Few weeks ago, I wrote here about the “ToTCOOP+i project“, the European Project about Strategic Partnership for Innovating the Training of Trainers of the European Agro-food Cooperatives …
Where Association For Social Cooperatives is a partner with another five European entities in order to improve the quality of VET (vocational education and training) in the European cooperative sector.
AGACA (Galician Association of Agri-food cooperatives), from Spain, that has decided to establish this strategic partnership, has a great news this week!
In collaboration with Obra Social “la Caixa”, have created the initiative “Atrévete contigo misma” (“Dare yourself”), a program that promotes in different Galician cooperatives the women
empowerment in rural areas to increase their participation in decision-making bodies of cooperative enterprises.
This action aims to change the following data, which make visible the place that women occupy in the rural ambit and how they see their own position or responsibility:
- In 88% of rural households, it is usually the woman who cares for the elderly and children.
- 96% of associated women was never presented to the board of directors position, 43% of them blames have much work or lack of time.
- 20.6% declared not being interested in this possibility.
- 17% plead lack of training or not feeling qualified for a position of responsibility.
That’s why the intention of AGACA is to, through two techniques of AGACA, focusing on equality and coaching, promote among women a positive message of personal growth, recognition and confidence in the competences that often, they are unaware of having, to perform effectively the management positions along with trying to raise their self-esteem and find motivation in themselves.
Moreover, the cooperatives can also play a key role providing trainings and listening to the needs of co-responsibility within the family ambit, through services that promote reconciliation in this sense.
From here we applaud this initiative and hope that these percentages are converted in a 99.9% of women who feel empowered to belong to a responsability position inside the management of the cooperatives, and that this is also reflected in other areas of society.