With the word ‘recession’ being so omnipotent, and at the same time, the gender imbalance creating a world of work whereby many women are underpaid compared with their male counterparts, it is crucial women receive all the help they need when returning to the world of work.
In February, the Guardian explained that women were losing their jobs at a disproportionately greater rate than men. At this point the total unemployment of women was the highest it has been in 25 years. The Guardian starkly entitled this ‘The Female Unemployment Crisis’.
If this wasn’t enough to contend with, many women on low incomes face the predicament of not having appropriate attire for the interview process. This is when Dress for Success step in: a fantastic charity giving women a professional outfit, along with the skills needed for tackling the interview. Using donated clothes, the charity have trained stylists to create professional outfits, and at the same time, ensure women receive professional interview training from senior recruitment advisers. They restore confidence, empowerment, and teach important skills needed for a job application.
It is said that employers make up their minds about a candidate within the first five minutes of meeting them; clearly Dress for Success is a much needed charity. With this intention in mind, I attended the Sunday Times Style Big Shopping Sale, a collaboration between the Sunday Time and Dress for Success. The event hosted at Somerset House, was effectively a large jumble sale but with fabulous clothes at discounted prices. Everyone enjoyed a glass of champagne, cupcakes and beauty treatments all in aid of getting women back into the workplace.
