Theoretical and legal foundations of gender equality in legislation on agricultural cooperation

The article is dedicated to the investigation of theoretical and legal foundations of gender equality in legislation on agricultural cooperation. Gender equality is one of the sustainable development goals. In today’s conditions in agriculture, which is one of the leading spheres of the Ukrainian economy, including the sphere of agricultural cooperation, there is a significant gender gap between women and men, women, who live in rural areas, face a number of problems and various forms of discrimination, that is unacceptable. The article considers the historical retrospective of the women’s participation in cooperative movement through the prism of the ICA activities. It is determined that within the framework of European integration, the comprehensive promotion of gender equality in the cooperative sector of the economy of Ukraine should become one of the key factors of the national cooperative movement. In the article the author’s periodization of the development of agricultural cooperation in independent Ukraine in the context of its legislative support, which is divided into six periods, is formed. It has been established that different periods of development of agricultural cooperation in independent Ukraine, in particular in the context of legislative support, are characterized by insufficient attention to gender equality between women and men in agricultural cooperatives. It has been concluded that the legislation of Ukraine on agricultural cooperation remains incompletely gender-oriented and gender-sensitive, since it still does not contain a separate principle of gender equality in cooperatives, agricultural cooperatives, the consolidation of which is extremely important to emphasize the significance and priority of the ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men in the cooperative sector of the Ukrainian economy. The article emphasizes the need to supplement legislation on agricultural cooperation with the separate principle of gender equality.