Upcoming Webinar: “Empowering Women Leaders in the Furniture Sector” – 12 November 2025

As part of the Erasmus+ project CirCLER, in which KIT–BLM is a partner, this first session of the Women for Circular Furniture series will explore gender equality, leadership, and the circular transition of the European furniture industry
EU-CIRCLER
“Empowering Women Leaders in the Furniture Sector” webinar on 12 November 2025

First session of the Women for Circular Furniture Conferences Cycle to address gender equality and leadership in the circular transition of the furniture industry

On 12 November 2025 at 10:00 CET, the Women for Circular Furniture Conferences Cycle will open with its first online session, bringing together inspiring women leaders and organisations driving transformation in Europe’s furniture and wood sectors.

The event takes place within the framework of the Erasmus+ project CirCLER – Circular Economy Transition Manager in the Furniture and Wood Sector, which aims to strengthen innovation and sustainability skills across the European furniture industry. The project consortium includes sixteen partners from seven countries, among them the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Faculty of Architecture – Professorship Building Lifecycle Management (BLM).

The Women for Circular Furniture initiative consists of three online conferences that will take place throughout the project. Each session aims to highlight women’s leadership in sustainability and foster collaboration among companies, research centres, and education providers.

The webinar will begin with a keynote by Raquel Ortega on “Leadership skills for women working in traditional industries: challenges and opportunities.”

Several European initiatives will then present their approaches to gender inclusion and circular innovation, including:

  • ForGEDI – Course on gender equality, diversity, and inclusion
    Todora Rogelja, International Union of Forest Research Organizations
  • FLIER – The Future of Furniture: Circular Furniture
    Irene Burroni, Experimental Centre for Furniture and Furnishings
  • Be-WoodEN – Building and Education in Wood Ecosystem for the New European Bauhaus
    Marta Casanova, University of Genoa – Department of Architecture and Design; Mariachiara Santoro, project competition winner
  • Pact for Skills – Lombardy
    Lucia Devescovi, FederlegnoArredo
  • Women in Construction, Wood and Forestry: A Resource Toolkit for Gender Equality at Work
    Paula Cravina de Sousa, European Federation of Building and Woodworkers

Registration link:

 https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_V4Jsk16HSqS6JIavDXh_cw

The CirCLER project is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union. It brings together partners from academia, vocational education, and industry to develop new training profiles and curricula supporting the circular economy in the furniture and wood sectors.