Women's What's Your Story?

Our ‘What's Your Story?’ (WYS) Women’s work has -like all good things- sadly come to an end, but it's not all doom and gloom, the new programme begins in September.

This year participants took part in a range of activities designed to encourage a more positive sense of self and boost overall wellbeing.

Our participants used these workshops to develop a piece of work using creative techniques to build confidence and develop vital employability skills.

The project took women on a pivotal journey towards gainful employment in the creative industries.

A recent survey by PWC found that even though women are returning to work in record numbers, there are still major disparities in the gender pay gap. With women on average earning 90 pence to every pound a man in a similar position with a similar background makes.

Find the PWC report here!

Part of the reason for the growing number of women in employment is the increased amount of flexible work from home (WFH) careers – most of which are in creative industries – however, as many executives are calling workers back to the office, women who rely on the added flexibility provided by WFH careers are facing a major problem compared to their male counterparts (BBC Work life).

Find more information about the issues facing women who rely on flexible working arrangements here!

This is why we believe it is vital to not only equip participants with a better understanding of the world of work, but to also give them an outlet to express some of their frustrations and share experiences with each other, while working towards a career that is both rewarding and flexible.

The women in the ‘WYS’ programme thus also curated a final piece of work about the things that connect women; an exploration of different art forms allowing women to have individual views, opinions, and ideas – this was entitled ‘Connection’.

All the women registered on the programme have gained insight into the importance of being able to market oneself and will receive ongoing 1-2-1 support for up to six weeks to help them on their journey of tackling the barriers associated with securing a career.

The most exciting thing about this project for me, was, none of the women had any previous experience in drama and movement, and I was cautious how I introduced them to it, but I was amazed how every single one of them pushed past their fears to produce and perform some really heartfelt work.

These women brought their own personal set of life experiences to the group. I have taken a lot from the experience, there was lots of laughter, dance, and some tears, which really highlights how important it is to have a space where women can come together and collaboratively celebrate each other, and themselves.

Hannah Drummond, Pathways Coordinator

It was such a creatively challenging experience and I felt so proud all the things we achieved from the creative brainstorming, mask-paintings, role plays, dance and especially the conversation cubes! Thank you so much to you and Martha Mae for being such amazing project leaders. You both inspired me so much and spread so much positivity and create an environment where us women could express ourselves so comfortably. The experience also allowed me to step outside my comfort zone with the role play and drama tasks and I do feel more confident in that area. It's a shame I lost my voice on the final week but I'm so glad that I was able to be part of the "What's Your Story" programme. It really prompted me to embrace my femininity more and I've just learnt so much, so thank you for that!

WYS Participant

WYS Participant

It was so nice to meet different people, from all walks of life, the workshops finished really quickly

WYS Participant

I wasn’t sure what to expect, but really enjoyed it once it got going

WYS Participant

We look forward to welcoming some new faces, when the project restarts in September. Find out more about our Women’s work here.

Find out more about our Women’s work and get involved here.

We need your help!

This year James, Sorrel, Deane and Gavin will be taking to the streets to run the Hackney Half Marathon on the 19th of May 2024. Join us in person or in spirit to support their efforts. Not only does taking part help us to raise awareness of our work, it also helps us to raise money to fund our mission to support marginalised communities.

Just £20 would provide refreshments for all attendants of one youth theatre session,

£35 would fund hot lunches for a week for one young person attending a holiday project,

£250 would pay for food for an end-of-term celebration for all our young people.

We know how difficult the last few years have been for everyone in our community, which is why our work is more important than ever. If you are able to help us fund our activities; please donate by going to our Just Giving page here.