Economic Empowerment Program
Economic Empowerment Program:
Women Economic Empowerment Programme represents the third programme within PWWSD’s portfolio and reflects the organization’s longstanding commitment and distinctive legacy in protecting the rights of working women and advancing women’s economic rights more broadly.
Since its establishment in 1981, PWWSD has worked with women facing discrimination in the economic sector, violations of their labour rights, limited economic opportunities, and restricted access to available employment opportunities.
The development of this programme came as a response to the economic challenges faced by Palestinian women, particularly those resulting from structural discrimination, poverty, restrictions on access to workplaces, and limitations on freedom of movement. These challenges are further intensified by the ongoing occupation and political instability.
Women continue to face multiple barriers that prevent their access to certain economic sectors and productive resources, in addition to unequal wages and their limited representation in economic decision-making spaces.
These challenges are often more severe among rural women, young women, women who are heads of households, and women living in remote and marginalized areas.
Through this programme, PWWSD seeks to economically empower women as workers, entrepreneurs, participants in productive initiatives, managers of economic enterprises, and owners of income-generating projects.
The organization works with women in urban and rural areas, as well as Palestinian refugee camps, providing them with the necessary support to improve their living conditions, strengthen their economic independence, and enhance their economic resilience.
One of the main areas of focus of the programme is supporting women who own small businesses and income-generating initiatives.
PWWSD provides these groups of women with the necessary services to improve their productive capacities, strengthen their management skills, enhance financial planning abilities, develop marketing skills, and explore new economic opportunities.
The programme also targets women working in agriculture, food processing, handicrafts, and other related sectors, with the aim of improving productive capacities and promoting economic sustainability.
The programme gives particular attention to rural women and women producers, as many of them are primary providers for their families and face significant challenges in accessing financial resources and other forms of support.
PWWSD also works with local women’s cooperatives, grassroots women’s groups, and women working in the agricultural sector to increase their economic participation and promote their independence.
In addition to providing direct support to women, PWWSD works through the programme with cooperatives, trade unions, grassroots organizations, and other actors engaged in supporting working women and women producers.
The programme provides capacity-building support to targeted women in areas related to cooperative governance, management, planning, and the integration of gender equality principles into their work. This contributes to the development of a more inclusive economic system.
The programme also targets working women through a series of awareness-raising activities aimed at increasing their knowledge of their labour and economic rights, as well as decent work standards, including equal pay, wage equality, social protection, and women’s rights to inheritance and ownership.
Legal support is also provided to targeted women to encourage them to claim their rights and challenge violations of these rights.
PWWSD links Palestinian women’s economic rights with international human rights standards and global development frameworks, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), International Labour Organization conventions related to decent work and safe working environments, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030, particularly those related to decent work and eliminating discrimination.
As part of its broader organizational approach, PWWSD provides support and capacity-building services to institutions seeking to integrate gender equality standards into economic programming and develop relevant strategies and interventions.
Through this approach, the organization seeks to support the development of inclusive plans and strengthen recognition of women’s economic contributions.
Through the Women’s Economic Empowerment Programme, PWWSD seeks to support women in overcoming barriers that limit their participation in the economy and promote their role in strengthening the economic resilience of Palestinian community amid the challenging conditions and ongoing instability affecting Palestinians.
Recognizing economic empowerment as a key entry point for women’s comprehensive empowerment, PWWSD focuses its efforts on strengthening Palestinian women’s economic participation and enhancing their role in public life and development. Through the implementation of this programme, the organization seeks to achieve the following objectives:
What We Aim to Achieve
Palestinian community, particularly women, demonstrates increased awareness of women’s economic rights and women’s right to participate in the labour market.
Increased engagement of women, particularly young women, in the labour market and economic activities.
Women have greater capacity to influence laws, policies, and procedures that promote gender equality in the labour market and economic participation.
Barriers We Work to Overcome
In addition to the broader challenges and risks affecting PWWSD’s work as a whole and directly influencing programme implementation, the Women’s Economic Empowerment Programme faces specific challenges that require additional efforts to overcome and transform into opportunities.
Changing Priorities Among Women
As a result of the deteriorating economic situation in Palestinian community, women’s expectations and priorities have shifted, with increasing focus on securing employment opportunities and sources of income. Therefore, PWWSD works to strengthen coordination and networking between women and institutions providing economic support and grants for women-led projects. Advocacy efforts also focus on promoting the allocation of a dedicated share for women within employment-generation projects implemented by the Ministry of Labour.
Limited Funding Available for Economic Empowerment Projects
The Palestinian context has witnessed a growing tendency among donors to prioritize humanitarian and emergency assistance, with less attention given to economic empowerment programmes and grants supporting women’s economic initiatives. This limited availability of funding creates additional challenges for sustaining and expanding interventions aimed at strengthening women’s economic independence and participation.
To achieve the programme objectives and in line with PWWSD’s vision and mission, the organization adopts a range of tools and mechanisms that are adapted according to the needs and characteristics of targeted groups. Targeted groups are also involved in the planning and implementation processes of activities, strengthening participation and ownership:
Awareness Raising and Knowledge Sharing
Through the programme, PWWSD implements a series of awareness-raising and knowledge-sharing activities among women on their economic rights. These sessions address women’s rights as recognized under Palestinian legislation, as well as rights established through international conventions and frameworks. Through these activities, PWWSD seeks to equip women with the knowledge needed to defend and claim their rights based on a clear understanding of legal and social frameworks.
Organizing Women
Based on its belief in the importance of collective action, PWWSD works to organize women through cooperatives, productive groups, and savings and lending groups to strengthen their economic presence. The organization also supports women’s organizations within local coalitions to advocate for their economic rights. At the same time, through the programme, PWWSD encourages women to engage in trade unions and professional associations in order to increase their influence within these structures and strengthen their role in defending women’s economic rights.
Knowledge Production
Through the programme, PWWSD produces studies, research papers, and policy papers that contribute to dialogue and knowledge-sharing on Palestinian women’s economic rights. These publications are also used to inform advocacy campaigns and policy influencing efforts.
Capacity Building
Through the programme, PWWSD works to strengthen women’s capacities in multiple areas. In addition to developing personal skills related to leadership and influence, the organization supports women in improving their productive capacities, strengthening women-led products and enterprises, and developing marketing skills. These interventions contribute to increasing women’s income and reducing poverty and unemployment among women. The organization also operates business incubators to support women’s economic initiatives, provide consultations, and facilitate women’s participation in local product exhibitions organized across different governorates.
Advocacy Activities
PWWSD conducts continuous advocacy campaigns to defend women’s economic rights and increase decision-makers’ awareness of the importance of protecting these rights. In this context, the organization implements an annual campaign focusing on the rights of rural women, in line with global initiatives addressing rural women’s rights. The organization also seeks to promote dialogue with local decision-makers to influence laws, policies, and procedures that protect women’s economic rights.
Projects
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