She Matters' Lotus Flower Programme (LFP) provides career readiness training, mentorship and job placement opportunities for female newcomers in the Netherlands. In 2020, the LFP has been disrupted by COVID-19. We aim to provide online LFPs, allowing women across the country to gain both digital and soft skills needed for submitting online applications. Having an adequately-paid job will transform our participants' lives and have an immediate positive impact on them and their communities.
Unemployment among female newcomers in the Netherlands is high. Only 11% of registered refugees who arrived in 2014-2015 are now employed. For women, this is just 4%. Barriers to success include: language gap, little work experience, inadequate assistance in finding work, lack of training opportunities, lack of confidence in navigating the labour market, non-existing networks.
We place female newcomers into jobs that match their unique skill sets. We fill skills gaps within companies and ensure teams are more diverse, innovative and creative. A Lotus Flower Programme focussed on digital upskilling of women who have a refugee or forced migration background will help them to adjust to the COVID-19 challenges. She Matters will help female newcomers to become tech-savvy when filling in online applications and attending virtual interviews.
Our aim for 2021 is to implement 4 online cycles of the Lotus Flower Programme. This will result in 50 graduates by the end of the year. Our work supports 7 UN SDGs: SDG 1: No poverty; SDG 4: Quality education; SDG 5: Gender equality; SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth; SDG 10: Reduced inequalities; SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities; SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
