Empowering girls in Ukraine through career development and support
UNICEF’s POWER4Girls initiative gives girls the practical skills, confidence and experience they need to jumpstart their careers.
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In the autumn of 2026, 17-year-old Marharyta from Kharkiv will begin studying architecture at university. Although construction and architecture are often perceived as professions better suited for men, Marharyta believes that women can succeed in these fields.
Participating in UNICEF’s POWER4Girls initiative in Ukraine helped Marharyta decide on her career.
POWER4Girls helps adolescent girls and young women transition from learning to earning through career guidance, gaining employability skills, internships, entrepreneurship support, mentoring and psychosocial support.
Through this programme, Marharyta learned about job search strategies, CV writing and job interview preparation. She also learned more about the labour market to better understand what opportunities are available for her.
“On Instagram I saw the announcement from my local youth hub about the project launch. At the time, I was in the 11th grade and had to decide what to study, because there wasn’t much time left before applying to university. I thought it might help me. And it did,” says Marharyta.
After speaking with a facilitator, Marharyta changed her career goal from becoming a barista to becoming an architect or designer.
“I was interested in many different things like floristry, landscape design, or economics. Even though I have loved architecture and design since childhood, it never occurred to me that I could make a career out of it until I joined the project.”
"I enjoy creating new interior designs. In urban development, I am particularly fascinated by façades and historic buildings. I would really like to work on improving accessibility and creating barrier-free cities,” she adds.
She knew she had made the right choice when she started an internship at a design studio, where she worked on her first interior design project under the guidance of professionals.
“It wasn't easy balancing school and my internship, but in the end it all worked out really well. During my internship, I worked on the design of a café on the top floor of a building. It's a bar in Tiffany blue and soft lilac tones, and I was responsible for the technical drawings. The designers supported me throughout the process, because doing this kind of work without any experience can be challenging. It's exciting to see the café already being built based on the design I developed during my internship,” Marharyta says.
Empowering girls as drivers of Ukraine's recovery
In Ukraine, many young people support their communities and are already contributing to the country's recovery. However, according to a UNICEF report, teenage girls and young women make up almost 70 per cent of Ukraine's NEET youth (those not in education, employment or training). Many of them face challenges in the transition from learning to earning due to a range of factors compounded by the war, including unpaid care responsibilities, which disproportionately fall on girls and women, as well as gender stereotypes and other structural barriers.
Those in the most vulnerable situations include internally displaced girls, girls living in frontline and rural communities, girls with disabilities, girls from Roma communities, and those facing other forms of vulnerability.
POWER4Girls is helping address these gaps. By enabling girls to access learning, skilling and career development support, they can better contribute to recovery efforts and become part of Ukraine's human capital.
Kateryna Savich, POWER4Girls coordinator in Kharkiv city, says that the career courses for girls and young women were in high demand.
“Because of the security situation and lack of shelters, many young people have been studying online for several years now. They cannot attend their school or university in person, interact with others, or put their ideas into practice. As a result, girls may not have a clear picture of their future pathways.”
“The girls in our programme were truly inspired. Even if they did not go straight into employment, they had the opportunity to undertake internships and explore different career paths. I believe the course gave them a powerful boost for professional development,” Kateryna adds.
Making a difference in her hometown
While many of her friends are considering building their lives elsewhere, 18-year-old Maryna sees her future in her hometown of Chuhuiv, a small city in Kharkiv region frequently affected by shelling. She hopes to open a small clothing repair studio to gain experience before launching her own brand and product line. Her goal is to create comfortable, stylish everyday clothing for women in Chuhuiv, and later expand her business to the city of Kharkiv.
“And if I really dare to dream, not only the Kharkiv market,” Maryna says with a smile.
The self-employment course offered through the POWER4Girls initiative helped Maryna decide on her future career.
“It helped me understand whether self-employment was right for me. We learned about finances, how to register as a private entrepreneur, how to find clients and how to present our work to attract customers. In Chuhuiv, there are very few places where people can get their clothes repaired, and there are hardly any shops selling good-quality clothing. I know the people here, I understand what they like, and I know my future target audience very well.”
UNICEF Ukraine
Maryna has enjoyed sewing since childhood. She started by making dresses for her dolls, then altering her mother's clothes for herself, and later helping her friends. Wanting to turn her passion into a career, she decided to pursue entrepreneurship. After completing the career courses, she realised she needed to further develop her practical skills.
“It is inspiring to see girls deciding what they want to do at such a young age and even thinking about starting their own businesses. Maryna's story is especially inspiring because Chuhuiv is a community that regularly experiences attacks and explosions. Despite this, our youth centre is still able to create opportunities like these for young people,” says Anna Rybalko, project coordinator of the POWER4Girls initiative in Chuhuiv.
The initiative attracted strong interest: 383 girls in Chuhuiv took part in its activities, while a number of local businesses welcomed the opportunity to engage young people and bring new energy to the workplace.
“It was really great that the project offered internships. It wasn't just classroom-based training. Maryna had the opportunity to gain first-hand experience in her chosen profession.”
During her one-month internship, Maryna shadowed Yulia, an experienced seamstress who had previously altered her graduation dress. “She taught me how to draft patterns, take measurements and sew properly. I also had the chance to use a professional sewing machine and an overlocker. It took me a while to get used to them because professional equipment works so fast!” Maryna says.
Maryna also received basic sewing equipment and supplies. The internship prompted her to further develop both her theoretical knowledge and practical skills. In the autumn of 2026, she will begin studying garment making at a vocational college. She also plans to pursue design studies later.
The stories of Maryna and Marharyta show that empowering girls benefits not only the girls themselves, but also their communities.
Providing girls with access to training and internships helps them gain a stronger foundation for professional self-realisation. With mentoring support, practical experience and a better understanding of today’s labour market, they are able not only to cope with wartime conditions but also to help rebuild Ukraine’s economy and communities.
As of the start of 2026, almost 6,500 girls in Ukraine have benefited from career guidance, employability and entrepreneurship training, mentoring, internships and workplace experience through the POWER4Girls initiative.
Now in its second year of implementation in Ukraine, POWER4Girls is being rolled out in 10 regions: Chernivtsi, Kharkiv, Khmelnytsky, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Rivne, Ternopil, Vinnytsia, Volyn, and Zakarpattia, with support from the UNICEF Gender Equality Fund.
The POWER4Girls initiative in the Kharkiv region was implemented by the NGO Ukrainian Professional Development with support from UNICEF. In Chuhuiv, the project was delivered through the Campus Youth Centre, and in Kharkiv it was implemented through the Litera Youth Centre.
