Giant game, poster sets and a DVD used by employers and education providers nationally
A giant game of Cement Chutes and Ladders highlighting the difficulties faced by women in accessing non-traditional work, has caused a stir with employers and educational establishments alike throughout the country. A number of organisations and establishments have purchased their own copies of the giant game in order to continue raising awareness of opportunities in stereotypically male career choices to clients in their own environments. From Boston College of Further Education in eastern England to Portsmouth College on the south coast, the game has been purchased by national public organisations including Her Majesty’s Prison Service and the National Union of Students and has been hired by a number of local private organisations. It is expected that orders for this excellent ‘trigger’ tool, which can be purchased directly from the designers for just £160, will continue to flood in once the project has closed.
A poster campaign encouraging girls to consider non-traditional careers has been equally successful. Within days of the poster sets being distributed nationally to all regional Connexions headquarters, Women into Work: Building Futures was inundated with requests for bulk orders for further distribution at local level.
Furthermore, according to feedback from secondary schools in Sheffield, the DVD ‘It’s a Woman’s Job’ is now being used as a teaching resource to raise awareness of the variety of career choices available for girls.
Such demand for these products is evidence in itself that the lessons of Women into Work: Building Futures are embedded and a basis for further movement towards equal opportunities for women.
To obtain copies or hire any of these products please contact
Women into Work: Building Futures influence the Olympics Strategy
The DP has been a member of the Olympics Strategy Steering Committee chaired by Claire Curtis-Thomas MP. The committee makes recommendations for the procurement of services that will be required to prepare and host the Olympics in 2012.
The role of the DP is to ensure that contractors are compelled to implement and adhere to stringent policy requirements with regard to Equal Opportunities and the recruitment of women.
The Development Partnership’s lead partner, SOVA, will continue to participate in this committee once the partnership ends to ensure that the recommendations are implemented.
Research methods adapted and mainstreamed
The research methods used by the partnership to identify the barriers faced by women in accessing non-traditional employment were very successful and, in turn, were adapted to enable awareness-raising workshops to be delivered in a number of organisations. This proved extremely valuable not least because, as one participant in the research declared, stereotypically male jobs are ‘just not on the radar’ for many women as they were ‘pigeon holed’.
Demand from organisations wanting the workshops to be hosted within their own environments was extremely high and, unfortunately, due to the short term funding for the project this demand could not be fully met. However, at the request of the Women and Young People’s Group, training was offered to Heads of Learning and Skills based at Her Majesty’s and private prisons to enable them to continue hosting the workshops throughout the female prison estate once the partnership has ended.
Work tasters and traineeships proved successful
The Development Partnership initiated a number of work taster sessions and traineeships for women in non-traditional work which were extremely successful.
The CleanBreak First Stage model, where women from BME backgrounds train under the guidance of a mentor in a stereotypically white male dominated theatre management environment, has been disseminated to all theatres in London and is already being delivered again in one of these theatres.
Equally successful, many of the traineeships in male dominated management roles at housing organisation Stonham are continuing. Where the traineeships have been completed, all participants have gone on to secure full time employment in this area of work.
