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Roma women in Europe are probably discriminated against more than any other group, facing discrimination both for their ethnic origin and their gender. Due to being part of a minority facing isolation, poverty, discrimination and often embracing masculine social values, Roma women have to face multiple challenges. However, the nature of these challenges varies between the different states, as is evident in the case of the three countries examined here. Although positive steps have been taken in all three countries lately, in practice, Roma girls and women still face discrimination with respect to equal access to education, employment, health care and housing. Current policies and initiatives do not have a significant impact because they are most often designed in a top-down approach, with little or no consultation and direct involvement of the Roma community. What is needed to produce a real impact is a different approach: a bottom-up initiative taking place within Roma communities, both geographically and organisationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intellectual capital is an overarching concept that includes the intangible, human-related factors that are relevant to the innovation process, such as human capital and social capital. In the present study, intellectual capital was assessed by indicators measuring different aspects of human and social capital. Factor analysis demonstrated the existence of three underlying factors, with all variables of the model having important contributions to them. A linear regression analysis indicated that 8 out of the 12 variables of intellectual capital used have a statistically significant impact on the measure of innovation output. These findings were discussed and their implications for policy were considered. The paper provides research evidence on the importance of intellectual capital for innovation output and discusses potential ways to achieve smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in the context of the next generation of sustainable smart specialisation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]