The Regional Studies Association’s Annual Conference 2025 is being held in partnership with the School of Economics and Management at the University of Porto, Portugal. Under the topic Navigating Regional Transformation, this four-day conference brings together academics and policymakers to exchange news, views and research findings from the fields of regional studies and science, regional and economic development, policy and planning.
The European Association for Innovation in Local Development (AEIDL), the University Valladolid and the Polytechnic Institute of Viseu organised a Special session on Exploring Gender Equality in Policy Regional and Rural Perspectives (SS13). (Further information and agenda here)
The special session is part of the Horizon Europe project GRASS CEILING (Gender Equality in Rural and Agricultural Innovation Systems), which is a multi-actor three-year project, aiming to empower rural women and increase the number of socio-ecological innovations led by women in agriculture, the rural economy and rural communities.
The session seeks to create a space for reflection on the needs, possibilities and opportunities for mainstreaming gender in European regional policies. It also seeks to inspire rethinking of monitoring systems for (a) gender equality progress, (b) the development of policies and initiatives that prioritise women’s needs for public support and (c) examine impact of changes.
This special session is set within a critical policy development framework, with the Long Term Vision for rural areas with targets to 2040, the recommendations of the Strategic Dialogue on Agriculture, the Vision for Agriculture and Food and the Roadmap for women’s rights, the new mandate of the EU Commission after 2027, the new Multiannual Financial Framework including relevant strategic areas such as Cohesion and Agriculture (2027-2034), as well as the five-year SDG compliance framework, among others.
The discussion will examine the extent to which gender mainstreaming has been integrated into European regional policies, explore the unique challenges faced by women in these areas, highlighting disparities in access to resources, public services, training, representation, and the impact of policies on their economic and social well-being.
The discussion aims to promote dialogue on proposals and solutions for the policy cycle with various stakeholders.
Panelists and the audience will reflect on key challenges in order to adequately monitor both women’s needs and the effectiveness of policies. Important challenges to examine the nature and impacts of political, economic, social and environmental changes are: (i) Lack of gender-disaggregated dat; (ii) Limited comparative studies on rural women across Europe and (iii) Absence of identification and tools/support to replicability of best practices from certain areas making it difficult to scale successful initiatives
