+Women +Future: Awakening Vocations - +Dones +Futur: despertem vocacions

Good Practice

Equality

+Women +Future: Awakening Vocations – +Dones +Futur: despertem vocacions

Encouraging educational and professional aspirations among girls and young women

Catalan Government

Spain

Regional policy

POLICY OBJECTIVE

The programme +Women +Future: Awakening Vocations (“+Dones +Futur: despertem vocacions”) is an initiative aimed at fostering the educational and professional aspirations of girls and young women, making female role models visible and tackling the gender stereotypes that continue to shape their educational and career pathways. The programme connects the education system with companies and organisations from a range of professional sectors, particularly industry and STEAM fields, with the aim of broadening professional horizons and future opportunities.

CONTEXT

Gender inequalities in the choice of studies and professional careers emerge from the earliest stages of education and have a direct impact on the present and future opportunities of girls and young women. Persistent stereotypes, role segregation and the lack of female role models in certain sectors contribute to horizontal segregation in the labour market and to the perpetuation of gender gaps.

These factors not only influence professional expectations, but also shape how girls imagine their future lives, possible life rhythms and the compatibility between professional projects and everyday life. In this context, bringing real role models and meaningful experiences closer becomes essential in order to broaden vocations and challenge the dominant narratives associated with the use of time and gender roles.

POLICY DESCRIPTION

The +Women +Future: Awakening Vocations programme is mainly delivered through school visits by pupils from primary and secondary education, upper secondary education (baccalaureate) and vocational training to local companies and organisations committed to equality between women and men.

These visits are complemented by educational materials and support resources aimed at both educational centres and participating companies and organisations, with the goal of ensuring an educational experience grounded in a gender perspective and with real transformative potential. The programme places particular emphasis on making women professionals visible, creating spaces for direct dialogue with pupils and presenting diverse professional trajectories, showing not only educational pathways but also plural models of work organisation, time management and everyday life.

In this way, the programme helps to awaken vocations while promoting a critical perspective on the stereotypes we associate with certain professions and their supposed compatibility with a fulfilling life.

KEY ASPECTS

Early intervention to tackle gender stereotypes in education. The programme operates at key educational stages where aspirations are formed, contributing to more gender-balanced educational and career choices.
Visibility of female role models in underrepresented sectors. The presence of women professionals from industry, STEAM fields and the primary sector provides tangible and local role models that help to reduce horizontal segregation in the labour market.
Experiential learning through direct contact with real work environments. School visits to companies and organisations enable meaningful experiences that transform perceptions and break down symbolic barriers associated with traditionally male-dominated professions.
Collaborative governance and a place-based approach. The programme promotes cooperation between educational centres, companies, organisations and public authorities, strengthening shared responsibility for the promotion of gender equality at local and regional levels.
Broadening life perspectives through a life-course and time-use lens. Beyond career guidance, the initiative helps to expand future imaginaries by questioning work and time models that limit women’s access to certain professional trajectories and by promoting more sustainable and equitable life projects.

RESULTS

The project has experienced steady growth in participation and territorial reach. For the 2025–2026 academic year, 74 educational centres and 31 companies and organisations from across Catalonia are registered.

The programme’s evolution demonstrates its potential:

In the 2024–2025 academic year, 260 pupils from four educational centres took part, with nine visits to three industrial companies.
In the 2023–2024 academic year, the initiative began with 6 visits to four companies in the automotive sector, involving a total of 138 pupils.

The +Women +Future: Awakening Vocations programme is promoted by the Ministry of Equality and Feminism of the Catalan Government, in collaboration with educational centres, companies and organisations committed to gender equality.

Policy's Website

donesfutur.igualtat@gencat.cat