She Leads Breakfast: Women Leaders on Challenges, Motivation, and the Future

On Friday, March 28, 2025, the Ukrainian Catholic University hosted She Leads Breakfast – a ceremonial gathering that brought together women leaders from vastly different fields.

Organized through the joint efforts of the Center for Leadership of UCU and the UCU Business School, the event carried special significance: as a platform for dialogue, an opportunity to reflect on the early results of Ukraine’s ongoing societal transformations, and ultimately, as a marker of our official return to the study of Women’s Leadership.

What did the guests discuss? What are the main challenges women face on the path to Leadership? And what makes Ukraine’s experience with equal opportunities so unique? Let’s explore together.

She Leads Breakfast: A Timely Conversation

The events of the past decade in Ukraine – especially since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion – have left their mark on nearly every aspect of life, from security challenges to profound societal shifts. The growing role of women in the country’s contemporary reality is undeniable. But is the path to realizing their leadership potential truly so “cloudless”? What obstacles do Ukrainian women face? And in what ways might we become teachers – even to Western nations?

These became the central questions at the She Leads Breakfast – an informal, yet profound, gathering held at the Center of Metropolitan Andrew Sheptytsky. The event brought together guests with truly compelling leadership experiences:

• Linda Netsch – founder of Aling Consulting, lecturer at Harvard Law School, guest lecturer at the UCU Business School, and the event’s special guest;
• Sophia Opatska – Vice-Rector for Strategic Development of UCU, founding Dean and Chair of the Supervisory Board of the UCU Business School;
• Dmytro Sherengovsky – Vice-Rector for External Relations and Public Service of UCU;
• Andrew Rozhdestvensky – Executive Director of the Center for Leadership of UCU, lecturer at the UCU Business School;
• Olesia Yedynak-Khoma – founder and CEO of Yedynka Digital, event moderator;
• Marianna Bilyk-Tomashek – co-founder of the NGO Dental Front;
• Milena Komar – Director of the Kyiv School of Energy Policy;
• Svitlana Zhabiuk – co-founder of “Tvoie Misto Lviv”;
• Roksoliana Voronovska – Director of the UCU Center in Wrocław;
• Solomia Maksymovych – Director of the UCU Institute of Leadership and Management;
• Marjana Kashchak – Director of the Ukrainian Educational Platform Charitable Foundation;
• Liubov Tsybulska – expert on hybrid threats;
• Tetiana Stawnycha – Director of Caritas Ukraine International Charitable Foundation;
• Yana Talyzina – Deputy Head of the First Department for Procedural Guidance in Pre-trial Investigations and Public Prosecution of the Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office;
• Olha Hryn – Head of New Products & PR at Vector;
• Olena Zanichkovska – co-founder of The Gradient.

Such broad representation was no coincidence. It was the key that enabled a fresh – and often unexpected – perspective on the traditional challenges women face on the path to professional self-realization. And it is precisely the main takeaways from this conversation that we’d like to share below.

Women’s Leadership: A Challenging Path to Self-Realization

For decades, “Western” values have remained a kind of benchmark of civilization for most Ukrainians. The efficiency of legislation, a well-thought-out system of checks and balances in governance, a developed market, and the aspiration for social justice – this is just a partial list of features that shaped the “face” of the so-called “First” World. And the presence of the latter – justice – was particularly defining. It created an atmosphere of healthy competition, where success depended not on one’s social background, age, religion, or gender, but on ability. Even the famed “American Dream” is, in part, about that.

However, the rise to power of the 47th President’s administration in the United States appears to have shifted the pendulum of social progress in the opposite direction.

“One of the obstacles [on the path to equal opportunities] in the U.S. has been […] the actions of [Donald] Trump’s administration, which is trying to eliminate the DEI program (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion). This is affecting many corporations, which are now afraid to even mention they have an Equity Program… Those law firms that have spoken out against such restrictions are being attacked: they are being financially undermined, excluded from public programs. And that creates a challenge. There’s a noticeable shift in whether diversity is something a company can openly support at all…”,

acknowledged Linda Netsch during the meeting.

And this very fact – the fragility of seemingly “ideal” systems and the emergence of new threats on the path to equal opportunity – set the tone for the She Leads Breakfast. It allowed the participants to analyze the challenges that distinguish Ukraine’s experience from global trends. And, beyond that, to begin searching for our own path toward genuine partnership between women and men.

So what are the key obstacles faced by modern Ukrainian women? According to the event’s guests, they include:

• Structural barriers – limitations related to access to resources, positions of influence, and support networks. This doesn’t just mean that women are often underrepresented in decision-making roles in both the public and private sectors. It also includes the fact that those who do reach leadership positions frequently encounter distrust in their competence within male-dominated environments – and, as a result, difficulties securing investments.

“For decades, the energy sector has been purely ‘male’ across all continents. […] Traditional sectors like gas or coal have always been ‘male’. They generate fast profits but exhaust resources. On the other hand, renewable energy sources – such as wind and solar – which are more environmentally friendly and future-oriented, are often led by women. The problem is that such projects receive significantly less funding. […] It’s a general trend: sectors led by women often receive less investment [and fewer development opportunities]”,

shared Milena Komar.

• Societal biases about women in leadership – another problem many Ukrainian women face. The cultural promotion of the traditional image of the woman as a “guardian of the hearth”, primarily responsible for the family, on the one hand, affirms the special status of women in our society. On the other, it seriously limits the perception of women in leadership roles as something normal. And the subconscious sense of guilt for choosing one’s career is a daily reality faced by many Ukrainian women.

• Chronic self-doubt among Ukrainian women. From the comment about “yet another diploma or certificate that’s still not enough”, voiced during the Breakfast, to the fear of requesting a raise or applying for a new position – all of these emerged as common challenges for most women.

“[The complexes instilled in Ukrainian women are also seen in the fact that they] are afraid to ask for a raise. I literally just realized: there are 55 people on my team, only five of them are men. And over the past three years, the only requests for a raise I’ve received came from men”,

remarked Liubov Tsybulska.

• Let us not forget a challenge specific to the Ukrainian reality – the emotional and psychological toll brought on by full-scale war. Amplified by the need to balance traditional responsibilities with new professional challenges (particularly the assumption of leadership roles), this leads to rapid burnout, frequent self-criticism, and a sense of isolation. On the global scale, these challenges are further exacerbated by systemic discrimination in the form of unequal pay, lack of mentorship, and the undervaluation of women’s contributions to innovation and management.

Can Ukraine Become a Model of a New Kind of Leadership?

The productivity of any discussion is not measured by the scale of the problems raised but by the conclusions reached by its participants. And in this sense, She Leads Breakfast certainly has something to be proud of. So what were the key “takeaways” offered by participants for women seeking to realize their leadership potential?

• Leadership is not only about control, but also about trust. Ukrainian women leaders have already proven that this approach – different from the classical notion of “proper” management – helps create an environment where the team feels responsible for a shared cause.

“[When I think about] how much Caritas has done over the past three years since the full-scale war began, I realize that a huge portion of it was done by women. At first, there were a lot of arguments, [since everyone saw solutions differently], but the fact that we wanted something and were always able to openly share our thoughts in the team meant, [according to those who observed us], that we had a ‘healthy’ organizational culture. And maybe that’s exactly what helped us become so effective”,

shared Tetiana Stawnycha.

• Diversity and inclusion are not a problem, but a competitive advantage. When a business or the state recognizes the strengths of its people, the chances of success in that field increase significantly.

“In my classes, I always refer to a study that shows: the most successful negotiators ask twice as many questions [as their peers]. They also summarize or paraphrase twice as often during conversations. And these active listening skills are traditionally associated with women”,

noted Linda Netsch.

• Community and support are key to success. Increasingly, amid discussions about the place of men and women in the social hierarchy, we lose sight of what’s most important – recognizing the shared human needs of both groups. The ability to be heard and understood is crucial for everyone. And many women’s natural ability to create a true sense of Community in the workplace becomes a factor that reinforces their status as natural leaders – even in male-dominated teams.

“In the Prosecutor’s Office, equal opportunities exist for both men and women. It doesn’t matter who supports you or who you work with. […] And every day, I see how often men need support. They […] open up to me about going through divorces, family issues, problems with parents, health… [We, their colleagues, become] their closest therapists and psychologists, [the ones they can always count on]”,

confirmed Yana Talyzina.

• Successful Leadership is based on partnership. In this context, we can speak of two dimensions at once: corporate and familial. Many of the challenges women face in self-realization stem from the burden of juggling multiple roles. Thus, the ability of women – along with male allies – to join forces, create effective mentorship programs, and most importantly, receive support from family members, can break the foundation of stereotypes about female Leadership. And, without exaggeration, prove that Ukrainian society truly has something to teach the world.

“[At one point,] I studied a lot of research on inequality in Ukraine and globally, including UN reports. And to my surprise, Ukrainian culture turned out to be, overall, more feminist than even that of the U.S. We have significantly fewer behavioral issues [towards women]. However, structural challenges persist. [And the fact that many women are forced to put their careers on pause after childbirth], because the man is seen as the family’s [financial] pillar – that’s what we need to address”,

summarized Dmytro Sherengovsky.

Conclusions

So what was the true value of She Leads Breakfast? First and foremost – the opportunity to bring together people with such diverse leadership experience, yet united by the understanding of the need for change. The ability to recognize not just steps, but a giant leap made by Ukrainian society toward equal opportunities during wartime. And most importantly – the readiness of participants to turn their knowledge into tangible tools for advancing women’s Leadership. And for that – special thanks to everyone who joined the event!

Perhaps the best summary of the Breakfast came from the event’s moderator, Olesia Yedynak-Khoma: “Women in Ukraine face a tremendous number of challenges today – far more than we can imagine. And today’s meeting is our attempt to understand which of these challenges we must focus on to build a new, more just society”.As for the approaches that the Center for Leadership of UCU and UCU Business School will take in this area – we’ll share those very soon. So stay tuned – there’s more to come!