EMWOSE
Women from ethnic minorities in social enterprise
Gender equality and economic integration of ethnic minorities are transversal and cross-borders challenges identified as priorities by the public authorities of all participating countries. Subsequently, in order to efficiently and effectively address these complexes issues, the actions in the field should be carried out through a multi-disciplinary and comparative approach via transnational collaborative projects.
A social enterprise is an operator in the social economy whose main objective is to have a social impact rather than make a profit for their owners or shareholders. It operates by providing goods and services for the market in an entrepreneurial and innovative fashion and uses its profits primarily to achieve social objectives.
The importance of social enterprises in tackling social challenges and fostering inclusive growth has been increasingly recognised in recent years across the European Union (EU) . It is the positive impact of SEs on society, the environment and communities which can contribute to implementing the Europe 2020 Strategy and the aim of the Single Market Act for a ‘highly competitive social market economy’.
Nowadays gender inequality continues to be a significant issue worldwide.
- women from ethnic minorities need to be aware of the successful women entrepreneurs as role examples to increase their self-confidence;
- trainers, social workers and relevant parties need innovative and adapted methodologies to transfer entrepreneurship skills to women from ethnic minorities taking into consideration the cultural barriers;
- women from ethnic minorities and trainers/social workers/business advisors need to have access to online open educational resources in order to empower themselves according to their needs and their interests.
Considering these needs, the project aims at increasing the employment of women from ethnic minorities providing them the knowledge, practical skills and counseling necessary for engaging the social enterprise world. In order to achieve this ambitious goal, the project’s consortium will deeply take into consideration the barriers that disadvantaged women face: current working conditions, business management skills gaps, lack of adequate mentorship, psychological and cultural obstacles.
