Context
Gender equality has an important role to play in bolstering the Moroccan economy and tackling poverty. Yet the labour force participation rate for women in Morocco is currently one of the lowest in the world. If women work, they are mainly in informal employment and face precarious working conditions. There is currently little in the way of a culture of gender equality.
Objective
In selected regions, the economic participation of women in emerging industries, such as renewable energy, IT, or modern processing and marketing of agricultural products, has improved.
Approach:
The project is using a gender-transformative approach. This addresses not only the impacts of gender inequality, but also its causes, such as gender role expectations and power relations. The project is working with the Moroccan Government, forward-looking companies and civil society to improve women’s economic participation. To achieve this, it is implementing the following measures:
• It is training the staff of government institutions and public-private economic committees. This will enable them to better gear public strategies and support measures to women's needs, and to align them with local economic development measures.
• It is addressing barriers to access within and outside of companies in cooperation with private sector stakeholders, with the aim of encouraging women’s employment.
• It is organising training and coaching programmes that take into account women’s needs and ensure women are qualified for the labour market in emerging industries. At the same time, the project also encompasses women’s social environment, in order to create broad support for and awareness of the potential of women in employment.