Female economic independence in Treviso is a challenge and an aim that women have to reach in a short time. Those who feel more this need are single women with dependent children, to whom the access to employment is impeded and consequently the access to the housing market, because of their being women, mothers, often foreigners. The idea of the project is to ensure housing solutions and the entry into the local companies, with which engage in dialogue for the mutual benefit.

Treviso, Italy

Single women with dependent children can aspire to a financial independence determined by an employment contract which in turn determines a rental agreement. Companies assess their own candidates on the basis of their availability of time and flexibility; instead, real estate agencies value them on the basis of their financial guarantees. They both have bias against mothers, especially if they are foreigners, because they believe that women’s priority is their family and they are not reliable on the working environment. The project provides a specific support for women: they can have dowry when they start to face the housing market and overcome prejudices impeding their entry into the labour market. Challenge is the promotion of the economic independence of the woman also as mother.

The target of this project are single women with dependent children. We meet this kind of women in our specialized services and they tell us they do not want to or cannot depend on other people for their own economic livelihood. These are, therefore, women who wish to work but cannot find a job; they also need an independent housing solution but cannot find a house. In Italy, in December 2020, the female employment rate reached 48,6% while the male employment rate reached 67,5%. The World Economic Forum identifies motherhood as one of the first reasons for this gap which highlights different behaviours between men and women at work in the case of children. Employed women with children living in couple households are only 53,5%; instead, men in the same condition are 83,5%.

The project involves many actions aiming on the one hand to empower women in their path to independence, and on the other hand to create a system of companies aware and sensitive to female employment.
- The selection of 6 women corresponding to the target group, who are resident in the area of Treviso, through the contact with the network of reception services for women (Spazio Donna – Spaces for Women, Anti-Violence Centres, Municipal Social Services);
- The launch of 6 coaching paths, which are useful to replan their own life project, to highlight the best strategy to establish themselves in the labour world, and to activate the necessary networks to support the balancing of family and work;
- The allocation of a dowry which consists of a number of rental payments and a work grant for an internship aimed at job placement;
- The organisation of a convention to raise awareness among local companies about the condition of single women with dependent children;
- The construction of a communication campaign addressed to companies in order to encourage the hiring of women and to create a brand which may spread this mission among the companies;
- The job and housing placement of the women in the area of Treviso.

- N. 6 individual coaching paths for women;
- N. 12 (6*2months) monthly rental payments of houses/flats for households of 2, 3 ,4 people;
- N. 6 internships for job placement for single women with children who are jobless/unemployed or precariously employed;
- N.1 convention with local stakeholders (companies, trade associations, female associations, political representatives) in order to influence them with respect to the problem and the possible solutions.
- N. 1 communication campaign aimed at local companies, women and citizens in their capacities as consumers that may facilitate to the companies the placement of single women with dependent children in their staff and that may motivate women to share the situation of discrimination they are living.

The experience of single women with dependent minor children seen in its positive evolution will be included inside the communication campaign. The presence of personal narration allows the community of women to identify themselves in a story which is similar to theirs and to give rise to the hope in change with respect to their current situation. Women will be able to report their own situation through a dedicated phone line which will allow to detect the real number of women who, in the territory, live situations of marginality and discrimination in the labour world and in the housing market because of their status of single women with dependent minor children.

The work team is composed by 7 professional female workers:
- 2 psychologists who will lead the individual coaching paths;
- 2 workers experienced in the labour market who will start the internships for job placement or replacement;
- 2 tutors who will support each woman in the experience inside the company and in the search of a housing solution;
- 1 expert in communication who will plan and lead the communication campaign.

6 dowries (coaching+internship+rental payements) 24414 EUR
communication campaign 7000 EUR
convention 3500 EUR

The feedback we ask the Civic Europe online community is to tell us if and which difficulties single women with dependent minor children face as far as work and house is concerned within the direct experience as workers and people.