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ON-GOING PROJECTS

Gender Equality

Participants - Madrid

MARTINEZ Trinidad (Local Coordinator)

Contact Details

Organisation AMECOOP
Position

c/ Valverde, 13 4 a planta
28004 Madrid
SPAIN

Tel. + 34 91 524 00 39
Fax + 34 91 522 29 80
E-mail: trinidad.martinez@ucmta.org
Web site www.amecoop.org

Work
Since 1999 I have been working in the consultancy and creation of companies department of Madrid Work Association of Union Cooperative. My main function has been to advise in the creation and setting up of cooperative companies, as well as its accompaniment in the first years of operation.

Good ways of involving women in decision-making
In my work I have developed different programs to promote the creation of companies with women in the leadership as well as the participation of women in the companies decision making.

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

In the cooperative world, the fact of taking decisions by women is simple, since they are managers and workers at the same time, by law they have equality of votes in the process of taking decisions.But for sure when the companies are constituted by man and women, it is more difficult that women have positions where they can take decisions, this usually requires more work in put which a lot of women cannot do because they have to take care of their family.

Participates: SGM meetings

BALLESTEROS Begonja

Contact Details

Organisation AMECOOP
Position

c/ Valverde, 13 4 a planta
28004 Madrid
SPAIN

Tel. + 34 91 532 24 88
Fax +34 91 522 59 80
E-mail b.ballesteros@amecoop.org
Web site www.amecoop.org

Work
I have been working for AMECOOp since June 2004. I am responsible for co-ordinating internal matters such as meetings, agendas, collection and collection and distribution of the information, as well as proposing project work plans etc.

I also have representational functions for AMECOOP and co-ordinate operation strategies at internal and external level. I prepare activity reports and co-ordinate the techinical team of our organisation.

Interests
I am interested to learn and hear about experiences from other organisation activie in the field of promoting gender equality.

Participates: Turin PREW

DELSO ATALYA Ana

Contact Details

Organisation AMECOOP
Position

c/ Valverde, 13 4 a planta
28004 Madrid
SPAIN

Tel. + 34 91 532 24 88
Fax +34 91 522 59 80
E-mail
Web site www.amecoop.org

Work
Coordinator of AMECOOP until June 2004.
Responsibilities:
- to organise meetings, propose agendas, collection and distribution of the information, etc.
- To propose the project work plan
- Institutional Representation of AMECOOP
- Coordinate operation strategies at internal and external level
- Coordinate functions of the Technical Team
- Preparation of reports of actions and results
- Economic Pursuit (coordination with Administration)

Interests
To learn about the position of women in other partner countries. To see how equality strategies can be put into practise in a meaningful way.

Participates: Turin PREW

GONZALEZ Paloma

Contact Details

Organisation AMECOOP
Position

c/ Valverde, 13 4 a planta
28004 Madrid
SPAIN

Tel. +34 91 450 11 62
Fax +34 91 522 59 80
E-mail:consejomujer@consejomujer.es
Web site:www.consejomujer.es

Work
I have been working in the Feminist Movement of Madrid since 1966, when I founded the Democratic Movement of Women (MDM) together with Merche Pinto and Dulcinea Bellido.In the same year I also founded the Association of Housewife of Moratalaz.

In 1977 I was part of the Commission that negotiated with the Administration the legalization of the Associations of Women. During the Transition years I participated in the foundation of the Union for the Liberation of Women (ULM)(1977),in 1980 in the Platform of Feminist Organizations of Madrid as well as in the Commission for the Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of Women's Right to vote.

From 1984 I worked in the organizing committee of the International Festival of Cinema for Women. In 1989 I worked with the Association of Women of the Retiro District which was subsequently integrated in the Council of Woman of the Community of Madrid.

Interests
The project gives me the opportunity to exchange experiences and to learn about different approaches to gender equality inside Europe .

Participates: Belfast PREW

MARTIN Maria del Carmen

Contact Details

Organisation: AMECOOP
Position

c/ Valverde, 13 4 a planta
28004 Madrid
SPAIN

Tel. +34 91 524 00 39
Fax +34 91 522 59 80
E-mail: amecoop@ucmta.es
Web site www.amecoop.org

Work
I have a background in health cooperative management. In 1990 I co-founded AMECOOP which is an association created with the aim of introducing new perspectives on gender issues within the international and national cooperative movement.

Interests
I am interested in participating in the Latent Potential projects as I am interested to learn about similar work on gender issues from other European countries and exchange experience with other European colleagues.

Participates in: Northampton PREW

ORTUNES Eva

Contact Details

Organisation: OPEN UNTIL THE DAWN (Abierto Hasta el Amanecer S. Coop. Mad) and AMECOOP

c/ Valverde, 13, 4 a planta
28004 Madrid
SPAIN

Tel. +34 91 524 00 39
Fax +34 91 522 59 80
E-mail:mulleres@inicia.es
Web site www.amecoop.org

Work
'OPEN UNTIL THE DAWN' it is a cooperative for Social Initiative, therefore we are a non-profti making organisation.

We develop programs and actions on education in social participation, on the prevention of the drugs as well as promoting healthy life habits amongst youth and children through leisure activities in their free time.

We also provide services related to protection of the child, youth, women, ethnic minorities, immigrants and any other community that is in a situation of social inequality and exlusion.

Interests
I want to learn more about other experiences and lessons learnt from other European colleagues who work in similar fields and with socially excluded citizens.

Participates: Northhampton PREW

MOHEDANO ESCOBAR Ana

Contact Details

Organisation: AMECOOP

c/ Valverde, 13, 4 a planta
28004 Madrid
SPAIN

Tel. +34 91 532 24 88
Fax +34 91 522 59 80
E-mail:ana.mohedano@ucmta.org
Web site www.amecoop.org

Work
I am currently working as the European Projects Officer for the Union of Cooperatives (Community of Madrid ).

From 2003 to 2004 I worked for the National Institute for Women as a legal service assistant for gender policies, especially for the international framework (Global gender policies and European framework).

I am also a bureau member of the Spanish Youth Council, responsible for International Relations (Mandate 2004-2006) with the following functions:

• Representative towards EU Institutions in the different fields of youth policy (Open Method of Coordination for Youth Policy, White Paper on Youth, Youth Convention for the Debate on the Future of EU, Youth Programme, etc.)
• Responsible for contacts with the European Youth Forum. Member of the Commission for European Affairs.
• Responsible for Co-operation with Latin American Youth Platform in the field of strengthening youth associative network.
• Responsible for Co-operation projects with Western Sahara Refugee Camps
• Responsible for Co-operation projects with the Asian Youth Network

In 1999-2001 I was a bureau member of a European student organization OBESSU responsible for relations with the Council of Europe and for the Lifelong and life wide learning policies.

What have been good ways of involving women in decision-making?

A key factor that I have identified for the involvement of women in the decision-making processes is the acquirement of skills for participation.

Traditional gender roles does not normally provide females with the necessary skills for participation (speak in public, negotiation skills, competitiveness, etc.) as all throughout their lives they have been taught to be kind, quiet, tolerant and keep a secondary role. Opposite to this, male are meant to be leaders, to express their opinions on any subject and to negotiate both in formal and in informal contexts.

We cannot expect women to take a leading role in any decision-making process if they have never acquired those competencies. Participation can only be learnt by participating ('Learning by doing').

Therefore, learning these skills is essential to provide women with the necessary tools for participation. In this sense, 'education for participation' becomes a crucial field in education, not only in formal education, but also especially in non-formal education context, as it is a unique participation exercise where women can acquire those skills for their lives.

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

First, as I have explained above, the lack of skills for participation seem to be the main obstacle for participation.

Secondly, I would underline the importance given by traditional female roles to the private sphere versus public affairs. Women are meant to prioritize their families and their private responsibilities to any other issue. As they traditionally assume all the housework, children care, management of familiar resources, and nowadays, have a paid job outside their homes, they have neither time nor energies for paying attention to political, social, economic or cultural affairs, which they consider of least importance. Therefore, they get a secondary role in those processes (if any).

Participates: Northampton PREW

DOMINGUEZ Pilar

Contact Details

Organisation AMECOOP
Position

c/ Valverde, 13 4 a planta
28004 Madrid
SPAIN

Tel: +34 915240039
Fax +34 915225980
E-mail: mulleres@inicia.es
Web site www.amecoop.org

Work
At the age of 17, I started to work and study law at University at the same time.
Since 1986, I have been working as a lawyer and from 1997 I work for a cooperative. The cooperative has 150 employees (90 percent women) and we give assistance and specialised help to elderly people, both at home and in care centres.

Interests
I am interested to participate in the exchange workshhops in order to get to know and to share experiences about different ways of integration of women into labour market in a specific geographical area (rural surrounding of Madrid) and especially experiences of migrant women (Magreb and Latin-America).

Participates: Belfast PREW