23/11/2023
Fundación Secretariado Gitano
4 676 Roma women in a situation of high social vulnerability have participated in Calí since it was launched in 2016. Of these, 92.5% are satisfied with the programme.
The independent evaluation concludes that the programme is "relevant, efficient and coherent with the needs of the participants, as well as effective in achieving its objectives".
Fundación Secretariado Gitano (FSG) presented today at the headquarters of the Ministry of Labour the evaluation report on the results and impact of the Calí Programme, for the equality of Roma women 2016-2023, carried out by an external consultant.
This programme is a pioneering initiative, not only in Spain, but for the European Union as a whole, by developing specific actions to promote equality for Roma women from a comprehensive approach. Calí has worked on equal opportunities through personalised pathways to improve the employability and social inclusion of Roma women, especially the most vulnerable profiles; gender equality and co-responsibility between Roma women and men; support for women victims of gender-based violence; as well as equal treatment and the fight against discrimination and antigypsyism, especially addressing cases of intersectional discrimination suffered by Roma women.
FSG has developed this programme from 2016 to 2023 incorporating a technical team of 34 expert professionals, mostly Roma women, distributed in 30 cities in 14 Spanish regions, which has been an innovation compared to what has been done before.
Results with impact
4 676 Roma women in a situation of high social vulnerability have participated since the Programme began in 2016. Of these, 56% are between 25 and 45 years of age; 46% live on less than €500/month and 70% have dependent minors. 63% have a primary school education.
These women have worked with individualised pathways to favour their social inclusion and their pre-employment training and employability. A total of 1 546 training courses on personal development and 406 occupational and digital skills courses have been set up. As main results, 2 457 women have started an active job search and 704 of them have found a job. In addition, 280 have returned to formal education.
Calí has also accompanied 392 women in cases of gender-based violence and has implemented 2 736 awareness-raising activities on gender equality, co-responsibility and prevention of violence in which 17 209 women and 9 422 men have participated.
The Calí Programme has dealt with 1 708 cases of ethnic discrimination and antigypsyism and has carried out 246 awareness-raising activities on antigypsyism in which 5 232 key agents, including State security forces, have been trained. In addition, 924 awareness-raising activities on equal treatment and the fight against discrimination have been carried out with the participation of 5 152 women and 2 994 men.
Calí, a programme that is relevant, efficient and coherent with the needs of the participants
The impact study concludes that the programme is "relevant, efficient and coherent with the needs of the participants, as well as effective in achieving its objectives". Specifically, the research carried out to evaluate the programme has found a positive and significant impact on the lives of the participants, mainly in the fight against discrimination and antigypsyism, the development of personal skills and employability. 92.5% of the women participants expressed their satisfaction with the Calí Programme.
The presentation event was led by Celia Gabarri, head of the FSG's Area of Gender Equality and Roma Women, and began with an institutional inauguration in which representatives of the Programme's funding bodies took part: Patricia Bezunartea, from the Ministry of Social Rights and Agenda 2030, Ángel Mª García Frontelo, Deputy Director General of the European Social Fund Managing Authority (Ministry of Labour and Social Economy) and Marc Simón Martínez, Deputy Director General of the "la Caixa" Banking Foundation, as well as Carolina Fernández, Deputy Director General for Advocacy of FSG.
Afterwards, members of the RED2RED Consultancy evaluation team presented the results of the impact study, followed by a round table discussion with the participation of a Equality Expert from the Programme, two of Calí participants, Rebeca Escudero and Laura Amador Rodríguez, as well as Jorge Serrano, representative of the Burgos Local Police and María Ibáñez, from the company Eulen, who explained the importance of the Programme and its impact.
Rebeca Escudero, a Calí participant in Madrid, shared the case of discrimination that she and her daughter, a minor, faced due to the anti-Roma behaviour of a schoolmate and her mother. "I went to the Fundación, which helped me a lot, we filed a complaint, they gave me strength, they accompanied me to encourage me and to be able to file a complaint and to win the trial, which was recognised as antigypsyism".
Laura Amador, a participant in the Calí Programme in Elche, also related her experience: "I went through a hard time, gender violence, and with the Calí programme, they help you to believe in yourself, that you can do it... we saw things about gender equality, they teach you to empower yourself... I got a job".
The event was closed by Yolanda Díaz, Second Vice-President of the Spanish Government, who congratulated and thanked Fundación Secretariado Gitano "for the serene, persistent and inclusive work you are doing". "You are the image of the rights we want for all citizens of our country".
For her part, Sara Giménez, president of FSG, underlined the relevance of this programme, specifically aimed at "putting an end to the double gap that Roma women face, both in terms of equal treatment and opportunities and gender equality". She welcomed the Programme's proven impact in "generating new opportunities, transforming the lives of Roma women and impacting the Roma community to achieve full, fair and real citizenship".
The Calí Programme has been financed by the European Social Fund within the framework of the Operational Programme for Social Inclusion and Social Economy (POISES) and co-financing from the Ministry of Social Rights and Agenda 2030, the "la Caixa" Foundation, and various regional and local administrations, among others.
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