August is Women’s month in South Africa and to celebrate, Women of Ford hosted a series of workshops under the banner of Taking back your Power. The workshops taught women how to respond to unsafe situations, including hijackings, attempted robberies while driving, and threats to physical safety. The Medical Centre was also in attendance to share the numerous mental health services available to Ford employees and assist with trauma counselling during the workshops.
The workshop were held in three sessions over two days to give as many women as possible an opportunity to join. They highlighted the options women have in unsafe situations, including how to navigate themselves and their children out of danger, how to ward off physical attack, and when / how to fight back should the opportunity present itself. While tough, scary and overwhelming at times, the overall feedback coming out of the workshops was one of empowerment.
We also hosted our first in a series of EmpowHER sessions – intimate gatherings of a group of women with a senior Female Leader. To kick us off, we invited the fantastic Sinead Phipps, IMG Communications Director, to share her thoughts on making it at Ford and ensuring your voices are heard.
