Project profile — SALALEM: Prosperity and Advancement for Palestinian Women and Youth

The project aims to improve the learning outcomes of young women and youth with disabilities in the West Bank and Gaza. Project activities include: (1) designing demand-driven, gender-responsive curricula on life skills, internship/apprenticeship and small business management; (2) inviting professional role models to attend networking events for young women and youth with disabilities; (3) conducting workplace improvement pilots with interested employers; and (4) selecting youth and heads of households of the Leadership Institute to collaborate with a media organization and key stakeholders to develop a strategic messaging campaign.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) increased agency amongst young women and youth with disabilities to make employment decisions for themselves when actively seeking employment or small business opportunities; and (2) reduced gender, disability and other social barriers to workforce entry and retention for young women and youth with disabilities.

Results achieved at the end of the project (September 2024) include: (1) trained over 6,206 individuals, including 3,109 young women and youth with disabilities and 3,097 household influencers. This strengthened community support for inclusive economic participation; (2) 2,299 women and youth with disabilities accessed safe and relevant on-the-job learning opportunities across 389 different employers, gaining practical experience and workplace exposure; (3) 19% (437 individuals) of sampled graduates from the Salalem Leadership Institute secured employment, and among those, 27% (621 individuals) retained jobs with the same employers where they completed their internships; (4) provided seed funding to 57 trained entrepreneurs to launch their businesses, supported by mentorship and networking opportunities; and (5) provided financial and technical support to 27 employers to implement workplace improvements that are gender-responsive and disability-inclusive. Also provided training to 49 employers to adopt inclusive practices, promoting more equitable and accessible work environments.