Third Sector Facing Gender Issues: Training Sessions on Gender Gap and Female Empowerment for Achieving Gender Equality

This contribution presents the results of the "Third Sector and Gender Issues" formative sessions, developed as part of the FQTS project (Third Sector Executive Training) aimed at training managers and representatives of non-profit organizations in Southern Italy. This multi-year project (2023-2024) is promoted by the National Third Sector Forum and Sapienza University of Rome's “Communication and Social Research” Department. The initiative seeks to foster a deeper understanding of gender issues and to promote the implementation of inclusive policies in organizations towards Goal 5 of Agenda 2030.

Although the Third Sector in Italy plays a vital role in advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including gender equality, there is still no concrete data on women's representation in leadership roles within non-profit organizations. This study seeks to address this gap by leveraging the educational project to explore opportunities, challenges and resistance to women's empowerment in Third Sector organizations.

The training is designed to equip managers and representatives with skills needed to identify and address gender inequalities with an intersectional perspective. It includes an initial top-down phase, where gender experts present data and reports to inform and sensitize participants, followed by bottom-up discussions (focus groups and interviews that gather and compare participants' experiences of discrimination).

The uniqueness of the "Third Sector and Gender Issues" course lies in (I) involving both men and women from Third Sector, emphasizing that gender issues are not "just a woman's concern." (II) It also provides practical tools for organizations to draft their own gender reports, addressing the lack of reliable data on the sector's gender gap. These reports help assess the current situation and set concrete goals toward achieving Goal 5. Results from about 8 focus groups, 15 interviews and 10 reports have highlighted obstacles, opportunities, and contradictions that need to be addressed to reach gender equality.