Women’s Economic Empowerment

Women’s Economic Empowerment

• Women’s economic independence and entrepreneurship
• Women’s economic independence and growth opportunity
• Fostering women’s economic empowerment and entrepreneurship

Albania has an extremely gender-divided labour market. Recent statistics reveal that only 59.3% of women participate in the country’s labour market, compared to about 74% of men. This apparent exclusion of women from the labour force is associated with loss of productivity and impedes economic and social growth. In addition, only 26.8% of national enterprises are owned by women, which implicates the urgent need to shatter the ‘glass ceiling’.

GADC is dedicated in its contribution for the establishment of a research and advocacy practice in order to foster and propel women’s economic independence. This is ensured through training and education; facilitation of a work-life balance; access to quality paid work whilst addressing unpaid care and work burdens; working towards the elimination of discriminatory gender and social norms; and ensuring women’s access to property, assets and financial services. We believe in encouraging and advocating for the further development of women’s entrepreneurship, as a way to close the economic gender gap, and utilize the under-exploited source of growth that is the female creativity.

Rural women’s economic empowerment

Women and girls in rural areas face many challenges, most of which are directly linked to the socially accepted gender inequalities, resulting in women’s unequal access to power and resources. Rates of informal work are high among women in rural areas, making it hard for women to attain land ownership and proper pay. GADC have joined their expertise in both rural development and gender issues to offer recommendations that mainstream gender concerns in the rural development policies of Albania. The need to improve Albanian legislation on land ownership; to increase rural women’s access to the judiciary system; to encourage and facilitate women’s access to soft loans; to enable concrete financial support to new businesses in rural areas, are only some of the main actions proposed to governmental institutions. Concrete actions have been proposed to civic stakeholders (local CSO-s and donors) as well.