Start of the EU project expected in fall 2014

At its meeting on 17 June 2014, the board of BPW Club Berlin e.V. has agreed to support the implementation of the approved EU project SWOPS. The goal with SWOPS is to bring more women into leadership positions in business and politics and – with a simultaneously improved reconciliation of work and family – to contribute to improving equality of opportunity between women and men in professional development.

(Computer-aided translation)

In the course of demographic change, it is just for small and medium enterprises is a challenge to maintain the current and future demand for skilled workers sustainably. With the development and implementation of a “structural change oriented personnel strategy” (swops) to find a standard model EU-wide application that companies receive meaningful and targeted handouts to meet this challenge successfully.

The focus will be a total of 16 SMEs from Germany, France, Poland and Sweden. About the individual consultation with an expert / inn / s team be elicited in the company together with the respective managers / executives -Innen or the specific developmental needs. As a derivative thereof an internationally practical pragmatic methods standard is developed, which allows the company in the medium their skilled labor needs and can effectively cover the long term and are therefore ideally equipped for the international competition in the market in the future.

This applies, in particular, the untapped career prospects for women, also in an international context, to be in focus. With the project of BPW Club Berlin wants to give the issue of structural change in enterprises new thrust and concretely act on structures and processes. With swops the club wants to set a further important accent on the socio-political self-understanding and move more into the public consciousness. In addition, more internationality is to be brought into the club life into it.

The BPW Club Berlin has managed to gain a reliable and experienced partner in these four European countries. These organizations and institutions are are responsible for drafting the project content, win business model and deploy qualified counselors for these model companies. On 20 June 2014, a kick-off meeting for the networking of all the teams in this round of funding benefiting from the Progress program organizations was held in Brussels.

The two swops project leaders Clarissa Diana Wilke (Board BPW Club Berlin, Communications & Public Affairs) and Daniele Pence (Director, Fundraising) and Sabine Deschauer (Executive Board, Finance) were on the spot to find out about our rights, duties, obligations and rules to inform for the upcoming two-year duration of the project and to present the project swops the EU Commission and the other delegates. At the same time this was a good opportunity to the contact persons of the European Commission to meet as well as the “people behind the projects” of neighboring countries. In an in-depth workshop in the afternoon, the participants were able to jointly explore substantive intersections.

Coinciding with two projects can be produced profitable synergies: The ACCELERATE project! (Applicant Sofia Foundation, Belgium) promotes improved, EU-wide access of women in board positions by SMEs and non-profit organizations. The aim is, inter alia, the draft directive on gender equality in economic decision-making. The project “She Decides, You succeed.” (Applicant AFAEMME, Spain) is committed to the active promotion of gender balance in the private sector.

With the development of a toolkit, the project aims the competitive advantages that present themselves in decision-making positions for companies with more women, more clearly work, communicate and disseminate. A total of 31 projects from 20 countries were represented, split with the gender pay gap (GPG) on the one hand and gender balance in decision-making positions (GBAL) on the other hand in two independent funding priorities.

Expected project start is September 1, 2014. The next steps are to enter into agreements with the EU and international partners. Preparations are in full swing.