International Day of Rural Women
Connecting women in rural areas with the world
ESF+
Women have played a fundamental role in rural Spain throughout history, although they have often been invisible and undervalued. Traditionally, women have been the backbone of family care, the guardians of the traditions underpinning life in rural communities and, in many cases, they have also been responsible for agricultural work. However, their work has remained largely in the shadows and linked to the household. According to data from the Women’s Institute, only 28.6% of farm managers are women, and this figure decreases as farm size increases.
At Fundación MAPFRE we believe that empowering women is essential to face the challenges of the 21st century in rural Spain. That is why, in our role as an Intermediary for the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), we provide these women with the opportunity to start a business, work, care for those who need it most, combat loneliness and continue to build the community in these increasingly depopulated areas of our country.
Our aim is to connect the rural world so that, from a local level, we can open the doors to the global perspective, broaden our horizons and reach out to other territories, and show these women how to access a world of opportunities.
To achieve this, we count on the work of the six third sector entities that have been selected because of their knowledge and presence in rural areas through the 1st Call for +Rural Grants. They are Fundación Acción contra el Hambre, with its project Rural Communities for social and workplace integration in different areas of Spain; Fundación Santa María la Real, with the program Train Rural Employment aimed at vulnerable women who find it difficult to integrate into the labor market; Fundación Cepaim whose project Roots aims to facilitate access to the labor market in different rural environments; Confederación Autismo España and its initiative +RuralTEA, aimed at people with autism spectrum disorder; the NGO CESAL and its project Rural+ Talent Route, which promotes the social and labor market integration of vulnerable people in different provinces; and Cruz Roja Española with its project Get Linked aimed at elderly people at risk of exclusion and loneliness.
Today, October 15, we are celebrating the International Day of Rural Women and we want to do this by sending a message of hope: together we can transform the lives of many women who need us to help them escape situations of dependence, loneliness and vulnerability in rural Spain. At Fundación MAPFRE we work to achieve this every day.