A municipal plan for gender equality: The case of the City of Naples

1. A municipal plan for gender equality: The case of the City of Naples Mita Marra, PhD CNR – University of Salerno Italy

2. Background • Underlying rationale • Principles • Strategy of intervention • Strenghts & weaknesses • Issues of governance • What’s next?

3. Background • Very low female participation rate to labor market (not even reaching 30 percent) • Decreasing fertility rate • Increasing poverty among women • Emerging new socio-economic risks (low education, low professional qualification, low-paid jobs, lone parent families, aging) with intergenerational implications

4. Background • Mayor is a very actively engaged woman (mother and grandmother), a seasoned politician • Network of women, who have actively involved within social movements during the ’68 and have promoted affermative actions and social services over the ’80 and ’90

5. Underlying rationale • The plan is part of an economic and social cohesion effort • At the regional level through EU Structural Fund programming for 2007-2013 • At the national level through integrated actions undertaken by the Equal opportunities and human rights Ministry • At the European level within the Road Map for Equality between men and women

6. Underlying rationale • The municipal plan for gender equality creatively specifies with initiatives and projects those more general axes of intervention defined within the Regional Operational Program • This reinforces political committment, administrative support, and allows for reciprocal monitoring and learning

7. Principles • Participation: • Held forum with different stakeholders to assess needs and contribute to programming • Continuity: • Built upon previously enacted initiatives especially for social services • Decentralization • Relying on social services and political representation delegated at the neighborhood level • Institutional cooperation • Close programming with the regional government • Partnership • Involvement of third sector for service delivery

8. Strategy of intervention • Genders & generations: • trasfer culture of difference, raise awareness of identity among the youth, promote cultural identities and dialogue • Ethical relationships among genders & policies against violence: • Educate to emotions and sentiments, deconstruct machist culture, stereotypes and build a neutral language • Employability & care • Improve employability, promote new and old compentences and skills among women, reinforce work-life reconciliation, self-help and support modalities for families and individuals

9. Strategy of intervention 4. Creativity & entrepreneurship: • promote creativity and entrepreneurship among female networks, micro-credit and competitiveness of female entrepreneurs 5. Urban ri-generation & safety: • Favor access to key urban sites, improve spaces, which are downgraded, guarantee safety and security for women 6. Governance & government • Promote formal and informal networking, institutional infrastructure for gender equality, monitor implementation of gender mainstreaming policies, favor political representation

10. Actions and projects • Institute for the cultural difference • Lab for ethics of sentiments and language analysis • Center against violence, receiving victimes and supporting families • Skills training for job search • Child care and kindergartens • Incubators for entrepreneurship, artisanal consortia and expositions • Social mediation and friendly city project

11. Strenghts • Women are increasing job search across traditionally male-dominated sectors • Increasing female university enrollment and graduation • Higher education achievement among young women • Increasing self-employment and entrepreneurish among women • Increasing participation in cultural associations

12. Strengths • Very little budget yet increasing focus on tapping complementarities among services, projects, and networks already existing in the territory • Taking advantage of the integrated approach • Directing regional funds towards municipal needs and priorities • Developing synergies and produce monetary and non monetary externalities

13. Weaknesses • Weak need assessment and monitoring systems especially of latent needs • Increasing irregular work • Increasing discouraged female workers • Increasing irregular immigrant women • Persistent asymmetries of power between genders • Gendered perceived roles

14. Governance issues • Limits in formal delegations at the municipal level: • Irregular work • Irregular firms • Availability of productive locations

15. What’s next? • This plan is considered to be the first necessary step toward gender budgeting • This is considered first an attempt to create and disseminate a gender friendly culture • This is considered the first proof to test political committment • This is the first step for getting the bureaucratic machine in action