March 8th is international women’s day, and a chance for us to celebrate some of the amazing people that support the work of RMC. These incredible women go above and beyond and have helped break down barriers for others. We also will be taking action to support the community with our own action day!
“International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for moving towards gender parity. ”
International Women’s Day Website
Inspirational people
One of international women’s day’s missions is to celebrate achievements and accomplishments, so we have selected a few of our team who we think have really made an impact this year.
Balsheen – Arriving in the UK just one and a half years ago, Balsheen has been volunteering with RMC since July 2019. Having arrived with no English, she is now welcoming people every day at RMC at reception. “When I arrived, I could not speak to people in shops when they asked questions. I went home and cried, I felt so bad. Now I can help people who are in the same situation as I was” “My message to people is, when you go to somewhere new, it is very important to improve your language. Do not be ashamed if you are not good to start with. Use the local language as much as you can, its the best way to learn. Do not be afraid to make mistakes!”
Danai – Having spent 3 years working with Refugees in Greece as an asylum lawyer, spending time in camps around Lesvos and Athens, Danai joined RMC as a trainee advisor in June 2019 and is already under supervision for Level 2 immigration advice just 9 months later, managing new staff that have recently joined the RMC team. Danai provides some of the most complex casework support RMC offers, helping clients obtain settled status’s in the UK If this wasn’t enough, she also supports another Charity, Local Welcome, in providing community meals with asylum seekers and refugees, helping integration and community cohesion.
Lorena – Due to visa complications, Lorena had to leave the UK during her spell as a volunteer with RMC. She arrived back in the UK in 2019 and applied for a full time paid role and re-joined RMC as a staff member. Having gone through the complex immigration system herself, and with a background in International Relations studies and experience within the U.S Congress, Lorena is in the perfect position to help those newly arrived to the country. Now having sorted her settled status, she now supports clients in vulnerable situations settle in the UK and supports them with their health and well-being.
We are also very proud to be currently supporting 4 female social work students on their placements, giving them an insight into our work and helping build their skills to be social workers of the future!
Action
To have a positive impact on the community, our team will also be holding a day of action where our female staff and volunteers will be creating care packs to be distributed by our friends at The Well full of toiletries and feminine hygiene products. Alongside this, they will be writing letters to be sent out to women who have survived war.
You can get involved yourself in this at https://www.womenforwomen.org.uk/message-2020
You can also donate some items to be added to the hygiene packs by emailing Julie@rmcentre.org.uk
Representation
With the theme of this years international women’s day being #EachforEqual, we are also celebrating our positive impact on the representation of women in management within RMC.
RMC is dedicated to equality and opportunity for all, regardless of your background or gender and are proud of our diversity.
- Our staff team is made up of 70% women
- 50% of our recent mid management meeting being made up of women.
- 65% of our volunteer team is female and includes teachers, asylum seekers, doctors and experts in many fields.
The charity sector itself has a higher proportion of women in the workplace, as reported by an article from Charityjob.com in 2018, with ” Around two thirds of us working in charities and voluntary organisations are women. “
Wolverhampton team 
Birmingham Team 
Walsall Team 
ILPA IWD Conference 
Walsall event for IWD
