Statistics in countries all over Europe present the risk of social exclusion and of poverty, especially at an older age, for women, if they are not having their own adequate income over their lifetime. National social programmes provide different funding and protection schemes for maternity leaves, which may encourage women to stay at home or re-joining work. The length of the absence from the labour market may always be seen in relation to this funding and to specific components like the level of education and possible income a woman might achieve; the structural preconditions like the availability of care for children and elderly family members or availability or distance of the working place.
Within this framework, our new Erasmus+ project “Re-Start” aims to tackle this problem and support women in this situation. Specifically, we are working in collaboration with organizations from Spain, Island, Poland, Bulgaria, Cyprus to develop an innovative online tool to support women -after staying at home- to re-enter the labor market.
It shall therefore address the 3 biggest challenges for women at this stage of their life:
- gain motivation and self-confidence to do so
- receive support in orientation on the market in order to succeed in finding a suitable job
- promote their skills to identify support networks to overcome structural and social lacks of support
In particular, the main objective of the project is to provide a holistic package for the empowerment of women to re-enter professional life in order to reduce their risk of social exclusion and poverty, specifically at an older age. Thus, the project shall significantly impact their chances to do so and, through this, contribute to a better social and economic situation of the women and their families.
The project is aimed at:
- Women who want to re-enter the labour market after staying at home for family duties
- Professionals / counsellors / trainers working with women who want to or have to re-enter the labour market and who want to empower or support them in the orientation of these concerns
- Entities in charge of labour market services
- Employment services and public administration related to the issue of women re-entering the labour market, trade unions and policy makers.
To find out more, visit the project website: https://www.re-start-project.eu/
