Feedback In March 2017 ADC Memorial launched the campaign #AllJobs4AllWomen against restrictions on professions for women in Eastern European and Central Asian countries. At that time, gender-related bans on employment affected hundreds of jobs, including prestigious and high-paying jobs, in 10 countries in the region. Lists of professions banned for women, a relic of the Soviet era, legitimized employment discrimination against women, justifying this with concerns about their “reproductive function.” In the three years of the #AllJobs4AllWomen campaign, three countries have fully repealed legally enshrined professional bans for women and several countries have opened access to hundreds of specializations for women. The cancellation and revision of these lists were achieved by the women themselves, the heroines of this campaign, who were vocal in their fight for the right to work in their chosen professions, and through cooperation with unions and deputies. In addition, human rights defenders have repeatedly pointed out to UN experts that gender-based bans on employment violate international agreements and conventions and have recommended that these bans be recognized as discrimination.
Countries that have repealed lists of professions banned for women: Armenia and Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
Countries that have revised their lists of banned professions and partially lifted some bans: Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan
Deepening of entrenched stereotypes: Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan