FEM-ABLE
Cyprus
Good practices on women political participation
AIPFE
BPW CYPRUS
MIGS-Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies
AIPFE
- Objective
- Target group
- Implementation
- Results/Impact
- Lessons learned
- Transferability
- Resources/Support
- Contact information
The objective of AIPFER is to empower, motivate and connect women in Politics and the Economy.
As an organisation, their mission is to facilitate and open the conversation about Women’s role in society. AIPFE empowers, motivates, and connect women to sit at the table. They organise events, workshops and lead programs that will allow us to fulfill this mission. Their initiatives fall within the 2 broad categories: POLITICS (Society) and the ECONOMY (Leadership & STEM).
To empower women who were in different stages of their career and equip them with skills to excel in their professional development. The mentoring program aimed to connect leaders and experts from the industry with the next generation of female leaders to boost their careers and personal development.
Women who were in different stages of their career.
AIPFE is involved in a number of EU-funded projects implemented and executed in Cyprus
Specifically, AIPFE runs several Programs and Initiatives:
- The AIPFE’s mentoring program highlights that mentoring is a special partnership between two people based on a commitment to the mentoring process, common goals/expectations of the partnership, and mutual trust and respect. Mentoring plays a crucial role in the mentee’s development as through mentorship someone can become more effective at work, learn new skills, manage their work life balance, develop greater confidence, and make better decisions for their overall career growth. Over the course of 3 months [September to November] the mentoring program of AIPFE aims to offer a supportive environment to women aged 18+ who would like to receive support and advice for their professional development. Over the course of 3 months, the mentees had the chance for 1:1 (online or offline) sessions with their dedicated mentor to pick their brain and receive feedback and valuable guidance. The timing and locations of the sessions were for the mentee and their mentor to agree on. For 2022, the mentoring program started on the 28th of June 2022 with the call for Mentees. The mentees could submit their application by the 13th of July 2022 and get matched with the mentor of their preference. The mentoring program is open to all ambitious women across all industries and professions, no matter their background, role, or title. Our program is designed to support women aged 18+ who are in any stage of their career. The specific areas of focus that this program will intend to focus on, are:
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- Early Career stage
- Career development
- Work Life balance
- Career change
- Entrepreneurship
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AIPFE’s Mentoring Program is provided only to female AIPFE’s members, and it is free of charge.
The vision is to empower women who are in different stages of their career and equip them with skills to excel in their professional development. AIPFE’s mentoring program aims to connect leaders and experts from the industry with the next generation of female leaders to boost their careers and personal development. The mentee can learn valuable knowledge from the mentor’s expertise and past mistakes. They can increase their competencies in specific areas, and they can establish valuable connections with more senior and experienced employees.
The mentoring scheme program offered by AIPFE was open to all AIPFE’s members who included all ambitious women across all industries and professions, no matter their background, role, or title. Our program is designed to support women aged 18+ who are in any stage of their career.
- Women fit 4 business (WF4B) is a 12 weeks programme, and the target group of this initiative is women underemployed with the aim to upskill them, by offering them a scholarship and an internship. Specifically, in 2017, AIPFE Cyprus joined forces with EY Cyprus to locally re-launch the successful European initiative Women Fit for Business (WF4B) Cyprus. A scholarship program geared towards unemployed female university graduates under the age of 35, this collaboration aspires to empower, motivate and connect 12 participants through practical training and soft skills that will assist them in their search for employment. Twelve successful candidates have been selected to embark on a 60-hour, 9-month course, which entails training, mentoring and networking. The program, which commenced in April and will run through to December 2017, covers a wide range of topics, including personal profiling and skills assessment, job search skills, professional development workshops, empowerment through centred leadership, internships and more.
- CIM MBA Scholarship offered to women applying in the programme (WF4B) is another initiative by AIPFE. Specifically, The Cyprus Institute of Marketing – The Cyprus Business School (CIM) is offering a full scholarship worth €7700 exclusively to our AIPFE members. The scholarship for the programme «Master in Business Administration (MBA)» is for the academic year commencing October 2022-and for every year AIPFE implements this initiative.. AN EXCLUSIVE OPPORTUNITY FOR A WORLD-CLASS MBA, AVAILABLE ONLY TO AIPFE MEMBERS. The scholarship, which follows a successful collaboration between AIPFE and The CIM through the Women Fit for Business program (WF4B), is granted to one successful Aipfe member candidate who aspires to further develop her/his leadership and management skills and expertise. The internationally acclaimed CIM MBA program is taught in English and it is offered full time (one year) or part time (two years). It has been accredited by the Cyprus Quality Assurance Agency and is recognized by KYSATS. MBA Scholarship is provided by AIPFE for the last three years.
- An exciting initiative set up by AIPFE Cyprus at the beginning of 2017 to promote some #incrediblewomen! The launch of this female empowerment series of talks aims to highlight the importance of achieving your dreams and following your passions. Through some very exciting presentations by #Incrediblewomen hosted by AIPFE, they hope to help empower, motivate, and connect their members. The aim with this series is to highlight the achievements of some incredible women surrounding us today in Cyprus and the broader regions of Europe.
- Non-discrimination and equal opportunity form part of the international community’s key principles. They are rooted in universal principles of human rights, fundamental freedoms and equality. The Code of Conduct is a resource for understanding the culture and the appropriate behaviour practised by and expected of an organisation regarding non-discrimination, equal opportunities, and diversity management. AIPFE worked with Gender Diversity expert teams to create the Code of Conduct based on the European blueprint. #HellenicBank became the first corporate adopters of the #CodeofConduct in Cyprus and the collaboration was launched at Hellenic Bank headquarters during a formal presentation on 8th October 2015. During the event, AIPFE also presented 2 Honorary Awards to our two esteemed AIPFE members, Mrs Androulla Vassiliou and Dr. Erato Kozakou-Markoulli for their tireless contribution to female empowerment. We continue to celebrate these women for their trailblazing activities in our civil society!
- Other events implemented by AIPFE, include discussions with politicians raising key and important issues, such as female fertility and career development. Through the outreach of the events and the projection of key actors such as politicians, the promotion of the idea of career and development- lobbing it to change something and force it to change. Another example, discussions include the president of the parliament in cooperation with the high commission of the UK, talking about women in diplomacy.
Through their actions and events women come together AIPFE provides and gives women the opportunity to be empowered women who are at different stages in their career, develop skills such as leadership to excel their professional development, leadership and management skills, soft skills including personal profiling and skills assessment, job search skills.
The implementation of all initiatives and programmes going on for over three years in a row, reveal its effectiveness and success in achieving the objectives of the NGO. Through WF4B Every year AIPFE offers scholarships, MBA; The Cyprus Institute of Marketing – The Cyprus Business School (CIM) is offering a full scholarship worth €7700 exclusively to our AIPFE members. The scholarship for the programme «Master in Business Administration (MBA)».
The overall evaluation of the impact AIPFE has in Cyprus is positive due to the programmes, initiatives and thus opportunities offered, emphasising the knowledge and commitment to the empowerment of women, methodology and communication and commitment to the public.
According to the work done by AIPFE, in order to give voice to individual women-underemployed or unemployed, initiatives that offer further development to these women as well as future opportunities should continue to be offered. Important aspects play the discussions on crucial and sensitive topics including key actors such as politicians. The development of skills as well as the normalisation of ‘provoking’ topics to open discussions with important role figures, further present and reflect the importance of women being empowered.
The practices, actions, initiatives and programmes promoted and executed by AIPFE are highly transferable to other regions and contexts, as it promotes the idea of empowerment and leadership to all women. It promotes their active role and participation in society, needed in all regions. All programmes and dialogues as well as the scope of AIPFE is applicable to different cultural and geographical contexts. The methodologies used, the implementation of practices, the participatory element as well as the active involvement and engagement that is promoted by AIPFE. To ensure the successful transfer of the AIPFE model, it is crucial to communicate with key political representatives, expand networking and promote further collaborations (eg. For offering scholarships for MBA).
The success of AIPFE model relies on collaboration with people needed to implement the training programmes -from different fields (mentors -being in key positions; lawyers, counselling psychologists, executive directors, diversity officers, senior managers, executive officers, branding consultants, advisor to governments and international organisations, entrepreneurship community managers, content creators, marketing managers, human rights experts, human resource managers and lecturers). Collaboration with further companies for cooperation and the offer of scholarships. The availability of resources, such as support (eg. Financial), skilled facilitators, spaces for meetings/conferences are essential for the effective implementation of the model. Lastly, the support from national government bodies to promote the model’s objectives.
More information can be found at the following links:
Web link: https://aipfe.com/
Contact email: info@aipfe.com
BPW CYPRUS
- Objective
- Target group
- Implementation
- Results/Impact
- Lessons learned
- Transferability
- Resources /Support
- Contact information
BPW Cyprus (KOGEE – Cypriot Federation of Professional Business Women) was founded in 1988 and became a Federation in 1996. It is represented by local Organisations (BPW) in all cities and the BPW English Speaking Club. Women under 35 are represented by the Young BPW committee.
BPW Cyprus is a full member of the International Federation (BPW International), one of the most important networks in its field. The International Federation is represented in its consultative capacity at the UN Economic and Social Council (ESOSOC), participates in the Council of Europe and the European Women’s Lobby. Membership in a local organisation gives you membership in the National and International Federation.
Business and Professional Women – entrepreneurs and professional Women
PW is contributing to the society by giving women opportunities to:
- Empowerment through the development of their professional and leadership potential
- Ensuring their rights
- Promoting equal opportunities
- Encouraging lifelong learning for education, vocational training, higher education and development of competences and skills
- Promotion of friendship, cooperation and mutual understanding between Businessmen and Professional Women of all countries.
Objectives are covered through mentoring programs.
More specifically, some of the actions BPW is implementing a yearly basis:
- Equal Pay Day Campaign: This is spread through TV and Radio advertisements and through social media campaigns as well as BPW is present in morning tv shows. Every year, BPW chooses a specific action, depending on the pay gap and the awareness they want to share.
Video: https://www.facebook.com/bpwcyprus/videos/1216898359262632/
- Women’s Day: On Women’s Day BPW Cyprus is spreading their message through TV and Radio advertisements and through social media campaigns as well as BPW is present in morning tv shows. Every year BPW chooses a different activity. In 2023 a Market Research was executed. The name of the research was ‘‘The woman’s position is…..’’ and it was carried out between companied and organisations. The research was divided into 3 pillars: 1.Qualitative-focus groups to companies, 2. Quantitative- questionnaires to companies-700 CEOs, managers of companies or being in high positions and 3. Qualitative-focus groups to women professionals. The general results were presented at BPW’s Annual General Meeting (point 3)
- AGM-Annual General Meeting. Each year BPW hosts their annual general meeting where different topics are presented each time.
- Networking events and Panel discussions on key themes around women’s participation in society. -eg. Valuable presentations were made on Thursday, January 22, 2022 ‘Five Tips to Help you Find your Future Career’
- Mentoring Programmes: (its launch was within 2023). The programme focuses on leadership, personal branding, public speaking and financial education. Trainees attend the programme and each day a different topic is covered. The BPW Cyprus Mentoring Program titled “Ingredients of Success and Synergies for the Successful Female Professional” was held in May 2023. The program aimed to empower aspiring female entrepreneurs, seasoned professionals, and young women through an experiential and transformative experience. With their participation, women professionals and entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to:
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- Explore the power of personal branding and its critical role in a thriving career.
- Formulate, develop, and manage career goals with a new approach by developing their public speaking skills.
- Develop and promote their leadership skills.
- Benefit from meeting other established members who will share their knowledge and experience.
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- Mediterranean Symposium that is held every November; the weekend dates that fall on the World Women’s Entrepreneurship Day (19th November). The panellists attending represent different countries from the Mediterranean. Next year’s symposium will include a male panellist as well.
Honouring World Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, for another year, the Cyprus Federation of Business Women Professionals BPW Cyprus, organised the 5th Mediterranean Symposium, with the theme “Women leading the way in our new reality” held on November 19, 2022 at the Royal Hall in Nicosia . Women from the Mediterranean and all over the world, discussed issues of empowerment and cooperation.
As we face a new reality even in the way businesses now operate in the post-pandemic era, it is now more important than ever to ensure that women are not “left behind”. In this context, the symposium brought together BPW representatives from all the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, as well as members of the international and regional BPW.
The event was opened by the President of BPW Cyprus, Tasia Giannara Gialluridou where, among other things, she stated that: “In the wake of so many women around the world who must continue to defend their fundamental rights, it is even more important to recognize and address the challenges. Men and women together, by sharing knowledge and experiences, empowering and inspiring each other, we can transform our future in the most promising way.”
The event was also greeted by the President of the Federation of Employers & Industrialists (OEB), Mr. Antonis Antoniou, the President of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Christodoulos Agastiniotis, and Ms. Sofia Kounenaki-Efraimoglou, President of the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Ms. Annita Dimitriou, President of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus, Ms. Natasa Pileidou, Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry, Ms. Carmen Taheny, Secretary of the European Commission BPW, as well as Ms. Pavlina Iakovidou, also captivated the audience with their speeches. Marketing & PR Manager of Porsche.
The topics raised were defining authenticity in female leadership, how women can take advantage of new challenges, the critical role of women in the future of business and women in technology are just a few of the topics that would be developed by symposium speakers. In the first panel discussion entitled: Defining Authenticity in Female Leadership with moderator and speaker Francesca Burack, we heard Angela Tomazou, Raluca Man and Caroline Fattal Fakhoury discuss effective ways in which women can respond to the challenges of post -pandemic era and still provide authentic female leadership.
In the second panel entitled: The New Reality: How Women can take Advantage of the New Challenges, it was discussed how women are the pioneers of the future of business. Through diversity of perspectives, emotional intelligence, empathy, and the ability to devise outside-the-box solutions to challenges, women play a critical role in disrupting the status-quo. With Larisa Miller as the moderator and speaker of this special panel, we also heard from Natasa Pileidou, Aurora Martin and Viola Edward. The discussion aimed to inspire women to rethink their way forward through a new era of business leadership and personal growth.
The third and final panel was titled: The Critical Role of Women in the Future of Business – Women in Technology Our panel of women leaders in their field: Konstantina Patsalou, and Phyllis Leah Speser discussed the challenges, obstacles and rewards when women take on leadership roles and careers in Business and Technology. Together with Moderator-Speaker Mel Asare, participants shared their experiences of the role and place of women in business, and how critical that role is in shaping and improving the future.
The Symposium is each year a wonderful opportunity to shape the thought processes of women looking for strategies to help guide their path as we enter a new year.
The whole event ended with an impressive Gala Dinner and a cultural tour.
- Young BPW Cyprus: Young BPW Cyprus aims to inspire young women to get involved and be part of a wider community of business and professional women, with the goal to collaborate on BPW initiatives, career, leadership and women’ s rights. Young BPW members are between the ages of 18-35 and are looking to exchange ideas, information and support each other achieving their potential. With Young BPW, women have the opportunity to get to know other people and cultures through networking and exchange in combination with international conferences, seminars and workshops where members are open to discuss and share their concerns and ideas for a better world.
The Young BPW invites all young and dynamic women, no matter of professional background, to benefit from the experience and strength of the older members, enter an engaged community, as well as embracing leadership opportunities, resources, and career-focused programs. We aim to promote the professional and business potential of our members through advocacy, mentoring, capacity building and empowerment programs.
The vision of the Young BPW is to:
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- Promote the interests of women as a whole
- Encourage women to fight for equal opportunities in the workplace and help them overcome their limitations
- Give the example to women to strive for education and use their capabilities to the maximum benefits of others as well as themselves
- Embracing women, in order to realise their potential in the professional arena and the local and international community
- Develop friendship, cooperation and mutual understanding
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In 2023, Young BPW developed podcasts with interviews from women in business. They further collaborate with relevant stakeholders for the implementation of Art Exhibition and during its launch day there will be discussions about women in the field of arts.
Through their actions and events women come together BPW Cyprus empowers the entrepreneurs and professional Women of Cyprus for real changes. BPW Cyprus brings women together; women come together and shine together. The impact of BPW is to enrich cooperation between women, to support each other, to develop and to thrive. BPW Cyprus is a community for women; women belong somewhere and work as a team to pass on their messages. Through the implementation of the activities of BPW, these women reveal hidden concerns and issues that women entrepreneurs and professionals face and that would otherwise not be revealed. Through the research undertaken, there is great and factual information in regard to the issues faced by women entrepreneurs and professionals including; motherhood, guilt and shame, lack of facilities for support within their professional environments, social stereotyping and criticisms, bullying within their professional sector. All these results, testimonials, and analyses are included in the National mechanism for women’s equality of Cyprus creating the path towards raising these issues to the government of Cyprus. BPW’s actions have a common aim to identify and reveal the issues/concerns, be converted to proposals and suggestions and be passed on to the house of representatives and the Cyprus government.
All actions, programmes and initiatives are implemented every year since the development of BPW in Cyprus, while new ones are added, revealing its effectiveness and success in achieving the objectives of the NGO.
The overall evaluation of the impact BPW has in Cyprus is positive due to the programmes, initiatives and thus opportunities offered, emphasising the knowledge and commitment to women, methodology and communication and commitment to the public. Also, the specific NGO is a powerful source in passing on proposals to the House of Representatives and the Cyprus government, achieving real change to society.
Following the work done and actions taken by BPW Cyprus, in order to give voice to women entrepreneurs and professionals, initiatives, programmes and actions that offer further development and bring women together should continue to be offered. For them being united under the BPW Cyprus, they are able to pass on proposals from real life experiences to the government, aiming for a great impact to the society. Thus, women being united and speaking up increases the power of these women and the possibility for an overall change in the society. BPW Cyprus creates the room and the space for women to speak up and be able to be heard. BPW Cyprus, makes sure to convert their issues and problems to proposals, be revealed and be presented to the Cyprus government and the House of Representatives; BPW is the voice and power of every woman in order to offer solutions to all these different issues arising.
The practices, actions, initiatives and programmes promoted and executed by BPW are highly transferable to other regions and contexts as they empower the Entrepreneurs and Professional Women of Cyprus for real changes. All these actions and initiatives work and are applicable to the needs of every woman in every country. For example, Cyprus has developed the Mediterranean Symposium happening every year. The central idea is 1; to empower women and promote women towards equality. This central idea is transferable to other regions. As a general context; the programmes, ideas, initiatives, conferences and dialogues as well as the scope of BPW Cyprus is applicable to different cultural and geographical contexts. The methodologies used, the implementation of practices, the participatory element as well as the active involvement and engagement that is promoted by BPW. In order to ensure the successful transfer of the BPW model, it is crucial to identify the needs of every country and specifically the needs of every woman, and communicate with key political representatives, expand networking and promote further collaborations in order to have the power to promote proposals and suggestions to the House of Representatives and National Governments.
The success of the BPW model relies on-first of all- funding and budgeting in order to be able to promote and achieve these actions and initiatives. Also, the great bonds and community built in BPW play a major role. The trust between these women and the empowerment gained allow each individual woman to express concerns, issues and testimonials freely show the success of BPW. Also, the collaboration with people needed to implement the mentoring programmes -from different fields (business consultants and lecturers, leadership and team trainers, educators, authors, consultants, mentors, financial advisors and economists, life coaches and energy therapists). The availability of resources, such as support, skilled facilitators, spaces for meetings/conferences are essential for the effective implementation of the model. Lastly, the support from national government bodies in order to promote the model’s objectives.
More information can be found at the following links:
Web link: https://www.bpwcyprus.org.cy/el/
Contact email: info@bpwcyprus.org.cy
MIGS-Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies
- Objective
- Target group
- Implementation
- Results/Impact
- Lessons learned
- Transferability
- Resources/Support
- Contact information
A clear statement of the specific challenge or barrier the practice aims to address or the goal it seeks to achieve in promoting women’s political participation.
MIGS was established in 2000 by a group of gender researchers, activists and academics at the University of Nicosia.
They brought together a research-focused team who shared a common aim: promoting women’s rights and gender equality across Cyprus, the Mediterranean, and, following Cyprus’s accession in 2004, the European Union.
Since then, our NGO has grown into the leading feminist organisation bringing change and hope to the advancement of women’s rights.
Women and general public
- Through research, MIGS projects and activities all rely on the evidence-based research we carry out. Beyond the reports we regularly publish, research plays a key role in all aspects of our work, from the training we conduct, the awareness-raising campaigns we run, to the advocacy and lobbying we do to bring about real change in policy and legislation.
- Implementation of training programmes targeting private and public sectors as well as civil society to raise awareness, increase capacity and develop skills among front-line and other professionals in their specific area of work.
Since 2009, MIGS has been a leading voice in calling for binding positive action measures to ensure that women are equally represented at all levels of economic and political decision-making. From campaigning for women’s equal representation in parliament, to organising stakeholder discussions on women on company boards. MIGS also enhances the visibility and impact of women, especially across business, politics and industry. This can only be achieved by multiplying women’s voices on key issues in the national dialogue, combating sexism and bias in media coverage, and increasing opportunities for women.
Relevant projects about the promotion of women in decision-making roles here Areas of work – Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies (medinstgenderstudies.org)
Following the work done and actions taken by MIGS, in order to give voice to women and be equally represented at all levels of economic and political decision-making, initiatives, programmes and actions that offer further development and bring women together should continue to be implemented. MIGS also enhances the visibility and impact of women, especially across business, politics and industry. This can only be achieved by multiplying women’s voices on key issues in the national dialogue, combating sexism and bias in media coverage, and increasing opportunities for women.
The actions and programmes promoted and executed by MIGS are highly transferable to other regions and contexts as they promote gender equality and a fairer/equal representation of women in the society. This central idea is transferable to other regions. As a general context; the programmes, ideas and initiatives as well as the scope of MIGS is applicable to different cultural and geographical contexts. The methodologies used, the implementation of practices, the participatory element as well as the active involvement and engagement that is promoted by MIGS. In order to ensure the successful transfer of the MIGS model, it is crucial to communicate with key political representatives, expand networking and promote further collaborations that will guarantee the successful implementation of the projects.
Resources required include funding for EU projects implementation, the development and further support from relevant stakeholders for national action plans and campaigning, representation in the parliament, support and cooperation with the Gender Equality Commissioner of Cyprus, in order to enhance the visibility and impact of Women regarding key issues research staff and experts for the execution of relevant projects on an EU and national level whilst further support and from the Gender Equality Commissioner of Cyprus.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.