April 8, 2025
April 8th – International Romani Day | Inclusive Plug RE:IMAGINE Episode 5
On this day, we celebrate Roma culture, resilience, and contributions, while also acknowledging the challenges many still face in accessing economic opportunities. Many are engaged in waste management—a vital sector for sustainability—though often characterized by informal, unsafe, and undervalued conditions.
The employment situation for Roma women specifically is marked by significant challenges and systemic barriers that perpetuate their marginalization in both Eastern Partnership and Western Balkan countries. Formal employment is rare, and when it occurs, it often remains de facto informal, like in Moldova, as employers fail to register these women with tax and social insurance authorities.
Many Roma women struggle to access formal employment because they lack official documentation, such as birth certificates or identity cards, which are often required for legal work and social services. This exclusion from formal systems of registration is both a cause and a consequence of their marginalization.
Social norms and expectations within parts of the Roma community may also influence women’s ability to participate in the labor market, often intersecting with external systemic barriers. In some cases, Roma women face restrictions from family or community members when seeking work or education opportunities outside their immediate surroundings. Combined with broader systemic barriers, this can limit their employment prospects and increase their vulnerability to economic dependence and domestic violence.
Despite these challenges, there is a generational shift in attitudes, with younger Roma women and men advocating for better access to education and employment opportunities. They see education and entrepreneurial skills as pathways to breaking the cycle of poverty and discrimination.
In this new RE:IMAGINE episode, we sit down with Dina Arnaut, Chief Executive Officer at REDI Recycling, a social enterprise in North Macedonia, to explore the stories of Roma women who are reshaping waste management sector in Western Balkans, overcoming discrimination, and driving change in their communities.
Initiatives like REDI Recycling’s support for formalizing Roma entrepreneurs as waste collectors and providing e-commerce training for women, are helping to break cycles of exclusion and create new opportunities in North Macedonia.
The platform would enable Roma women to earn an independent income by selling services and traditional crafts, which could include textiles, jewelry, and other handmade goods such as pottery. This income would be earned in a manner that allows them to maintain their cultural practices and work within the safety of their community.
Yet, economic empowerment cannot happen without safety and protection from gender-based violence. We would like to use this opportunity to spread the message about the toll-free and anonymous hotlines that play a critical role in ensuring that women can report abuse and seek help without fear. Given that this episode is targeting primarily North Macedonia, we will indicate here the SOS Mobile National Line 141-700, but we encourage you to look for the same service lines in your respective country.
Stay tuned for more stories that matter.
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Authors
Nataliia Koshovska
Before joining RECONOMY as a Gender and Social Inclusion Manager, Nataliia, originally from Ukraine, worked within the UN system for 11 years in particular as a staff member of UNFPA and UNICEF in the development and humanitarian contexts. Nataliia is a passionate human rights advocate and focuses professionally on women’s economic empowerment, stereotypes-free education and career choices as well as promotes gender equality and zero tolerance to violence in the corporate sector.
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