According to a statement from the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the programme will be the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Citizenship and Equality, Rosa Monteiro, and will be operated by the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality, and worth €7 million, including €1 million in national funds, which is twice the amount of the previous programme.
The aim is to finance structural projects and initiatives in areas aligned with the National Strategy for Equality and Non-Discrimination 2018-2030 “Portugal + Equal”.
“With this programme we make a qualitative leap in the implementation of equality policies because it allows us to support the action of strategic actors such as municipalities and social partners, as well as to take urgent measures in areas such as the national network to support victims of violence, strengthening of the national statistical system on equality, and is also a key part of the Government’s action in reconciling professional, personal and family life,” according to Monteiro, quoted in the government statement.
Five tenders will be launched for project applications and a support scheme for smaller projects within three pre-defined areas.
The first, to be promoted by the Commission for Equality in Work and Employment, aims to develop a platform for monitoring public equality policies in the labour market and to exchange good practices with Iceland on equal pay.
Another seeks to include equality and combatting sexual segregation in higher education and will be promoted by the Directorate General of Higher Education.
Finally, the third will be promoted by the National Institute of Statistics and is related to the improvement of statistical data on equality between men and women.
Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein finance initiatives and projects in a number of programme areas in the European Economic Area including grants in 15 European Union Member States and through the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism 2014-2021, with a view to reducing economic and social disparities and strengthening bilateral relations between donor states and beneficiaries.