UNFPA Bosnia and Herzegovina 2023
Not inactive.
What gets left out when we call someone “inactive”?
For UNFPA's programme training unemployed mothers for the labour market, SO.. ran the digital campaign that let the participants speak for themselves: 25 women, their own words, one visual system and a film, carried across Facebook, Instagram and Google.
Inactive women are women who are not active in the labour market or the economy: they are not employed, and are not actively seeking employment.
For the first time, I was not “overqualified” or “lacking experience” for a job.
ErmaAt the interview for this labour-market training programme, for the first time in my life, I dared to say that I have two children.
DraganaChildren are by no means an obstacle; they are the greatest motivation to work and to succeed at work. What matters is finding an employer who shares that view.
DraganaThe chance to work in my profession is proof that dreams can come true.
Aladina
01 What the word misses
A category describes a position in the labour market. It does not describe a life.
Inactive women are women who are not active in the labour market or the economy: they are not employed, and are not actively seeking employment.
“Inactive” in the economic sense does not mean that these women do not perform important social roles, such as caring for a family and other kinds of work. It refers to their absence from the formal labour market.
OverqualifiedLacking experienceFor the first time, I was not “overqualified” or “lacking experience” for a job.
Erma, participant Mother of preschool children…employers very much avoid mothers of preschool children, so the project was different and more progressive than all the others from the start.
Razija, participant HousewifeMy biggest challenge was to push back the housewife in me and start creating a businesswoman.
Vanja, participant
In June 2023 UNFPA launched a programme training unemployed mothers for the labour market, with the Government of the Czech Republic, dm drogerie markt BiH and Fondacija Mozaik. It was aimed especially at women with preschool children.
Over three months, 29 mothers gained work experience, while their children spent the same months in preschool. The programme was completed and announced on 11 October 2023.
- 1 in 3
- working-age women in Bosnia and Herzegovina has an income of her own. UNFPA
- Most
- women in Bosnia and Herzegovina are paid below the average, which bears directly on the decision not to seek work and to stay home with the children. UNFPA
02 In their own words
Twenty-five women answered the label themselves.
Every participant card carried a portrait, cut by the campaign's quotation mark, and a sentence in her own words. Read them by what they talk about.
Na razgovoru za ovaj Program obuke za tržište rada prvi put sam u životu smjela reći da imam dvoje djece.
At the interview for this labour-market training programme, for the first time in my life, I dared to say that I have two children.
Cards as published in 2023. English translations by SO..
03 One identity, four formats
From a sentence to a campaign.
The quotation mark that frames each portrait became the campaign's whole identity, from the cards to the carousels, the stories and the film. SO.. published and ran it on Facebook, Instagram and Google from 9 November to 29 December 2023.
- 25 participant cards
- 6 educational posts
- 2 information posts
- 1 film
Five slides: the definition of an inactive woman; that “inactive” in the economic sense does not mean women do not do important work such as caring for family; that a lack of support for families can leave many women outside the labour market despite their potential and will to contribute; and that it is time to let women work while also caring for children and older family members. Ends: Let's strengthen human capital together!
The film 2:20
From the morning school run to the certificate ceremony, in the women's own voices.
Transcript English subtitles
A morning in the city: an alarm at 7:00, a family getting the children ready for school.
On screenIn Bosnia and Herzegovina, only one out of three working-age women has a job-based income.
On screenWomen who are inactive in the labor market cannot find a secure and long-term job, especially those with small children.
On screenMost women in BiH have below average pay, which is why they do not actively look for work and decide to stay home and raise their children.
Dragana, participant in the job training programThis is the first time I felt comfortable saying that I have two small children at an interview for a job training program without it being an issue.
Nedžla, participant in the job training programI have never worked. It's not that I didn't want to. I just wasn't lucky. And now everything is different.
Željko Blagojević, Population Development Program Specialist, UNFPAThe United Nations Population Fund, in collaboration with the Government of the Czech Republic and their Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, has developed a job training program to which “dm drogerie markt” and “Mozaik Foundation” responded.
Željko BlagojevićThrough this job training program, we have trained 29 women who will have the opportunity to actively join the labor market and thus contribute to the development of their families and entire country.
Željko BlagojevićAt the same time, we enabled these mothers to have their children socialize with other children during their 3-month stay in preschool education institutions, thus contributing to an even greater strengthening of human capital in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
On screenOne out of 25 young people decides to leave BiH every year. At this rate, we could lose half of our younger population in just 10 years.
Two women walk into the dm offices together.
On screenIf we do not strengthen human capital in the country, the budget revenues will not be sufficient for basic public services.
The certificate ceremony: the participants and their children, certificates in hand.
On screenLet's strengthen human capital together!
04 The message, distributed
Counting honestly.
Reach is easy to overstate. These are the numbers, with what each one counts.
The 2023 campaign
9 November to 29 December 2023. Facebook, Instagram and Google Display.
602,437
combined platform-reported reach
| Figure | What it counts | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 3,609,158 | impressions | Meta ads 2,059,158 · Google Display ≈1.55 millionTimes an ad was shown. |
| 11,500 | link clicks | Google DisplayMeta link clicks are separate: 6,900 on Facebook, 2,200 on Instagram. |
| 10,400 | people engaging | InstagramFacebook engagement, 14,800, is separate. |
| 158 | new conversations | Facebook messagesMostly women describing their own situations and asking about similar projects. |
05 What comes into view
A label is a position in a table. The campaign put the people back in.
Djeca nipošto nisu prepreka nego najveća motivacija za rad i uspjeh u poslu. Bitno je samo naći poslodavca koji dijeli isto mišljenje.
Children are by no means an obstacle; they are the greatest motivation to work and to succeed at work. What matters is finding an employer who shares that view.
- Nedžla
- Erma
- Dragana
- Mersada
- Vanja
- Lejla
- Lejla
- Vildana
- Hajrija
- Dijana
- Mirza
- Dragana
- Inesa
- Tea
- Edina
- Anita
- Aladina
- Hana
- Jelena
- Razija
- Sedina
- Naida
- Josipa
- Elma
- Vanja
Twenty-five names. Not one category.
UNFPA Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the Government of the Czech Republic, dm drogerie markt BiH and Fondacija Mozaik (lonac.pro). SO.. published the campaign and ran its paid distribution on Meta and Google, with monitoring and reporting, in 2023.