Futures for Women’s trustee Rosie Parr and secretary Jane Hampson visited Birmingham in May for an inspiring introduction to the Sharan Project’s employability programme, which Futures for Women are part-funding over the next two years.

The Sharan Project provides a two-week course in conjunction with the training provider ‘Go Train’, designed to help the women participants find employment. These women, from South Asian communities in the city, have experienced domestic violence, forced marriages or other abuse. Employment will help to reduce the risk of harm to them, and the programme is also supported by the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner.

At this induction day for the project’s first group of seven women, the tutors from Go Train outlined the course tuition in communication, IT and presentation skills, Sharan’s director Polly Harrar gave a confidence-building talk, stressing the focus on the personal aptitude and aspirations of each of the women, without putting them under any pressure. Another charity partner on the Sharan programme is Smart Works (whose patron is the Duchess of Sussex), and their local manager Ann Powell really motivated the group by explaining how her team would offer a full set of smart outfits and a makeover to each participant, plus interview coaching to help each woman achieve her employment goals.

It was very exciting for Rosie and Jane to meet the programme’s first recruits and to see the development of Futures for Women’s new strategy through the funding of the Sharan Project, which aims to help 20 vulnerable women in Birmingham into work this year, and another 20 next year.

The launch was also attended by Francesca McDowell from the social enterprise, Breaking the Silence UK, which supports women who have experienced domestic abuse, forced marriages and human trafficking.

Futures for Women – the Sharan Project – Smart Works – Breaking the Silence UK – these are four women’s charities working together to support disadvantaged women and to help them achieve fulfilled working lives.

Futures for Women is seeking more funding to enable us to collaborate with other UK charities to provide educational and training opportunities for women. If you would like to support our charity to further this work, you can give via the ‘Donate ‘page on this website.

Our Chair Joanna Murray (right) was delighted to meet Polly Harrar from The Sharan Project on 28 March to discuss our part-funding of their programme in Birmingham which will give realistic employment opportunities for two groups of vulnerable women from the South Asian community. We very much look forward to working with The Sharan Project and visiting the programme in action.

The trustees of Futures for Women are delighted to announce on International Women’s Day that they have chosen to fund the charity The Sharan Project as their first project partner.

The Sharan Project is a national charity that supports vulnerable women, particularly from South Asian communities in Britain, who have experienced persecution, domestic violence, forced marriage, honour based abuse and other forms of cultural conflict. The Sharan Project provides them with the tools to lead an independent life without fear and realise their full potential. Over the next 2 years Futures for Women will make a grant of up to £29,000 to part-fund a Sharan Project programme which will seek to create realistic employment opportunities for 2 groups of 20 women, based in Birmingham. The women will be supported to overcome the barriers and challenges they may face in securing employment opportunities towards financial independence. The programme will also involve partner organisations to deliver on employability training, makeover, interview coaching, and benefit related support.

Chair of Futures for Women, Joanna Murray, said “Part-funding an employment project run by a charity partner is a radical change of direction for Futures for Women. But our Trustees are confident that this new direction would have the full support of our founder Jessie Boucherett, who pushed hard against boundaries in the 19th century in order to give women the opportunities to carve out a career of their choice. We are excited to be supporting the Sharan Project programme for the next 2 years and look forward to meeting the participants and hearing of their employment successes. Its programme will also reduce social isolation and the risk of abuse, increase self-confidence and create a new network of friendships which will change lives forever”.

Polly Harrar, Founder and Trustee of The Sharan Project said “We are delighted to be working with Futures for Women, we recognise that economic abuse can have a lasting effect for women who have experienced abuse. This programme is designed to empower women to rebuild their lives towards independent living without fear.”

Futures for Women was formed in 1859 and since that date has been helping women with professional and vocational training, including the provision of interest-free loans for the cost of courses, in order to improve their employment prospects. Following a strategic review in 2018 the Trustees decided to cease the awarding of loans and part-fund a 2 year project that supports disadvantaged women into the workplace.

The work of the Sharan Project (registered charity 1149094) can be viewed on their website www.sharan.org.uk

International Women’s Day is always celebrated on 8 March.  This year the campaign them is #BalanceforBetter 

Balance is not a women’s issue, it’s a business issue. The race is on for the gender-balanced boardroom, a gender-balanced government, gender-balanced media coverage, a gender-balance of employees, more gender-balance in wealth and gender-balanced sports coverage.  Gender balance is essential for economies and communities to thrive.

IWD is asking everyone to put their hands out and STRIKE THE #BalanceforBetter POSE and make International Women’s Day YOUR day – and do what you can to truly make a positive difference for women everywhere.

Futures for Women beneficiary Phoebe Tan has just completed her Masters in Glass. Her project was entitled “Ascension through artefact’ and offered a vessel for cremation which is sensitive to the various traditional methods and elements to mourning, as well as the trends in contemporary design within modern Singapore. Phoebe is now pursuing her desire to teach.

Our Society has been helping women into the work place since 1859.  In 1871 Elizabeth Walker was given a rent-free room to help her establish her career as a glass engraver.  Queen Victoria later purchased two of Elizabeth’s engraved goblets and jugs.  We would like to thank Elizabeth’s descendants for sending us this photo and letting us know a little about Elizabeth’s life.  It is good to hear about beneficiaries – even after nearly 150 years!

Following a strategic review that took place in 2018 Futures for Women has ceased its interest-free loans and moving forward will be working with a charity partner to help disadvantaged women into the workplace.    A review of short-listed applications has taken place and it is planned to announce our new partner in March 2019.  Please watch this space for further details!

The Fawcett Society, Lincolnshire branch, and Futures for Women are jointly submitting an application to English Heritage for a blue plaque to be installed on the house in London where Jessie Boucherett lived for a period of five years whilst she was working on women’s suffrage issues.   The house in Kensington is still a private residence and so, if our application is successful, we will need the permission of the current house owner before any plaque can be installed. Currently only 13% of London’s 902 blue plaques recognise women so it would seem fitting that our application on behalf of Jessie should be accepted!  We will know the outcome of the application in October 2019 and it is a competitive process with only one out of five applications being successful.