Qec-Eran

I have worked within local goverment for over 17 years and currently my job is to advise the Executive Council of Rotterdam on the following policy fields:

social policy
elderly policy
emancipation policy
social integration policy

I am interested in the Latent Potential project because I think Gender Equality is an issue that appears in most aspects of social life and in societies. Within the context of my current work I search for possibilities to reinforce and/or to influence gender issues.

On European level there are differences, but also similarities. I find it very interesting to exchange these matters with our European partners. This programme of exchange enables us to network and to exchange experiences. With the permanent stay of migrants in Holland, gender equality becomes a main issue (again). How can we deal with the problem of social exclusion of migrant women or other ethnic groups? Constitution declares that all citizens are equal. Unfortunately, in real life there are many obstacles to overcome. Work to be done! So when I was asked to be a member of the steering group and local co-ordinator of Rotterdam Charlois, I immediately said YES!

At this moment I'm working on pre-school matters such as childcare and I'm also a project leader for our big social partner.

In the last 6 years I have been occupied with policymaking around daycare services and because of this work I got involved with gender equality matters.

I am policy maker on the policy field community development and minorities. I advise the executive committee about the developments in Rotterdam Charlois. My main professional goal is to implement and to stimulate social cohesion projects and projects which includes all inhabitants of Charlois. I also participate in debates in Charlois about multicultural issues.

During my study I was member for the Refugee organisation and for the Dutch Bureau against racial discrimination. I was always interested in emancipation issues on European level and would love to remain active within my current work place.

Organisation Organisation for Women Cleopatria
Position General Manager of Women Centres

I have developped several special homes for women in so called 'no go areas' of Rotterdam. The target is to get them to participate in several activities, such as education, in their own neighbourhood. These women cannot read of write but they have other qualities. I believe in Women's empowerment.

I think it is very important that we are going to listen to the people in the street. They alone can improve things or can make things better in their own neighbourhood.

Organisation Local Council Charlois Rotterdam
Position Member of the Local Council

Assistant family doctor (management, finance)
Member of the local council

Member of the local council; committee of housing, infrastructure and safety (in the past 3 years)
Commissioner of a housing corporation; rent policy and its soical consequences (in the past 5 years)
Member of the representative advisory body of a primary school; parent
Communication advisor social project 'Opzoomeren' district Oud-Charlois

I hope to increase the number of women at all levels of decision making. Both genders have their own point of view. By working together the social and human issues will be dealt with the economic and 'power' issues of men.

In your experience please outline what have been good ways of involving women in decision-making.

What do you feel are the major obstacles facing women in becoming more involved in decision making.

Time-consuming: networking
Time- of meetings: late in the afternoon or early in the evening

Please outline your motivation to participate in the local peer review group.

I hope to increase the number of women at all levels of decision-making. Both gender have their own point of view. By working tohgether the social and human issues will be dealt with the economic and ‘power’ issues of men.

Organisation District Council Rotterdam Charlois
Position Ass. Wijkcoordinator Pendrecht and Oud Charlois

I was a member of the SAMS (Stedelijke Adviescommissie Multiculturele Stad), this is a commission that gives recommendation about multicultural issues to the city council in Rotterdam.

I am particularly interested in being part of this project as I think it will give me an opportunity to meet and learn from people that are interested in and working on this issue. However foremost it will hopefully give me a chance to learn how to take my ideas and concerns forward to achieve the results so badly needed.

In your experience please outline what have been good ways of involving women in decision-making.

provite educasional programs for only women
provite the mean to participate educasional programs (childcare)
Empowermentprograms

What do you feel are the major obstacles facing women in becoming more involved in decision making.

I think that the leck of selfconfidance, not many women putting any emphasis on getting more education, not knowing there opportunities in all sectors within the society and moreover the fact that most women choose family over career.

Please outline your motivation to participate in the local peer review group.

I am particulary interested in being part of this peer review group as I think it will give me an opportunity to meet and learn from people that are interested and working on women's social, political and other such related issues. However foremost it will hopefully give me a chance to learn how to take my ideas and concerns forward to receive the results so badly needed.

I have for years taken a keen interest in women related social and political issues and their particpation in decision making on a regional and/or national level. Women's emancipation in our present society is something that I feel something very strongly about promoting and I endeavour to educate women on their social and political rights. I have worked over the past years intensively with various Surinamese women organisations that stimulate and motivate young women back to the job market to not only make them financially independent but to also elevate their form of participation in all sectors within the society. Other issues that are tackled are those of education, responsibilty, decision-making, etc. Making women aware of their rights, making them aware that their decisions count is making women feel they have a voice and that what they are and have to say is important!

Being from a Surinamese background, I have come across different women of all walks of life that are not confident on the matter of gender equality and are not aware and/or assertive about their social and political rights which makes them reluctant to get involved in decisionmaking that can have an impact on their lives. However to actively encourage and stimulate these women to make and change decisions for their own good, one must have some relative knowledge of their backgrounds and acknowledge any fears they might have. A key goal is to make them know that they have invaluable human and social capital which can contribute to making a positive change.

Organisation District Council Rotterdam Charlois
Position Social Programme Manager

My current job is to make and to manage the social program of the Tarwewijk a neighbourhood in Charlois Rotterdam of 12.000 inhabitants, with about 75% immigrants. The social topics in this area are about participation and social cohesion, social exclusion and the great need of healthcare, education etc. I try to form the merry-go-round of about 150 projects in this neighbourhood to a social program that combines the funding and goals.

Prior to this job I worked as civil servant for the Borough of Charlois on the topics minority's and social cohesion. Before that I worked as a social worker in reintegration projects for the unemployed in Rotterdam, Breda and Helmond. I started my carreer as a social worker in a kindergarden.

My personal interest is to learn from the other participants, to broaden my point of view and to get a better perspective from a European point of view. I furthermore think that we have good practises in Rotterdam in stimulating Gender Equality and latent potential.

My whole career I have worked with and for people in the underdog situation in society. I know from my experience that there is a lot of potential in this group that with the right guidance can participate better in society. I believe it is better for those people as facts and figures show that people in poor housing in the poor neighbourhoods are less healthy and live shorter lives. I also believe that it is better for society itself for if people have better prospects they tend to become more moderate and less fundamentalists.

Organisation District Council Rotterdam Charlois
Position Policy Advisor on Employment for the Executive Committee

In the current organisation of the borough of Charlois the policy field of Employment is positioned in the Bureau for Economic Affairs and Employment which has four members(co ö rdinator, liaisons officer, office manager) including myself. Funded in 1999 as a reaction to the high rates of unemployment in our borough, the work of the policy advisor on Employment consisted out of starting or participating in projects and initiatives that enabled the unemployed citizen to gradually (re)enter the labour market. This could be realised by either supporting the starting up of a business or providing training and education modes on the way to working under contract.

The recent enactment of a new national law on social minimum income/welfare brought along a shift in responsibilities between the involved authorities. The new law for Work and Income(WWB) focuses on bringing back part of the social security system to more reasonable proportions. Therefor the city’s department for Social Affairs and Employment has been appointed as the authority responsible for income and employment policy. As a result the boroughs have little say in selecting the best way of bringing their unemployed people back to work. However the nature(long term unemployed, multi-problems and unskilled specially amongst women, younger people and immigrants) of the unemployment problem in our borough asks for a different approach then the one now applied by the city’s department for Social Affairs and Employment.

The shift in responsibilities has not only changed the emphasis in the work I do to minimize the local unemployment rates but has also made the divison of responsibilities between the city and borough more clear. To be short : the city is responisble for bringing back to the labour market people receiving a social minimum income who are likely and able to work within two years. We as a borough are responsible for the the group of people who face to many problems to enter the labour market any time soon and for those who are likely not to ever get there. Besides the focussing on initiating or participating in projects together with NGO’s that are cut out for the local situation, there is much stronger emhasis nowadays on trying to find approaches, additional to the municipal employment policy.

As our local employment policy is increasingly focussing on a group of long term unemployed people that can be characterised as ‘latent potentials’ this project caught my attention. In particular the Gender Equality theme is interesting to the policy field of Employment because a substantial part of the unemployed in our borough consists out of migrant women and (teenage) mothers. In the past we have tried to initiate projects specially cut out for mothers on welfare where we encountered several difficulties amongst which cultural differences. I would like to know how one can overcome these, mostly intangible, obstacles.

I am manager of Stichting TREF. TREF is a NGO based in Rotterdam Charlois. Our main goals are the fight against discrimination and racism and the promotion of a multicultural society. TREF developes different community-based programmes, in which social cohesion is the main objective.

In my previous job I did research into the position of ethnic minorities in general and women specifically on the labour market.

I am interested in participating in this project to get new ideas on how to get women more interested in decision-making on any level. Women are very important for the social cohesion in the community, but they are not always aware of their influence. I want to learn from others how they tackle this problem. Another point is that I want to broaden my own network, so I can have some feedback on my work.

I am currently working as the head of a social service team that is responsible for income security for poor people in Rotterdam district Charlois.
Previously I worked as a project leader for a research project on labor market assistence to ethnic minority youth in collaboration with Erasmus University Rotterdam which carried out a research project on unemployed ethnic minority Youth (1999 - 2000).
In 2000-2001 I was the head of the local departement of a labour market reintegration office in the Hague / Rotterdam and in 2002 – 2003 I worked as project leader of local departement of a labour market reintegration office in Rotterdam.

I am curious to learn if the position of women (on the labour market) in other European countries is the same as in the Netherlands and whether they have the same opportunities as men.