Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow is the theme for International Women’s Day 2022.
This year, IWD focused on the connection between gender inequality and climate change. Every year, feminine activism continues to build on a focus of intersectionality and transnationality. In developing countries where gender inequality and the climate crisis intersect, women who rely on natural resources for survival are particularly vulnerable.
Skilled Accents sewing
Skilled Accents wants to make an impact in the London community through employing refugee and immigrant women. This women-led organization has a mission to save the planet through repurposing fabrics that would otherwise go to the landfill.
Founder of the company, Kay Habib was originally from Pakistan. When she moved to Canada, she started an interior design business using repurposed textiles. She realized that immigrant women who have language barriers and a family to raise, have difficulty finding a job. Habib noticed that many of them were skilled sewers. She decided to help those women by handing them a sewing machine to work from home.
Skilled Accents’ motto is born:
“People, planet, purpose.”
Cecile Klerks / Linkedin
Cecile Klerks is the business development director for Skilled Accents. She believes that all marginalized communities should have an equal chance at providing for their family.
“You don’t have to look at the gender or culture. It’s what people bring to the company. How they want to learn, how we can learn from them. Their skills are not linked to gender.”
The Skilled Accents team provides a safe space for differences in culture to come together and build each other’s trust.
In November of 2021, the organization held a free clothing event for underprivileged families. Though they have not yet made a public announcement, Klerks shared that the event will be happening again, this coming May.
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