Tuesday the 8th of March is International Women's Day.
It’s a day where we are invited to Imagine a gender equal world that is free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination.
This years theme is #BreakTheBias.
So in celebration of that, we thought we’d share 3 Australian businesses that are addressing gender inequality, through their everyday activities and in turn breaking the bias.
Supporting each of these businesses means supporting women. What better way to celebrate International Women's Day?
Outland Denim is more than just another clothing brand. Beyond making high quality denim products, they are on a mission to give victims of trafficking a place to learn new skills, start afresh and support their families without fear.
What started as an avenue for victims of sexual exploitation to engage in safe, dignified employment as they rebuilt their lives, has since widened to accept employees from varying backgrounds of vulnerability and exploitation.
The business is headquartered in Australia and has a training and production facility in Cambodia, where it invests in the personal development and wellbeing of its employees.
It takes two to three years to train a seamstress at Outland Denim, and staff are trained in every element of the jeans-making process. Over this time, trainees enrol in a program of cross-training and upskilling to gain a deep knowledge in the areas of cutting, finishing and sewing. Many staff progress to support and managerial roles.
Staff participate in education and personal enrichment programs to support them and their families. Education programs include budgeting, women and infant health, computing skills, human trafficking awareness, English and self-defence.
Since its launch, over 750 people including staff and their household members have benefited from Outland Denim’s unique employment model.
Each of the garments also include personal messages on the tag from those who have been positively affected by Outland Denim’s contributions.
Go Kindly is an Australian pillow & bedding brand that support women experiencing homelessness by donating 50% of profits.
These funds are directed to two organisations who provide housing options to women: Juno (formerly known as WISHIN) & Women's Housing Ltd.
They also hire from a range of diverse backgrounds, ensuring they're providing meaningful employment for under-represented women.
Since 2019, they’ve been able to donate $50,445 to JUNO and Womens Housing ltd.
Two Birds Brewing has teamed up with Dan Murphy’s to help get underprivileged women booted up and back in the workforce. All profits from their Two Birds Summer Ale sales sold in Dan Murphy’s stores from 24th Feb – 9th March, are being directed towards women who are currently working, or are seeking to work within industries that require boots as a safety standard, but cannot afford to purchase them.
Quite literally- a foot in the door
Jayne Lewis, co-founder of Two Birds said, “We love the fact that our Summer Ale can help a person on their pathway to employment and hopefully a career doing something that they believe in and aren’t afraid to embrace. It’s really important to us”.
Two Birds are also releasing their fourth iteration of Warrior Woman, a beer specifically designed to celebrate IWD and the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.
This year’s Warrior Woman is a Mango and Pineapple Hazy Pale. Available in 150 venues and bottle shops across Australia, the beer provides an opportunity for Australians to raise a glass to the warrior women in their life, keeping conversations around the IWD 2022 theme going to #BreakTheBias;
BEFORE YOU GO…
Did you know that when you sign up to our weekly e-newsletter, we are able to provide a days worth of extracurricular classes to a girl in Cambodia? For the week of International Women's Day, we’ll be doubling this impact through our partnership with Free2Shine.
Sign up to our weekly e-newsletter below, and you automatically provide two days of education for a girl in need…