The Women in Leadership Project aimed to strengthen young women’s civic engagement, leadership capacity, and ability to contribute to positive social change while advancing innovative youth work methods. The project encouraged active citizenship by supporting young women to voice their views, participate in decision-making, and engage with issues affecting their communities. It empowered participants to advocate for gender equality and women’s rights, building confidence, resilience, and leadership skills through inclusive, participatory learning. By exploring social challenges and systemic barriers, young women developed greater awareness of societal issues and form supportive peer networks that foster solidarity and belonging. The project promotes inclusivity, diversity, and informed civic participation, enabling participants to become proactive community advocates. In parallel, the initiative has developed and documented effective, experiential youth work approaches, producing a practical programme guide for replication. This strengthens links between youth work practice, research, and policy, contributing to innovation in youth engagement in Ireland, Italy, and beyond.
In Ireland and Italy, female participation in civil society and leadership remains disproportionately low despite recent progress. Women continue to face structural barriers including the gender pay gap, unequal work-life balance expectations, underrepresentation in decision-making roles, and limited access to certain education, training, and career pathways. Political representation highlights this imbalance: following Ireland’s 2020 General Election, the country ranked 101st globally for female representation, with only 37 women among 160 parliamentarians. In Italy, women make up 35% of parliament and just 27% of ministerial roles. These disparities reflect persistent gender norms and systemic obstacles that restrict women’s full participation in public life. This project focused on early intervention as essential mitigator to address low confidence, limited leadership pathways, and reduced civic engagement among young women. This project responded to the need for targeted support that raises aspirations, builds leadership skills, and empowers young women to engage in civic life, challenge inequality, and become community leaders, contributing to more inclusive and equitable societies. We strongly believe this was achieved.