PORTRAIT OF SVITLANA HLADCHENKO
Svitlana Hladchenko is a dedicated researcher and advocate of gender studies in Ukraine. With a career spanning over two decades in academia, she founded the Center for Gender Studies at the Odesa I.I. Mechnikov National University. Her passion for understanding and advocating gender equality shaped her professional path, and later, she was invited to the Odesa Military Academy as an Associate Professor and Gender advisor to the Head of the Academy. This role allows her to integrate gender perspectives into military education for future officers.
One of her first initiatives at the Academy was conducting sociological surveys among cadets; exploring their motivations for joining the military and their attitudes toward women in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The findings revealed a remarkable transformation over time. In 2021, most cadets associated women in the military with traditional roles such as medics or cooks. However, since the start of full-scale Russian invasion, approximately 80% of cadets expressed support for women taking on combat roles. Svitlana presented her research findings at multiple conferences, where her insights shed light on the evolving perceptions of gender roles within Ukraine’s military education system.
In the last year, Svitlana began receiving more direct requests from cadets, faculty, and leadership to deliver lectures on gender equality and to guide its implementation at the Academy. The shift in perceptions and mindset presents the growing acceptance of gender equality within traditionally male-dominated military structures.
Svitlana’s vision stretches far beyond research and training. She dreams of establishing a Museum of Women’s Military History in Ukraine at the Academy—an initiative that would honour the contributions of Ukrainian servicewomen throughout history, preserving their stories for generations to come. Svitlana’s work illustrates the power of persistence, research, and education in breaking down barriers and building a more inclusive future in Ukraine’s military landscape.