07 March 2024
A HIGHLY joyous time was had as colleagues at Turning Lives Around came together to celebrate International Women’s Day and to live this year’s theme #InspireInclusion.
Both male and female colleagues attended an event earlier this week at Francis House, our intensive support environment for homeless women with multiple disadvantages, which looked at inclusion and creating safe workplaces while having fun, networking with colleagues over lunch and signing the pledge to inspire inclusion in our teams.
“This year’s focus was on how we can be a more inclusive organisation, how we can ensure that everybody is valued within TLA and that everyone knows they are enough and how we can amplify all voices within TLA,” explained Senior Manager Mia Cameron.
“We also had a focus on self-love as people, both male and female, clients and colleagues, all need to recognise their own strengths, resilience and authentic self and celebrate their unique value as a person.”
The first International Women’s Day (IWD) dates back to 1911 and although equality for women and gender balance has come a long way since then, it remains an important opportunity for elevating and amplifying the focus on women’s equality.
#InspireInclusion is about helping forge a better more inclusive world for women in a bid to achieve a gender equal world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination; one that’s diverse, equitable and inclusive where difference is valued and celebrated.
Women make up the majority of the workforce at TLA and at least half the leadership teams. We feel it is essential to be an inclusive organisation, listening, caring and supporting all colleagues and clients and have long supported IWD as part of our proactive approach to supporting and championing women’s rights.
In line with this, we are innovative in developing and improving female focused services including Carr Beck which provides 24/7 specialist support and accommodation for alcohol-dependent women, Francis House and a dedicated Domestic Violence and Abuse support team. This forward-thinking approach extends to our women in the workplace with leadership programmes, flexible and agile working, family and menopause friendly policies and support.
“Our IWD celebrations were very joyous with lots of care, impromptu hugs and colleague validation against a background of song all in the spirit of inclusion,” said Mia.
“TLA recognises the value each of our colleagues brings to the table and we wanted to celebrate the support we give to each other.”