Project Description
Supporting Women and Girls (SWAG)
The SWAG project builds on the former SWEW programme and existing work with disadvantaged women in Swale (Please see below). It aims to continue offering in-house support to many of the 9,097 women who enjoyed positive outcomes. The project seeks to work with a new beneficiary age group of 10 – 18 year old girls and other marginalised groups including Roma Gypsy/Irish Traveller girls and female Syrian refugees and asylum seekers.
The wide range of activities include; learning opportunities, gaining life skills, creative skills, staying safe on social media, communication skills, sporting opportunities, encouraging healthy lifestyles, study groups, volunteering, relationship counselling, social events and so much more. All interventions for girls and young women are age appropriate and delivered in the community, schools, colleges as workshops or after school clubs or as part of the “Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development” (SMSCD) Programme.
Our Mission
Swale Women Empowering Women (SWEW) is a group of totally committed women of all ages eager to promote a positive image of women in Swale and Kent through information and knowledge sharing, equality and diversity, understanding, respect, reaching out, sharing support and advice and socialising.
The Swale Women Empowering Women (SWEW) project was so successful that further funding was sought to continue the project and in April 2017 Diversity House was awarded £347,105 from the Big Lottery Fund. Thus the SWEW project evolved to become ‘Supporting Women and Girls’ (SWAG).
Aims and Objectives
SWEW aims to help disadvantaged women to tackle isolation, improve their life chances by providing opportunities for enterprise, self-employment, employability, new skills, community participation and improved lifestyle choices.
What To Expect
We welcome anyone who is interestred in; discussing shared concerns, developing leadership skills, and gaining entrepreneurial knowledge which will enhance your employability skills. It aims to make sure that you have all the confidence, skills and information that you need to achieve your aspirations.
All Women Welcome
This opportunity is available to all who want to:
- Explore and develop your own business ideas and career goals
- Enhance your interpersonal skills and personal development
- Build confidence and self-esteem
- Gain focus and get motivated
- Increase your opportunities to network and gain alliances
- Information exchange
- Learn how to influence people, handle gender issues in the workplace and much more!
Learn How To
- Achieve much more than you hoped for through networking, training, workshops, talks, 1 to 1 coaching and mentoring.
- Volunteer your time and expertise to help others with any of the above
- We welcome enquiries from individuals who would like to become volunteers to help with this project. By volunteering with us you are not only making a huge invaluable contribution to your community, but also have an opportunity to boost your career options and develop invaluable social and professional skills.
How You Can Help
- Make a real difference to other women’s lives
- Gain valuable work experience
- Make a contribution to the community
- Increase knowledge and skills
Please contact the project manager to discuss current and future opportunities available and application requirements.
Alternatively you can offer your time as a Mentor
Food For Thought
- At least 75% of mothers have primary responsibility for childcare in the home.
- Women occupy on average 30.9% of ‘top jobs’ across 11 sectors.
- Approximately 70% of people in national minimum wage jobs are women.
- Cuts to public sector affect women disproportionately because women make up two thirds of the workforce.
- 54% of women working part time have been found to be working ‘below their potential’, which amounts to 2.8 million women.
- On average two women a week are killed by a violent partner or ex-partner in the UK.
- The full time gender pay gap is 10% and the average part-time pay gap is 34.5%.
We Are Part Of The UN Global Compact
“I am pleased to confirm that Diversity House Limited supports the ten principles of the UN Global Compact with respect to human right, labour, environment, and anti-corruption. With this commitment, we express our intent to advance these principles within our sphere of influence and will make a clear statement of this commitment of our stakeholders and the general public.
We also pledge to take part in the activities of the UN Global Compact where appropriate and feasible – through for instance participation in Country/Local Networks involvement in specialised initiatives and work streams; engagement in partnership projects; and reviewing and providing commentary to participating companies on their communications on progress”.
– Christine Locke (Chair and Project Lead)
Comments From Our Annual Conference
I enjoyed it and would love to be part of it again next time.
Dear everybody at Diversity House, Thank-you for organising such an inspirational conference.
It was a pleasure to be there and an honour to have been invited to hold my mini workshops! well done to everyone who helped to make it such a great day!
Thank-you Diversity House for an interesting SWEW conference. Well done Christine and her team.
Project Updates
Sewing Club
For the past six weeks, sewing classes have been taken place at Diversity House which have been run by seamstress, Wealthy. Women from different ethnicities participated in this course in order to learn or perfect the skill of sewing. In the first few weeks, Wealthy taught them the basic
Survey – How Women and Girls can be Supported in Swale
Take our quick 5 minute survey on how women and girls can be supported in Swale Loading...
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Confidence and Assertiveness Workshop for Women
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24th August – Summer Youth Club
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Volunteer Induction Day
Volunteer Induction Day Monday 20th August 2018 Diversity House held an induction day for new coming volunteers. The induction started off with an introduction from Lynda, the project officer who gave a brief explanation on what Diversity House is and what is done in the charity. Following that, the
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10th August – Summer Youth Club 2018
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On my quest to return to marketplace as God had told me. I had come across the above stated event and to my utmost surprise on Friday the 15th July 2018 I found out that it was fully booked online. I tried to contact the event planners to no avail.
Something for Everyone at the Life Skills Fair in Sittingbourne
Life Skills Fair in Sittingbourne Up to 100 people attended the very popular Life Skills Fair hosted by Diversity House on Friday 8th June 2018 at the UKP Building in Sittingbourne. The event was billed as an introduction to services and opportunities in Swale. Over twenty different providers from
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The second meeting of the book club on 29th July was very eventful, I can tell you that much. It took place at Ideas Test, Shop 34 High Street, Sittingbourne (as always). We had a few more members join the club, which of course made it more interesting as
SWAG Business Briefing and Networking Meeting – August 2017
August 1st marked a Business Briefing and Networking Meeting held at Ideas Test in Sittingbourne, attended by the CEO of Diversity House Christine Locke, SWAG Project Officer Neema Kambona. Other attendees included Selvum Padiachey, Rosemary Dymond DL (a Lieutenant of Kent) and Mayor of Faversham, Shiel Campbell, and Susan
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