Hungarian WIN Innovation group progress

The Hungarian innovation group contains:

The municipalities of the 3 cities concerned (Tatabánya, Dorog, Oroszlány)
The county employment pact
An economic development organisation that is also responsible for the industrial park in the largest city.
A very active women's association that has carried out many different projects and programs in the past.

The six organisations are represented in the Innovation group by a total of 8 delegates and work with the group started in September 2024.

From the 19th to 26th of September, a face-to-face bilateral meeting with all six organisations was organized, where the project was presented, explained the tasks and started a preliminary exchange of views on the problems of women workers in the pilot area.

The face-to-face meeting was followed by further online discussions in November and December. In December, we also conducted interviews with 17 experienced experts in the field as part of our problem-identification process.

From the meetings and interviews, many problems have been outlined.

Among others:

There is very significant male dominance in self-employment and entrepreneurship. However, the statistics are distorted because a significant proportion of men are forced self-employed or are employees hiding behind self-employment.
Women need to find and decide for themselves first, and to own up to what is right for them. Do they want a career? Do they want a family? Do they want to build a career while having a family?
There is a lack of equality in relationships in Hungary, and men need to change their attitudes.
There is a lack of opportunities for atypical work. Women need 4-6 hour jobs. However, in these cities, there are typically production companies where women have to work 3 shifts. This 3-shift system is mainly designed for male workers.
It is very important to show and demonstrate the "invisible work". What are the tasks that women do in life, such as raising children, running a household, and caring for elderly relatives. These can be monetized, but the state usually does not like to see this, because it reveals how many social state tasks are performed by women quasi for free because the social safety net is inadequate.
Cultural and social structures are an issue. Male-female stereotypes. This is cumulatively true for the Roma minority.
The difficulties women have in building a career were also discussed. After education, if they want to start a family, they are out of work for a long time right at the beginning. In Hungary, it can take up to 3 years. The family support system is not an incentive for career building.
It is also very important to shape the mindset of employers to achieve real results.