equality Archive - ... moves mountains

Initiative. Female. Founders

Support for females setting up a business

This European project focuses on women who are disadvantaged regarding the labour market and therefore consider self-employment as possible job option. The aim is to facilitate women the access to business formations and to improve the general framework for female founders. Within the scope of this project guidance, training and supporting offers are developed and linked up with already existing institutions.

These offers open up new possibilities for women regarding self-employment and raise the chance for successul business formations. Development, consulting, qualification and networking are the main issue of this project. The comprehensive package INITIATIVE.FEMALE.FOUNDERS offers products out of 5 modules:

Module 1 – networking and target-group-specific reconditioning of numerous available resources (information, links, etc.) in shape of a knowledge map,
Modules 2 and 3 – Optimized consulting and qualification offers,
Module 4 – Facilitation of access to seed capital for the business formation (micro-credits),
Module 5 – access to business premises and infrastructure

The participating women can either take part in one of the modules or complete the whole support portfolio. For all women, who meet the criterias for self-employment, the development-partnership INITIATIVE.FEMALE.FOUNDERS creates supporting offers across multiple stages.

Results

Carrying out of a qualitative study with female company founders and young entrepreneuses
Development of a networked knowledge-map (CD-ROM and online) – plattform for female company founders
Creation and publication of a brochure for company founders: „Being a female company founder – becoming an entrepreneuse“. Questions, answers, hints, addresses

Project duration

October 2005 till September 2007

Funding

Supported by funds from the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture

Basic knowledge Gender Mainstreaming

Christine Baur/Eva Fleischer/Paul Schober:

Gender Mainstreaming in der Arbeitswelt – Grundlagenwissen für Projekte, Unternehmen und Politik

Basic knowledge Gender Mainstreaming for enterprises, projects and politics

Innsbruck, Wien, Bozen: Studienverlag 2005

ISBN: 3-7065-4035-5; 210 pages; incl. CD-ROM, €21

Hafelekar Series Volume 1

Short description

Gender Mainstreaming – an often used term, scarcely understood and rarely really wanted. The manifold reactions and violent emotions regarding this topic lead to this assumption.

Where are the roots of the term Gender Mainstreaming?
Which are the theoretical and judicial bases?
How can Gender Mainstreaming be applied in the business world?

This publication provides the necessary basic knowledge for it.

After a survey over feminist theories, a definiton of the central terms of equal opportunities policy is given in scientific and judicial terms.

On this basis, the following actual topics are focused on: choice of occupation, compatibility of work and family, income distribution, equal treatment and equal opportunities. The third and main chapter is dedicated to the precise realisation of projects. A survey of possible fund givers in the EU leads over to the description of the single phases of a project, from the analysis to the assurance of sustainibility. Finally, current Gender Mainstreaming projects in Tyrol are presented.

The enclosed CD-ROM contains a rich collection of up-to-date publications ,checklists, guidelines, links and contact adresses for the realisation of Gender Mainstereaming. It also features a new presentation mode of the scientific software GABEK-WinRelan for the readers to explore the complete data of the WoMen field study, referred to in the book.

This book was developed within the EQUAL project WoMen.

WoMen

WoMen – equality for women and men on the ICT labor market

The main objective of the development partnership is to encourage men and women in a more balanced gender distribution of the ICT labor market in the Tyrol. This will happen through awareness-raising activities, by identifying strategies and the development of specific instruments.

Project aims

Creation of social and political awareness by sensitizing public relations
Creation of an individual consciousness – by means of individual career planning for women
Sensitization and planning of appropriate strategies in companies
Counseling and guidance services (skills analysis, career planning, Resource pool, child care policies, models of parental support)
Training of highly qualified ICT professionals
Formation of networks of all relevant actors engaged in the support of equal opportunity on the labour market.

At the beginning of the project Hafelekar created a large-scale baseline study, using the method GABEK, which forms the basis for further activities. Hafelekar was further responsible for public relations and dissemination of the products.

Project duration

October 2002 till September 2005

Project Partners

Funding

Supported by funds from the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture

Familiy & work Ötztal Valley

Familiy-friendly working environment – Region Ötztal

Within the scope of the working and business pact the project “family-friendly working environment 2005 – Region Ötztal” took place.

Herein, the regional impact of the establishment of a big spa landscape (Aqua Dome) was examined. Main aim was the networking within the region in order to establish a family-friendly working environment. Therefore measures were implemented regarding the fields of human resource management, child care, accompanying support for restarters, family-friendly working hours models and approaches to a solution concerning the traffic problems.

Hafelekar Consulting was in charge of a baseline study. Within the framework of this study requirements and needs were determined in order to develop accurate offers in the field of further training and child care. The study consisted of four steps:

As a first step there was carried out a secondary research regarding all relevant facts and figures
Written questionnaires formed the second step. Thereby operational data in the predefined business sectors were collected.
In addition to the quantitative data collected, 10 in-depth interviews with experts were conducted.
The results of the written questionnaires – complemented with the results of the expert interviews – were presented to a steering committee.

Within the scope of a future workshop, future scenarios were developed by means of a moderated process.

Project duration

2004 till 2005

Client

Land Tirol