forms can be classified into two types: active forms (the execution, use, and
application of the relevant norms of labour legislation) and passive forms (the
observance of labour rights and opportunities for employees, regardless of their
gender). In turn, the ways of implementing the principle of gender equality under the
labour legislation of Ukraine are actual acts (actions, inactions), as well as techniques
that are performed by an authorized entity to form a gender-neutral law and order in
the field of labour and employment. It is also possible to divide these methods into
positive, preventive, and protective.
Both active forms and passive forms of implementation of gender equality are
applied in the recruitment process for employees. The active forms of implementing
this principle in the selection of employees include creating conditions for ensuring
gender equality in the selection of employees, applying the system of gender-based
examination of local acts, and ensuring gender-based motivation and argumentation in
the selection of a candidate for a vacant position. In passive forms, the principle of
gender equality is implemented at the stage of employee selection, in particular, by
not violating the requirements of the principle of gender equality in determining job
responsibilities performed in a vacant position; not violating gender equality in the
process of determining the grounds and conditions for employee participation in
competitive selection for a vacant position; ensuring gender-neutral selection criteria
for candidates and making the final selection based on merit.
