“We barely have time to celebrate our wins …
or to process what we’ve lost”
This study by Open Space Works Ukraine with the support of Ukrainski Dom (Poland) takes a bottom-up approach to humanitarian action by examining the experiences of Ukrainian women-led organisations (WLOs) in Ukraine and Poland in response to the war in Ukraine since February 24, 2022.
Key findings
In Ukraine, WLOs provide vital support in frontline areas and to those internally displaced. In Poland, Ukrainian women-led initiatives and organisations provide aid for Ukraine and act as points of first contact and holistic support for refugees, while primarily consisting of Ukrainian women themselves.
Ukrainian WLOs design services based on an in-depth and gender-informed knowledge of the welfare needs of those affected by war. Services are provided as part of an intersectional approach, in which the meeting of basic needs is entwined with psychological, cultural and vocational support.
As the conflict extends into its fourth year, Ukrainian WLOs face an array of challenges that threaten their ability to build on their achievements, as the resources for continuing the provision of their much-needed services are rapidly shrinking.
In Ukraine, WLOs face excessively short-term and bureaucratised funding structures, precluding the involvement of smaller, locally rooted organisations. In Poland, most Ukrainian WLOs operate outside the direct support of international organisations. The precarious financial situation of WLOs is mirrored in the low earnings of refugee women in Poland facing a rolling back of state support.
As a result of their humanitarian engagement, Ukrainian women have emerged in new leadership roles. In both countries, the crisis response of Ukrainian WLOs has caused a change of attitudes toward the leadership of Ukrainian women, with Ukrainian WLOs being newly included in political bodies at various levels. Ukrainian WLOs struggle with the resources to perform representative and advocacy roles and are often frustrated that, despite participating in consultative bodies, their voices are not heard.
In Ukraine, WLOs identify regressions to gains in women’s leadership achieved during the crisis and argue that preparations must now be made to include women’s organisations in reconstruction plans. In Poland, Ukrainian WLOs face numerous barriers to political representation at both national and local levels based on race and gender. They also struggle to be valued by the Ukrainian state for their work in the diaspora.
Open Space Works Ukraine is a female-headed private social change enterprise that originated from the Open Space Works Cooperative, a collective of independent consultants in Ukraine, established in 2016. The company is based in Ukraine and supports development, humanitarian, and civil society sectors through independent research, events, mentoring, supporting local partners, and promoting ethical business practices.
Ukraiński Dom supports the Ukrainian community in Poland through information, educational and cultural activities to ensure smooth integration of into Polish society, while promoting the preservation of Ukrainian identity. The organisation creates initiatives aimed at promoting Ukrainian culture and support the development of educational, economic and political contacts between Poland and Ukraine.
The project has been carried out in collaboration with the Humanitarian Leadership Academy. This report has been funded by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) within the Sustainable Humanitarian Innovation for Transformation programme (SHIFT) run by the Humanitarian Leadership Academy and partners in the region.