This trend, which is currently very weak, is sometimes linked with the traditionalist trend. The reason for its weakness lies in the fact that emancipation and feminism were considered in the USSR, and are still considered in Ukrainian society, as predominantly negative phenomena. The Soviet patriarchal system, which gave formal freedom to women and allowed them to work in difficult, unhealthy, trades, never admitted them to the ruling elite. Nor did it try to convince men that family duties and child raising were their sphere as much as women's. The Soviet woman never experienced the real results of emancipation, and never joined the feminist movement.
Feminist organizations are diverse in interests and small in number.
At the forefront of this movement are women in the creative professions, particularly cinematography and art, followed by women in the scientific professions and in academe. Women with a high level of education who are engaged mainly in the sphere of intellectual work and are aware of the problems of gender inequality, family violence, sexism in social relations, the need to instill in women self-respect and personal dignity form the vanguard of the women's movement. But they are a minority. The vast majority of members of women's public organizations are those who, due to the country's social and economic transition, have not been able to find a venue in which to apply their knowledge and skills in their professional field and have been forced out of the labour market. The narrow social base is a source of weakness for the women's movement in Ukraine.