Let’s choose to Challenge!

On this International Women’s Day (March 8^th, 2021), we want to celebrate the contributions made by refugee women and women of refugee background by highlighting and sharing their experiences and thanking our supporters who make it possible. This year’s theme is Choose to Challenge.

When it comes to employment, refugees are often at a disadvantage because of low confidence, lack of English, and significant gaps in employment due to the lengthy asylum process. However, refugee women are even more likely to report a deep sense of isolation, insecurity, and fear of not being able to support their family – especially if they have young children to provide for.

Breaking Barriers’ partnership with the S&P Global Foundation helps to combat the challenges many refugee women encounter daily. The Foundation has contributed to Breaking Barriers’ work with women since 2019, and we have now supported 158 women. Of those 158 women, 26 have achieved employment outcomes, which highlights how successful our joint efforts have been when it comes to supporting women refugees. 97% of women who were supported believed BB had increased their confidence and/or motivation to pursue their work goals and a further 85% of women said their chances of finding work were better thanks to BB. Not only have our programmes empowered women to chase their career goals, but thanks to our hard work, we have continued to provide this support despite the pandemic disrupting our services.

“The S&P Global Foundation is committed to creating more inclusive, sustainable economies,” said Carolyn Cavicchio, VP, S&P Global Foundation. “Through our partnership with Breaking Barriers, we are helping to increase the participation of women, people of colour and other underrepresented groups in the workforce. S&P Global’s #ChangePays campaign has demonstrated the potential global impact of women’s economic participation. We believe that an investment in women is an investment in us all.”

Some of the incredible women supported by this programme include those featured in our online photography exhibition – Leave Home, Save Lives. Tua, Khedijah, and Pinar’s stories are live on the Leave Home, Save Lives website. Despite being knocked down by life and enduring hardship, refugee women still choose to get up and continue fighting. These are virtues that we should all aspire to and demonstrate whenever we encounter challenges in our lives.

Thank you to the S&P Global Foundation for choosing to challenge and supporting refugee women into more meaningful employment.