PRESS RELEASE

Lyon, 30 October 2025

PENELOPE: Pioneering Gender Equality Through Clusters in European SMEs

 

Final Online Conference – 30 October 2025

After three years of collaboration, the PENELOPE Project concluded its journey with an inspiring final online conference that gathered partners, cluster managers, policy-makers and SME representatives from across Europe. Together, they celebrated the project’s achievements in promoting gender equality and inclusive innovation within European clusters and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

You can watch the conference again at this link : https://youtu.be/pZ9wJBim2xI
And the presentation is also available here: http://penelope-project.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/PENELOPE-Final-event-presentation.pptx.pdf

 

A Cluster-Based Approach to Equality

PENELOPE was born from the conviction that cluster organisations play a crucial role in shaping the skills, innovation and values of the European industrial landscape. By integrating gender mainstreaming into SME strategies with the support of clusters, the project has paved the way for more more inclusive, resilient and fairer business ecosystems.

The project brought together five partners from France, Austria, Romania and Spain, uniting expertise from cluster management, research, and gender equality advocacy.

Outstanding Results and Concrete Tools

Over three years, PENELOPE has developed a rich collection of resources and methodologies to support clusters and SMEs in their gender equality journey, including:

  • 28 good practices and 20 interviews with clusters, companies and policymakers.
  • A Guidebook of 18 practical tools and a comprehensive Training Handbook.
  • 22 short video clips as useful resources on gender mainstreaming and on how companies can increase and keep female participation in the labor market.
  • An E-Learning Platform, free for five years, offering adaptive, gamified training content – for clusters and SMEs, in two different training tracks.
  • A Workshop Methodology Guide, helping clusters deliver awareness-raising sessions for SMEs.

Together, these outputs form a complete learning pathway for organisations ready to translate gender equality principles into everyday business practice.

 

Gender Equality as Innovation Factor

As the PENELOPE team highlighted, gender equality is not only a matter of fairness — it is a driver of innovation, competitiveness and sustainability.
Through stories from European companies, clusters and networks, regions and countries the project has shown that investing in equality brings measurable benefits: stronger teams, better performance and more adaptive, future-proof enterprises.

From Pilot to Movement

The project’s training workshops created spaces for exchange and reflection, introducing participants to the practical use of PENELOPE’s tools. The positive feedback from these sessions confirmed the interest among European cluster stakeholders to integrate gender mainstreaming into their strategies.

A Lasting Legacy

The message of the partners after three years of collaboration:

“PENELOPE has shown that gender equality and industrial innovation are deeply connected. The project may end, but its spirit continues — in every cluster, SME and person who chooses to make inclusivity a driver for change.”

All materials, including the Handbook, Toolkit, Videos and E-Learning Platform, remain freely accessible to ensure long-term impact and replication across Europe.

The meeting took place online, but the partners met for a last time in Lyon to organise the final event and conclude the project.

About PENELOPE

The PENELOPE Project – “Innovative and pioneer cluster-based approach to foster and integrate gender mainstreaming strategies in European SMEs” – was co-funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ programme and implemented by Oxalis-SCOP,  France Clusters, AMUEBLA cluster (Spain), Lucia Seel International Consulting GmbH (Austria) and Romanian Textile Concept Cluster.

📍 More information:
🌐 Website: https://penelope-project.org/

The handbook: https://penelope-project.org/gender-mainstreaming-for-cluster-teams-handbook/
The e-learning platform: https://penelope.learning-platform.eu/
The videos on Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PENELOPE-Project-EU
The LinkedIn Penelope page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/penelope-project
The workshop methodology : https://penelope-project.org/workshops-methodology-guide/
There is still the possibility to  participate to the online SME workshop in French on the 13th of November! Register here!

📧 Contact: penelope@oxalis-scop.org

 

Photo credit: Penelope Project

 

✨ Celebrating the PENELOPE Project! ✨

After three years of collaboration across Europe, the PENELOPE Project has successfully wrapped up its activities with its Final Online Conference on 30 October 2025 — in preparation for its official closing in three weeks’ time. The event brought together cluster managers, policy-makers, and SME representatives from France, Austria, Romania, and Spain.

The project has been a pioneering initiative promoting gender equality and inclusive innovation within European clusters and SMEs. By integrating gender mainstreaming into cluster strategies, PENELOPE has shown that equality is not only fair — it’s a true driver of innovation, competitiveness, and sustainability.

With practical tools, training materials, and an e-learning platform, PENELOPE leaves behind a strong legacy for organisations committed to making inclusivity part of their growth journey.

Stay tuned — more information about the event and the presentations will be available soon!

👉 Learn more about the project: https://penelope-project.org
#GenderEquality #Innovation #SMEs #Clusters #ErasmusPlus #PENELOPEProject