Financial support for rural women in Poland within the framework of the EU’s perspective 2007–2013

Abstract

After a decade of Poland’s membership in the EU it is appropriate to initiate a discussion and an assessment of activities involving EU funds addressed at solving the problems of unemployment in rural areas, in particular, support of rural women in accessing the labour market. This article attempts to analyse financial support for rural women in Poland within the EU funding period of 2007–2013 in terms of effect on the labour market. For the purposes of these analyses labour market support instruments that have been in the plan for 2007–2013 under the Human Capital Operational Programme (OPHC) and the Rural Development Programme (RDP) have been taken into account. Particular attention was paid to an analysis of the records of the OPHC and RDP on: – a problematic situation of the equality in access to the labour market and rural women in Poland from a perspective of the programmes’ target groups description (the final beneficiaries of EU support); – the forms of financial support granted for rural women to access the labor market. The article required the use of the following sources of information to reach its objectives: – source materials of the European Parliament, the EU Council and the European Commission (EC), – literature on the country’s labor market and the EU gender equality policies against women; – the experience of the EU operational programme 2007–2013 proposals evaluation based on the Ministry of Infrastructure and development experts lists. From the analysis it can be concluded that the recognition of the special problems of the female in a village in the records of the Programs documentation does not guarantee competitive tenders aimed at this group of beneficiaries. In contrast, the scope of the offer of support does not determine its use for the country’s labour market only.