ECaRoM: Early Care and the Role of Men

Project duration: 2021 February – 2023 February

Project aim: ECaRoM focuses on overcoming gender stereotypes and strengthening caring masculinities in early age.

Project activities:
1. Research on the current status of gender sensitive education and caring masculinities in early education including interviews and focus groups with staff from Kindergartens, primary schools and experts.

2. Development of gender sensitive material focusing on caring masculinities and gender sensitive education and self-reflection.

3. Capacity building trainings for pedagogical staff working in early education and development of a digital self-learning platform.

4. Elaboration of a manual, which will integrate best-practice examples, results of the analysis, training course modules, tools & methods and also gender sensitive material in working with children.

5. Recommendations to strengthen caring masculinities in early education for pedagogical staff, parents, policy makers and the public.

6. National and transnational reports on the state of the art of gender sensitive early education with the focus on caring masculinities.

7. Awareness raising activities.

The project is implemented by the following institutions: Dissens Institut für Bildung und Forschung e.V. (Germany, Project coordinator), Verein für Männer- und Geschlechterthemen Steiermark (Austria), The Peace Institute (Slovenia), Instituto degli Innocenti (Italy), Center of Women’s Studies and Policies (Bulgaria), Center for Equality Advancement (Lithuania).
Associate partner in Lithuania – Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson.

Funded by the Rights, Equality and Citizenship (REC) Programme of the European Union.

At the intersection of gender & disability: to talk, inspire & act

Project duration: 3rd November, 2020 – 2nd July, 2023

An analysis of the situation of people affected by disability shows that women and girls face double discrimination: they are more vulnerable due both to their disability and gender. They are more likely to experience gender-based violence, discrimination in education, employment, social policy, civic participation, decision-making, sexuality, prejudice, social representation, motherhood, family, and other areas. However, a relatively large proportion of women affected by disability show little recognition of discrimination on the grounds of both disability and gender, and do not reflect on the vulnerabilities that arise in their intersection. Most of them vote in elections, but participation in other areas of political and public life is low. This shows the segregation of women with disabilities and encourages the search for ways to reduce it.

Project aim: To empower women affected by disability to defend their rights by strengthening their capacity, to build links between women and disability civil society organizations and change public discourse.

Project activities:

- working with women affected by disability in regions – actualization of problems, mobilization, development and empowerment of initiative groups, which in turn educate the wider community and take specific advocacy actions at the local level;

- raising the competencies of the civil society organization sector in order to strengthen their motivation to represent specific issues arising from the intersection of disability and gender, to promote mutual cooperation;

- forming discourse, changing public attitudes, reducing stigmas and prejudices associated with women with disability, organizing an awareness-raising campaign – preparing articles, radio programs, podcasts, visual material and developing and disseminating an women-with-disability-adapted information package on women’s rights and domestic violence.

Project objectives:

- strengthen the capacity of women affected by disability to represent their needs;

- improve the quality of services provided by civil society organizations;

- promote cooperation between civil society organizations working with women and people with disabilities;

- highlight in public discourse the problems faced by women affected by disability and change public attitudes towards this group.

Everybody’s Talking: Work-Life Balance Goes Mainstream

Duration: 18th May 2020 – 17th May 2022

Since 2011, gender pay gap in Lithuania has been increasing consistently. One of the main reasons for that is the imbalance of time devoted to childcare between both parents. Once the decision to start a family is made, gender norms and the design of childcare policies pressure women into making career breaks, which have a negative impact on women’s economic independence and their capacity to participate in social life. All of this has long-term consequences for a woman’s career and her general well-being, but shared responsibilities of raising a child could benefit both the families and the state. A shared parental leave would also create the opportunity for the father to get involved in his child’s life at an early stage, therefore the emotional connection between the father and the child would be much stronger.

The aim of this project is to improve reconciliation between work and private life for everyone and to overcome policy, work-related, social, psychological, behavioral barriers and gender norms regarding equal share in work-life balance for women and men.

Objectives of the project:

1) to review existing legislation on work-life balance;

2) to suggest the course of actions for improvements in national policies;

3) to advocate for necessary legal amendments;

4) to develop and apply mechanisms for work-life balance at the company level;

5) to create favorable social environment and working culture for better work-life balance;

6) to promote the idea of a shared parental leave;

7) to redefine the definition of modern masculinity and fatherhood;

8) to help the mothers overcome maternal guilt and highlight the benefits of an early involvement by the fathers;

9) to raise public awareness/discussions and promote behavioral changes for a better work-life reconciliation.

These objectives will be achieved by:

• performing a revision of the existing legislation on work-life balance;
• determining the barriers employers themselves face when initiating work-life balance measures and (or) policies in their organizations;
• carrying out a representative survey on public knowledge and attitudes towards work-life balance;
• organizing advocacy meetings with Parliament members and policymakers;
• choosing a pilot company for the action and setting and implementing the action plan for promoting work-life balance in the chosen pilot company;
• running a motivational campaign for employees of the pilot company;
• providing recommendations on work-life balance implementation in other companies;
• organizing an international conference;
• launching a website for the employers and the employees, containing essential information on reconciliation between work and private life;
• carrying out national awareness raising campaigns.