MAKE A WISH! PROGRAMME TO PROVIDE JOBS FOR WOMEN IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA - PROJECTS AND RESULTS FOR SLAVONIAN REGION

Insufficient employment of women is one of the continuous challenges in many countries of the European Union. One of the priorities of the European Social Fund is to increase the employment rate, with a particular focus on people at the risk of poverty and social exclusion. In the Republic of Croatia, there has been a significant decline in unemployment rate in the period 2016 - 2018. In addition to actual employment, the statistics were also contributed by the high level of emigration, especially among young and educated people, mainly to other EU countries. As part of the social inclusion priorities on the state level, a major social and economic focus is put on providing care to the elderly and disadvantaged, by hiring and educating members of the most sensitive groups, the longest unemployed, with the lowest level of employability in the labour market, namely women over the age of 50, with a lower level of education, more serious health and sociological problems. "Make a Wish!" programme to provide jobs for women in the Republic of Croatia, is a continuous tool aimed to help both vulnerable groups. The programme has been successfully implemented in 2017 and 2018, and its implementation continues in 2019. This paper analyses the data on the on-going distribution of the funds from this program and its projects' employment and education plan for Slavonia region. It presents the results that the program achieved by the end of 2018 and the plans for the future period.