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Striving Towards Respect, Inclusivity, and Valued Employees (STRIVE) is an Erasmus+ project dedicated to strengthening gender equality management in the business sectors of Greece, Austria, and Cyprus. The project aimed to support organizations in creating more inclusive, respectful, and equitable workplaces for all employees.At the core of STRIVE was the development of a practical guidebook for gender inclusion, designed to address the specific challenges faced by companies in the three participating countries. This guidebook was piloted through an innovative train-the-trainer program, which empowered organizations with the knowledge and tools needed to implement and sustain gender-inclusive practices.Through this initiative, STRIVE worked to foster diverse workplace cultures that valued equality, inclusion, and mutual respect.

Why STRIVE?The motivation behind the project stemmed from the continued presence of gender inequalities in the workplace, despite years of efforts across Europe. STRIVE focused on Greece, Austria, and Cyprus due to their varied social, economic, and cultural contexts, which influenced how gender equality was promoted and practiced:

• In Greece, although the gender pay gap was slightly below the EU average, older women faced substantial income disparities, and women were underrepresented in leadership.
• In Austria, the gender pay gap was higher than the EU average, and fewer women held managerial roles or participated in the workforce overall.
• In Cyprus, women were disproportionately represented in part-time work and also lacked representation in decision-making positions, despite a relatively lower gender pay gap.

These differences underscored the need for transnational collaboration, enabling the exchange of ideas and best practices to address inequality in nuanced and context-specific ways.

Project OutcomesThe STRIVE guidebook became a valuable resource for businesses, offering actionable strategies to build and maintain gender-inclusive workplace environments. Dissemination activities throughout the project helped enhance the skills and awareness of managers, HR staff, and employees, fostering a stronger commitment to gender equality.By the conclusion of the project, STRIVE had successfully laid the groundwork for more inclusive workplace cultures in Greece, Austria, and Cyprus—and provided a model for organizations across Europe to follow.

Learn more and explore the guidebook: 

• English: https://shorturl.at/5CZwV 
• Greek: https://shorturl.at/RXvW4 
• German: https://shorturl.at/XGK2h

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