Story:
Mulheres Mil / The Power of One (Thousand)
Mulheres Mil / The Power of One (Thousand)
About this Project
Country:
Brazil
Project Type:
Program Development, Economic Development, Teacher and Management Training, Focused Student Services
Sector:
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)
Delivery Format:
In-Person
Partners:
Government of Brazil, Secretariat of Professional and Technological Education of the Ministry of Education – Brazil, Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan), Government of Canada (Canadian International Development Agency), Federal Institutes of the states of Alagoas, Amazonas, Bahia, Ceará, Maranhão, Pernambuco, Paraíba, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte, Roraima, Sergipe and by the Escola Técnica Federal de Palmas
Project Year & Length:
2007-2011; five-years
The Opportunity
- The Brazilian government saw on opportunity to improve rural economic development, and to address the continual cycle of poverty faced by women.
- They were looking for an innovative, community-owned development process that would address structural barriers to access education and work opportunities for women and girls.
- The objective was to utilize an industry-driven college education that was tied to key economic sectors and supported by learner-centred services to ensure sustainable employment and livelihood.
Our Approach
- Integrated a new holistic way of thinking about women, education and training to overcome systemic barriers; engaged the community, employers, enterprises, and policy makers; and fostered partnerships to develop local community-driven economic development to create effective and sustainable results.
- Developed training programs for women that were employer-focused, engaged the community, and invested in small and medium enterprise growth, focusing on sustainable long-term economic development.
- Partnered with federal institutes to develop and implement this approach for the empowerment of rural women.
- Collaborated on the development of a broad range of technical training programs and worked with our partners through train-the-trainer and professional development workshops across the spectrum of education including ministry staff, senior institute administrators and faculty training.
- Supported our partners in developing tools, techniques, and curriculum to provide the participating women with services, skills, support and links to employers, ensuring they had the tools and ongoing support they needed to enter and progress in the workforce.
- Engaged with all institute partners to collaborate on harmonizing policies, procedures and services to ensure a consistent inclusive approach to community outreach, accessible learner intake, career counselling and support, and prior learning assessments.
- Our partnership approach was to support women and girls and to work collaboratively with local employers; this generated significant interest by employers and women within all communities.
Partner Outcomes and Success
- Mulheres Mil achieved unprecedented success, starting with 1,000 women; it was then adopted and scaled up as a national approach, reaching 8,000,000 women in 4,000 communities across Brazil.
- Given the remarkable results of the project, the Brazilian government committed to making it a national program as part of its “Brazil Without Poverty” initiative.
- This initiative aims to promote equity, gender equality, women’s access to education and the labour force, and the eradication of violence against women.
- The project was adopted by the government and became a program that was implemented across Brazil’s entire college system to achieve the goals set for millions of individuals across thousands of communities. For women who once faced economic struggle and numerous barriers, Mulheres Mil offered hope, skills, and the opportunity for women to believe in themselves and achieve their dreams.
- Our partners, and the women who participated, are breaking the cycle of poverty; they are also taking the lead in extending the program, providing the next generation with training and support as the initiative expands across the country.
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