a high-level official family, you can get away with it”. Women in the labor force Women make up 54% of the population of Ukraine and 47.4% of its labor force. Over 60% of all Ukrainian women have higher education (college level and above). However, the unemployment rate of women is very high compared to men with the same educational background (80% of all unemployed in Ukraine are women), not to mention the extensive hidden unemployment among women. Labor laws establish the legal equality of men and women, including equal pay for equal work, a principle that generally was observed. However, industries dominated by female workers had the lowest relative wages and were the ones most likely to be affected by wage arrears. The retirement age is in the process of being gradually increased, to 60 years for women and 62 years for men-civil servants by 2021 (the original age was 55 for women and 60 for men). There were reports of some employers refusing to hire younger women likely to become pregnant or women over 35. Women also received lower salaries and had limited opportunity for career advancement. Few women held top managerial positions in the government or in state- owned or private industry. Women in Ukrainian business On average women earn 30% less than men occupying similar posts. About 50% of all enterprises without employees are woman owned. Enterprises with 1 to 5 employees are 27% woman owned. Enterprises with less than 50 employees are 30% woman owned. These numbers are similar to those in other Western economies. Women tend to lead small business in retail, wholesale trade and catering. 2% of large companies are headed by women. In 2008, the women's labour participation rate (LPR) was approximately 62%. Women in Ukrainian politics In the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election 87 women were elected to parliament, a record for Ukraine, 20.52% of the total number of deputies. In the election about 50% of elected Voice deputies were women, 37% of the elected European Solidarity MP's were women; the least places for women was in Opposition Platform – For Life with 11.4%. In 2014, about 12.1% the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament) were women. From the 2014 parliamentary election to the 2019 election this number increased to 53, that is, 12.6%. The percentage of female lawmakers fluctuates per election. Of the 47 women elected in 2014 to parliament only 2 achieved