About GenderWorks
Why was the project designed to help women?
What training courses did GenderWorks run?
How was learning from the project shared?
What was GenderWorks?
GenderWorks was a two-year project that aimed to improve the lives of women living in poverty across Europe. It was run in 2008-2009 in three countries: in the UK by Oxfam, and in Italy and Austria by partner organisations. The project was based on a shared learning approach and involved:
- Providing training to 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.
- Providing training to local policy-makers and service providers to ensure they are aware of the different needs of women and men, and their policies and services take these needs into account.
- Sharing our experiences with our partners LAMORO in Italy and Women Against Violence Europe (WAVE) in Austria and with the governments of European countries in order to influence National Action Plans on Social Inclusion.
GenderWorks was funded by the European Commission and was run:
- In the UK by Oxfam, as part of its work to overcome poverty and tackle the discrimination which makes women more vulnerable to it
- In Italy by LAMORO, a local development agency with a focus on helping women find jobs and improving conditions for women at work
- In Austria by Women Against Violence Europe (WAVE), a network of women’s shelters and aid organisations for migrant and refugee women.
Why was the project designed to help women?
All over the world, women are likely to be poorer than the general population. The same is true in the UK and other European countries. Women working part time in the UK, for example, earn nearly 40 per cent less than men, while female pensioners have incomes that are 40 per cent lower than those of male pensioners.
Oxfam has long-term experience of working with women living in poverty, in the UK and all over the world. The GenderWorks project has been designed to help us share our experience with organisations doing similar work in other countries, in order to influence national governments and help tackle the problems faced by women living in poverty right across Europe.
Find out more about Oxfam’s work with women living in poverty in the UK
What training courses did GenderWorks run?
- GenderWorks ran six regional training courses in the UK called “Making the Gender Duty Work”. They were designed to help women experiencing poverty use equalities legislation to hold public sector agencies to account, and influence the way local services are planned and delivered.
- Ten key public agencies in the UK received training in how best to meet their responsibilities under the Gender Equality Duty through the “Policy into Practice” training and mentoring programme. The programme focused on how poverty can be tackled more effectively by meeting the different needs of women and men.
- Two public bodies in Italy received training in incorporating a gender perspective throughout their policies and services, including the use of tools such as gender budgeting. Both bodies are involved in drawing up “zone plans”, which set out policy on healthcare and education across a local region.
- A network of women’s refuges in Italy received training in networking, lobbying and campaigning. The training was based on the toolkit The Axis of Influence, which was developed by CDX (Community Development Exchange) to help community groups and newly formed networks in the UK assess and improve the influence they have.
How was learning from the project shared?
Learning from the GenderWorks project was shared in a range of different ways:
- At a roundtable event in Brussels
- At a series of roadshows held in Glasgow, Cardiff, London and Manchester
- At a session of the Council of Europe
- At a series of International Practice Exchanges held in the UK, Austria and Italy
- At a roundtable event at the UK government’s Department of Work and Pensions
- At training follow-up events
- At a number of other conferences, seminars and networking events
- Through a free Toolkit and DVD
The GenderWorks project was supported by the European Community Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity (2007-2013). The information contained in this website does not necessarily reflect the position or opinion of the European Commission.
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