Approach and outcomes
The GenderWorks project, funded by the European Commission, was based on a shared learning approach and involved three core areas of work:
Empowering women living in poverty
Training was provided for women living in poverty to help them develop the skills and confidence to talk to decision-makers about the problems they face and find solutions that meet their needs.
- Six regional training sessions were run in the UK to help women in poverty use equalities legislation to hold public sector agencies to account and influence how local services are planned and delivered.
- In Austria, a network of women's refuges received training in networking, lobbying and campaigning.
Raising awareness of gender issues in the public sector
Training was provided for local policymakers and service providers to raise awareness of the different needs of women and men, and to help improve the effectiveness of policies and services by taking these differences into account.
- In the UK, ten key public agencies were trained in how best to meet their responsibilities under the Gender Equality Duty (now part of the Equality Act 2010).
- In Italy, two public bodies were trained in incorporating a gender perspective across their policies and services, using tools such as gender budgeting.
Influencing National Action Plans on Social Inclusion (NAPs)
Every few years each European Union member government must produce a National Action Plan on Social Inclusion (NAP) which sets out their strategy for tackling poverty. These plans are then reviewed by the European Commission which reports back on each government's strategy's strong and weak points and highlights common themes.
Several events were held in order to share our experiences with our partners in Italy and Austria and to influence the NAPs. These included a roundtable session at the Department of Work and Pensions in the UK and a session of the Council of Europe.
Oxfam, Lamoro and WAVE all submitted documents to the consultations open in the UK, Italy and Austria:
You can read the UK's NAP 2008-2010, via the Department for Work and Pensions website. To find the NAP of another EU country, visit the European Commission website.