The public company of the Government of Navarre, Sodena, hosted today the first meeting of the Interreg Europe project ‘DEBUTING’ (Developing Business Through Inclusiveness and Gender Awareness – New Cluster Competences). The purpose of this initiative, which falls under the Interreg Europe call starting in March 2023 and lasting three years, is to achieve gender equality in industry and position it as a factor of competitiveness and differentiation. In Navarre’s case, ‘DEBUTING’ will focus mainly on the productive sectors linked to the strategic areas defined by the S4 strategy.
Although there are already equality plans and numerous initiatives in this field within the region, data confirm that there is still significant room for improvement. This is why the project aims to improve or develop public policies to promote gender equality.
‘DEBUTING’ is made up of 11 partner entities from 10 European regions: Suomi (Finland), North-Vest (Romania), Niederösterreich (Austria), Magyarország (Hungary), Emilia-Romagna (Italy), Navarre (Spain), Pomorskie (Poland), Grand Est (France), and Baden-Württemberg (Germany). All of them are led by the Swedish region of Värmland, which will be advised by its fellow Swedish institution, Karlstad University.
The project includes activities at both interregional and regional levels. Thanks to the interregional consortium, participants will have the opportunity to learn about policies and best practices regarding equality in the partner regions, as well as to take part in workshops, training sessions, and discussion groups.
This first meeting coincided with International Women’s Day (March 8) and brought together the entities forming part of the regional working group. Participants in the project include Izaskun Goñi, Javier Zubicoa, and Esther Monterrubio (Government of Navarre), Eva Istúriz and Pedro Lacunza (INAI), Miriam Martón and Begoña Laquidain (SNE), Idoia Pozo (CEN), Alex Uriarte (AEDIPE), Cristina Sotro and Susana Labiano (AMEDNA), Susana Barasoain (Functional Print), Iker Chasco (ENERCLUSTER), and Luis Goñi and Beatriz Blasco (Sodena).
Navarre’s representation aims to create a coordinated and aligned working group to achieve the following goals:
- Analyze the results of current policies and initiatives.
- Segment companies and try to identify in which sectors or types of companies the region performs best and worst.
- Work with a sample of companies to understand their procedures and work environments, in order to draw conclusions about gender inequality in the region and its business fabric.
- Create working groups to analyze the information and propose improvements in policies.
All entities positively assessed the initiative, agreed on the need to join forces and cooperate, and concurred that it is time to move from obligation to commitment.
In the words of Eva Istúriz, Managing Director of the Navarre Institute for Equality: “There is nothing more innovative than gender equality, because it has not yet been achieved.”
Representatives of the entities participating in the working group include: Government of Navarre, INAI, SNE, CEN, AEDIPE, AMEDNA, Functional Print, ENERCLUSTER, and Sodena.
