Description
The ratio of women in leading positions is locally 10%. The region can thrive better if both views of women and men are represented. Gender inequality of salaries can be changed by women themselves. They need to increase their self-confidence and improve communication skills. That is why we created Women Welcome that supports women and increases awareness of society. Our aim is to increase the number of local women in politics and top positions in firms. The 1st step was a questionnaire about needs. A visit to the Norwegian organisation Caritas will bring inspiration. We will organize a conference for approx. 120 women with speakers from top management & politics. Workshops and networking events will follow. 36 women in 3 groups will improve their skills in regular educational meetings. Master classes will follow. Individual coaching will help women to achieve their goals. There will be regular English discussion clubs. A brochure with stories of women who broke the glass ceiling will be produced in order to inspire others.
Summary of project results
The mission of Oblastní charita Pardubice (Regional Charity) is to perceive needs of people where they live. In town Holice v Čechách with 6.5 thousand inhabitants, there are 90% of members of local representatives men. Similar situation of women, being only in minority, was in management of regional companies. The aim of the project was to support women in career and personal development and increase their chance to get to management positions in companies and in politics. Despite the fact that the project helped reduce gender inequality in the region, the number of women in decision-making positions is growing only gradually. The most important change that was caused by the project were the career and personal development of participants. Output of the project is printed brochure with stories of successful women Goals of Women Achieved. A diverse mix of personal stories of success inspires readers from the general public to have courage to fulfill, not only working goals. The aim of the project was to support minimum of 120 women in career and personal development and increase their chance to get to management positions in companies and in politics. 139 women took part in the project. Because of the biggest women conference in the region, experience based seminars led by two trainers and possibility to share experience with other women, because of coaching and possibility to develop English speaking skills, participants of the project enhanced their self-confidence in average by 51% and their communication skills by 55%.
Summary of bilateral results
Because of the partership our organization, more precisely members of the project team, gained valuable experience in two areas. A) in project management: looking up and connecting with foreigh organization, clarifying the fundamentals of partnership and creating partnership agreement, arranging the business trip of the trainers. B) gaining know-how in the area of empowering of women, improving knowledge and competency of our trainers. Caritas Norge had previous experience with project partnership with other organizations including ones from the EU. As a result we benefited from the partneship more as it was our first experience.