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Strengthening women's opportunities in the labour market is not only a social issue, but also one of the keys to the economic renewal of regions.

The WIN project supported the improvement of the labour market situation of women living and working in peripheral industrial areas. The project sought to answer how to create a more accessible, inclusive and efficient labour market in regions where industrial history and traditional work culture still influence women's opportunities. A WIN – Improving the position of Women in the labour markets of peripheral INdustrial regions worked with social innovation, pilot programmes, good practices, personal stories and policy recommendations.

Who is it useful for?

WIN is for those who see women's employment not only as an equal opportunities issue, but also as an opportunity for regional economic development and social innovation.

For women and female employees
It helped those wishing to enter or re-enter the labour market, acquire new skills, or develop a business idea.
 
For women seeking employment and returning to the labour market
It was particularly relevant for mothers with young children, women over 55, women with lower levels of education, Roma women and career changers.
 
For employers
It helped to better understand the barriers that make it difficult for women to participate, and how a more inclusive workplace environment can be created.
 
For business development and labour market organisations
It provided methodological tools, good practices and policy lessons to support female employment and start-ups.
 
For local authorities and decision-makers
It helped to design more targeted measures based on real needs to strengthen women's participation in the labour market.
 
For civil society and women's organisations
It provided an opportunity to channel local expertise and establish new partnerships.

Why is this needed?

In peripheral industrial regions, women's labour market opportunities are shaped not only by the number of jobs, but also by local work culture, stereotypes and institutional practices.

Labour markets in former mining, manufacturing or heavy industrial regions still operate according to male-centred patterns in many places. This can affect which jobs are considered „women's” or „men's” work, and who has access to higher added-value opportunities. Women frequently face a constrained local labour market, skill gaps, family and care burdens, gender stereotypes and institutional barriers all at once. For Central Transdanubia, this was important because in the Tatabánya–Oroszlány–Dorog industrial region, industrial traditions, economic transformation and women's labour market participation are directly interconnected.

How does the project help?

The WIN project not only developed women's skills, but also engaged local actors in how to build a more inclusive labour market.

The aim of WIN was to improve the position of women in the labour market in peripheral industrial regions while testing social innovation solutions. The main elements of the project:

  • exploration of women's labour market position and barriers;
  • comparative analysis in 7 pilot regions;
  • Creation of WIN Innovation Groups with local stakeholders;
  • Implementation of 7 pilot actions;
  • collection and sharing of good practices;
  • processing women's personal stories;
  • awareness-raising campaign;
  • preparation of local / regional action plans and policy recommendations.
The project worked simultaneously at the individual, institutional and policy levels.

Practical application

The project became tangible when local stakeholders started thinking together about the labour market barriers faced by women in the Tatabánya–Oroszlány–Dorog region.

Let us imagine a woman living in an industrial area who would like to return to the labour market, but is uncertain of her skills, cannot see suitable job opportunities, or does not find a sufficiently flexible and supportive employer environment. The WIN project sought answers to such situations in its Hungarian pilot. The project connected local actors, tested social innovation solutions, and made women's experiences visible through personal stories. The practical benefit was that female employment appeared not as a general equal opportunities message, but as a concrete regional development issue.

Our role

The role of KDRIÜ was to translate the international knowledge of WIN into pilot processes, good practices and policy lessons that could also be applied in the Hungarian industrial region.

KDRIÜ implemented the pilot related to the Tatabánya-Oroszlány-Dorog region as a Hungarian project partner. Within the project, KDRIÜ operated the Hungarian WIN Innovation Group, involved local stakeholders, and participated in the development and testing of social innovations aimed at improving the labour market situation of women. KDRIÜ led the compilation of the good practice catalogue, contributed to the collection of personal stories of women, and organised the Hungarian transnational closing conference at the Mining Museum in Oroszlány. The project strengthened KDRIÜ's experience in social innovation, female employment, enterprise development and industrial regional development.

Partnership

The WIN partnership connected regions and organisations that sought to expand women's labour market opportunities from similar industrial backgrounds, yet with differing local responses. The WIN project was implemented by 10 partners from 7 countries. Research institutes, civil society organisations, regional development actors, employment institutions, women's entrepreneurship organisations, educational organisations and innovation agencies worked together within the partnership.

Managing partner:

  • Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU) – Slovenia
Project partners:
  • Association for Culture and Education (PiNA) – Slovenia
  • University of Graz – Austria
  • Registered Association Styrian Iron Road (VESTE) – Austria
  • LAG Sokolovsko – Czechia
  • Central Transdanubian Regional Innovation Agency (KDRIÜ) – Hungary
  • Ministry of Economy of Herceg-Bosnia Canton – Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Employment Service of Canton 10 Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Association of Business Women in Serbia – Serbia
  • National Management School – Bulgaria
Associated strategic partners:
  • Municipality of Trbovlje – Slovenia
  • Erz und Eisen Regionalentwicklungs GmbH – Austria
  • Regional Chamber of Commerce of the Karlovy Vary Region – Czech Republic
  • Hungarian Innovation Association – Hungary
  • Chamber of Economy of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina – Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Federal Employment Office – Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • City of Loznica – Serbia
  • Radomir Municipality – Bulgaria

Are you interested in the project?

For further information, please visit the official project page or contact the project manager.

Official project page

Programme

  • Interreg Danube Region

Full project title

  • Improving the position of women in the labour markets of peripheral industrial regions

Status

  • Closed

Maturity period

  • 1 January 2024 – 30 June 2026.

Project
ID

  • DRP0200067

Project participants

István Hegedűs, Senior Project Coordinator of KDRIÜ

István Hegedűs

lead project coordinator

View profile

Results and related knowledge base materials

The results of WIN are truly useful when concrete labour market and policy lessons emerge from the research, pilots and personal stories.

The project has ended, so on the website it is worth focusing on the already completed and reusable results. Input paper
Background material on the labour market situation of women in peripheral industrial regions. Comparative study
Comparative study on the challenges and institutional barriers of the 7 pilot regions. Methodological toolkit
Methodological toolkit for the development and evaluation of social innovations. Catalogue of good practices
Good practice catalogue on solutions supporting the employment of women; its preparation was led by KDRIÜ. 7 pilot actions
Pilot programmes in Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Serbia and Slovenia. Personal stories
Women's personal stories on the labour market barriers and opportunities of industrial areas. WIN Social Innovation Booklet
A publication summarising the experiences of social innovations developed during the pilots. Action plans and policy recommendations
Local / regional action plans, policy briefs and recommendations to improve women's participation in the labour market. WIN Final Conference report
A document summarising the main messages and professional lessons of the Hungarian closing conference.

WIN – NEMIGEN Podcast

An 8-part, fast-paced mini-series tackling the most stubborn stereotypes about women – also from a male perspective. The hosts are the actor couple Anita Deutsch and Ottó Kinizsi, who chat with a guest in every episode with honesty, humour, and debate.

WATCH
  • 2025
  • KDRIÜ

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