Project partners: IKEA Serbia, Master Card and Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation
I Background
Women are the most vulnerable group on the labor market in Serbia. The employment rate of men (50.0%) is significantly higher than the employment rate of women (35.0%). The gender gap in entrepreneurship is very pronounced, since managers and founders of SME are still mostly men (77.9%).
Discrimination is also evident in the recruitment, promotion, pay and benefits, the availability of training opportunities and in relation to maternity and parental leave. Securing access to regular income through formal employment or self-employment is key to ensuring the economic and social security of women.
The National Strategy for Gender Equality (2016-2020) intends to introduce a set of measures that will enable progress in this area: Creation of a favorable environment for launching of microbusiness, social entrepreneurship, family businesses and co-operatives, which especially favors women; encouraging women's social entrepreneurship and training to launch a business initiative in this area. Proposed project will clearly support the strategy by contributing to the specific measures focused on improvement of women’s labor market status and women entrepreneurship.
II Project description
The project is designed in partnership of IKEA Serbia, Master Card and Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation as partner’s that stands for equal gender opportunities and focused on advancing the position and status of women at labor market.
Project will be focused on enhancing women position in working and social environment, while building their equality at home.
Project overall objective is to support women empowerment and increase women’s employability and labor market participation in Serbia.
Project specific objectives are:
(1) to provide support such as grant - making and mentorship programs to existing or emerging enterprises founded by women and/or creating new jobs for women
(2) to raise capacities and skills of women for proactive engagement and labor market participation
(3) to raise public awareness and initiate public discussion on gender equality, sustainable development and cross-sectoral cooperation. The call for proposlas "I am BRAVE" will be published with the aim to support businesses founded by women and / or those led by women, as well as legal entities employing at least 50% of women who will open at least one work place for women. The main activity of legal entities that will be supported is the production activity (toys, textile products, crafts, food, drinks / juices / syrups, decorative items, children's products, etc.).
Projects will be selected based on their impact on women's employment, relevance and capacity to achieve business progress and sustainability. More information about the call for proposals find HERE.