For a Social Economy that reduces Gender Inequalities in Europe
Coordinator:
Empow Her Global
In Europe, the social economy sector is standing at the forefront of the transition pathway for a more sustainable and inclusive economy. Thus, the way it incorporates gender equality has a direct impact on the “fairness” of the twin digital and green transitions. Indeed, in recent years, many reports emerged to highlight the need for better integration of women and gender minorities in the social economy, especially as social entrepreneurs. However, not much data exists on the interconnections between the social economy and gender equality as a whole and especially on the sector’s impact on women and gender minorities’ economic empowerment.
While the social economy is booming in Europe and is powering new solutions to key social and environmental challenges, it also bears the responsibility to foster positive change for everyone and not at the expense of women and other minorities. There is therefore a clear need to investigate this topic, raise awareness and develop hands-on tools to harness the power of the European social economy ecosystem to reduce gender inequality. To do so, this project will seek the following objectives:
- Develop new data on and investigate the impact of the social economy on gender equality to identify areas of improvement and to make social economy’s stakeholders more aware and knowledgeable about the topic;
- Develop hands-on pedagogical contents to help European social enterprises push for more gender-equal practices and develop fairer and more women-inclusive business models;
- Contribute to the emergence of 30 women-inclusive businesses in France, Italy, and Portugal to generate a wider ripple effect on women's economic empowerment and shed light on business champions leading the way towards a more inclusive European social economy.
It will be implemented through a double approach: creating methodologies applicable for all social enterprises and beyond, and directly contributing to the emergence of "inclusive business champions" that will serve as examples for the rest of the ecosystem.