Unemployed women often need to overcome many barriers to find a job.

Sara Garcia, a 33-year-old woman, had been looking for a job for over a year following the COVID-19 pandemic. Then she found about the Línea Dona project. ‘The programme has given me the opportunity to go back to work [and] feel useful,’ she explains.

Funded by the European Social Fund, Linea Dona was designed to cater to specific needs of unemployed and disadvantaged women in Catalonia, Spain. The project was a response to a 2016 evaluation of the Employment and Training Programme that highlighted the persistant difficulties some female participants were facing to findg work. Among those supported by the project are victims of gender violence, older women and women with disabilities.

At 49-years-old, Imma Cheliz also gained work through the project: ‘I have had the opportunity, after a period of time without working, to be able to access a job, [and] broaden my knowledge and CV.’

Línea Dona offers a 12-month, full-time work contract combined with training to improve employability and the chances of getting a good-quality job. The job placements are in city/district councils or similar institutions.

The training complements the job placement and includes digital skills, languages, social and basic skills, and health and safety. The aim is to help more than 9 000 women by 2023.