NATIONAL WOMEN’S COUNCIL OF IRELAND INVITATION TO REQUEST FOR TENDER. To identify gender equality is
Published: Wednesday, April 11, 2012
1. Aim of the Project
- To identify gender equality issues for women in the social welfare system who will be activated under the new Single Age Working Payment (SWAP) and the new National Employment and Entitlements Service (NEES) under the Department of Social Protection (DSP).
- To identify how gender equality issues can be mainstreamed into the development and implementation of the NEES and the SWAP and to develop and enhance the institutional capacity.
The final publication will be used as an NWCI lobbying tool to inform and influence policy on the activation of women and mothers from welfare into employment.
2. Background to the Project
The NWCI has been established since 1973, the organisation currently has 170 affiliated members, representing over 300,000 women in Ireland. Reform of the social welfare system has been a central component of the work of the NWCI to achieve economic equality for women in Ireland. In 2004 the NWCI launched 'A Woman's model for Social Welfare Reform, which set the direction for the policy and campaigning work of the NWCI with regard to social welfare over the last decade. The issues of social welfare reform have also been to the forefront of the membership who have actively engaged locally and nationally in campaigns to bring about a social welfare system that facilitates women's economic independence and incorporates an ethic of care.
The current proposals to activate women and particularly mothers provide an opportunity to develop a women friendly model of activation.
SIPTU, trade union are partnering the NWCI in this project. It is critical that the model of activation that is developed is focused on moving women from welfare to quality secure employment. The project will seek to ensure that the activation of women has the potential to lead to quality employment as opposed to low paid vulnerable employment. The NWCI and SIPTU are currently working together in the Coalition to Protect the Low Paid and successfully campaigned to have cuts to the Minimum Wage reversed. We are also working to protect low paid women workers in the contract cleaning sector.