FEMINA – INTERREG EUROPE

This aim of this European project is to design and develop regional policies that can favour the participation of women in SMEs and institutions in the high-tech sector. Cantabria participates in this initiative through SODERCAN and the Office of Women and Equality of Cantabria, winner of the third convocation of Interreg Europe 2017.

 

Part of Priority Axis 2 of the INTERREG EUROPE program (competitiveness of SMEs), objective 2.1. “improve the implementation of regional development policies and programs, in particular programs for Investment for Growth and Jobs and, where relevant, European Territorial Cooperation programs, supporting SMEs in all stages of their life cycle to develop, achieve growth and engage in innovation”.

 

  • European Project: FEMINA – INTERREG EUROPE
  • Start date: June 1, 2018
  • End date: May 30, 2023
  • Program: INTERREG EUROPE
  • Total budget : 1,611,990 euros
  • SODERCAN budget : 124,400 euros
  • EU Contribution: 85%
  • Website: https://www.interregeurope.eu/femina/

 

 

Partners

 

The partners in this project, in addition to the Office of Women and Equality of Cantabria (Dirección General de Igualdad y Mujer) and SODERCAN in Cantabria, include the Italian innovation agency (Arezo Innovazione), leading the project; the Cámara de Comercio de Arezzo (Toscana, Italy); the European Centre for Women and Technology (GCE-Node, Norway); the Research Centre of the Athens University of Economics and Business (Athens University of Economics and Business- Research Centre, Greece); the Regional Development Fund of Sterea Ellada (Central Greece); the Regional Development Agency of Bucharest (Romania); the Region of Dalarna (Sweden) and the CMO STAMM (Holland).

 

Actions

 

The project is aimed at evaluating how political instruments can correct gender inequalities in high-tech SMEs. This inequality has numerous and complex causes, including persistent stereotypes and socio-cultural prejudices in the labour market.

 

The project aims to identify the instruments and regional policies which can address and correct these issues:

 

  • Barriers to women’s entrepreneurship.
  • Barriers to access to employment and advancement in professional careers in high-tech SMEs.
  • The lack of attention to gender equality in the field of innovation.
  • FEMINA encourages the exchange of ideas and experiences across different regions to identify regional policies that further the goals of the program:
  • Communication and awareness: The reform and updating of recruitment practices and the engagement of important institutions is fundamental in addressing entrenched gender roles and stereotypes. FEMINA works to identify regional policies that help raise awareness of this issue among SMEs, the research and innovation community, and the general public.
  • Support and structures: FEMINA evaluates how regional policies can support women interested in joining the high-tech sector (training, continuous support, infrastructure and resources) and change established norms and procedures to create more equitable workplaces.
  • Economic and financial support: FEMINA addresses the difficulties often faced by women entrepreneurs in accessing financing and investment.