Project profile — Supporting Women's Resilience in Crisis in Lebanon

• Lebanon (100.00%)

• Secondary Education: Vocational training (11330) (45.00%)
• Women's rights organisations and movements, and government institutions:
Women's rights organisations and movements, and government institutions (15170) (10.00%)
Local government administration (15185) (5.00%)
• Business And Other Services: Business support services and institutions (25010) (5.00%)
• Industry: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) development (32130) (35.00%)

• Gender equality (significant objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (not targeted)
• Participatory development and good governance (significant objective)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (significant objective)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (principal objective)
• Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR) (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• Nutrition (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

The project aims to contribute to the economic empowerment of Lebanese women and Syrian refugee women in Lebanon. This project is part of the UNDP’s Lebanon Host Communities Support Programme (LHSP), a national initiative launched jointly with Lebanon’s Ministry of Social Affairs as a comprehensive response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis and its implications on Lebanon. The project supports women-led businesses and women to actively participate in the local economy, and strengthens the role that local authorities (such as municipalities, municipal unions and local economic development organizations) play in advancing women’s economic empowerment in Lebanon. Project activities include: (1) providing training, paid internships, coaching and mentoring to Lebanese women and Syrian refugee women to strengthen their abilities to integrate into the economic sphere; (2) offering training, mentoring, marketing and financial support services to women-led businesses in order to improve their productivity and competitiveness; (3) organizing advocacy and awareness-raising activities to strengthen public support of women’s economic empowerment and reduce social barriers; and (4) providing technical, strategic and management training and support to municipalities to better mainstream gender considerations into economic development strategies and interventions. The project is expected to reach 103,000 individuals through training, direct services and awareness campaigns, and to create or maintain up to 700 jobs.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) Lebanese and Syrian refugee women have increased access to economic opportunities; (2) women-led businesses have improved productivity and competitiveness; (3) improved enabling environment for women’s integration, progression and economic empowerment; and (4) municipalities are more actively involved in local economic development, which supports women’s economic empowerment.

Results achieved at the end of the project ( March 2023) include: (1) 2,707 women (1,676 Lebanese and 1,031 Syrians) completed technical and soft-skills training, reporting improved psycho-social well-being and stronger social networks; (2) 772 women (541 Lebanese and 231 Syrian) participated in group job counselling and mentoring sessions, with 298 women (142 Lebanese and 156 Syrian) receiving individual counselling, leading to increased awareness of their skills, strengths, and career preferences; (3) 533 representatives (490 women and 43 men) from 52 small and medium enterprises and cooperatives received technical training and coaching; (4) 175 participants (155 women and 20 men) from 25 cooperatives and businesses attended gender sensitization workshops to promote gender equality, non-discriminatory practices, and prevent sexual exploitation and abuse; (5) 102 participants, including Human Resources managers, civil society representatives, journalists, and legal experts, completed a workshop on workplace sexual harassment policies; (6) 2,062 women (1,334 Lebanese and 728 Syrian) and 288 men (217 Lebanese and 71 Syrian) participated in sessions on gender concepts, power dynamics, human rights, gender roles, sexuality, and gender-based violence (GBV); (7) 329 participants from livelihoods and the GBV prevention sectors attended webinars on integrating GBV prevention with economic empowerment; (8) 251 women (160 Lebanese and 91 Syrian) and 85 men (45 Lebanese and 40 Syrian) attended 17 community mobilization sessions discussing gender concepts, power dynamics, human rights, gender roles, sexuality, and GBV; (9) 183 municipal members and staff (99 women and 84 men) implemented capacity-building plans in 20 municipalities, with 61 staff members (32 women and 29 men) receiving digital literacy training; and (10) 20 local economic committees of 200 individuals each (138 women), including municipal staff, community leaders, and project beneficiaries, developed and approved 20 gender-responsive local economic development plans.

• Proactive disclosure