Who is Fitted for Work?
Fitted for Work is a not-for-profit dedicated to helping anyone who identifies as a woman and those who do not wish to be limited by definition, who are experiencing disadvantage to find work, keep work and navigate their world of work. The organisation was founded by Renata Singer and Marion Webster based on their shared belief that every woman deserves the right to economic security.
Fitted for Work develops each woman’s confidence and self-esteem as well as her skills and knowledge to obtain work through a suite of tailored pre-and post-employment services, including personal outfitting, resume assistance, interview preparation, mock interview practice and mentor placements.
Since 2005 we have helped over 40,000 women. 77% of the women sampled who access our suite of services find work, on average, in just 64 days and 98% report increased confidence and job readiness after completing our Transition to Work and WomanKind programs.
Why are you so passionate about this mission of helping women in the workforce? Is this based on equality issues, female empowerment, wanting to give people the opportunity to be the best and achieve stability and confidence in their life?
Fitted for Work supports women from varied backgrounds. For example, they may be older women; survivors of domestic violence; single mothers; experiencing homelessness; recently released from prison; transgender or gender diverse; a newly arrived migrant or refugee woman; or have a disability.
We focus specifically on helping women gain employment not only because work provides financial security but also a sense of social connectedness, dignity and pride. We believe that when a woman is fitted for work, she is fitted for life.
What is Fitted for Work hoping to achieve in 2020 when there is such strong political noise around equal rights in the workplace?
Fitted for Work are dedicated to increasing women’s workforce participation and realising gender equality in workplaces; however, we believe it is important to recognise that there is nothing “usual” about “business as usual” right now.
Over the last few weeks Fitted for Work have been closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation and its impact on employment. Women’s overrepresentation in insecure employment and unequal caring responsibilities makes them significantly more vulnerable to financial insecurity and unemployment in times of national and global adversity.
Currently, our number one priority at Fitted for Work is doing everything we can to ensure that we can continue delivering our impactful employment services to women throughout this uncertain time.
What are the future growth plans for Fitted for Work, currently based in Melbourne and Sydney, is there a plan to expand Australia wide to help more women?
We deliver services within every State and Territory across Australia. While we have two physical sites, in Melbourne and Sydney, we use technology to connect with women who are outside our geographical reach or limited by their individual accessibility needs. Each woman receives tailored support to build their confidence, self-belief and job readiness, including resume writing; personal outfitting; job preparation; mock interview practice; presentation workshops; mentoring support and job placement.
Women, Non-Binary and Gender Diverse people need our services now more than ever. Fitted for Work will be continuing to support our clients through virtual service delivery.
We have already experienced unprecedented demand for our virtual services, with our Virtual Services delivery increasing by 200% in the last few months.
We are also developing creative and proactive responses to support the specific needs of women in this unique situation as it evolves.
How can people get involved with Fitted for Work? Is it only monetary, or can they drop off their own clothing, can they volunteer with you?
There are lots of ways to support Fitted for Work, including:
- Making a financial donation
- Donating good quality, work-appropriate clothing
- Running a Clothing Drive at your workplace
- Volunteering and mentoring
- Fundraising with friends or colleagues
Please note, due to the current COVID-19 situation, for the health and safety of our team and the wider community we have suspended all individual clothing donations and face to face volunteer roles until further notice. Check out www.fittedforwork.org for updates on when these will be back up and running.
Any further thoughts or important information you wish to include?
Women need our support now more than ever. If you are in a position to help, please consider making a donation at:
https://fittedforwork.secure.force.com/Donate/20162
No Comments