Girls Out Loud is a social enterprise founded by entrepreneur Jane Kenyon in 2009. It facilitates intervention programmes with teenage girls in schools, focusing on themes such as personal identity, role models, career advice, improving confidence, self-esteem, self-respect and emotional resilience. Girls Out Loud run several programmes to support girls to help them to find their voice.
The Big Sister Programme goes into schools across the Northwest to pair a ’Big Sister’ (a female business person) with a ’Little Sister’ for mutual benefit. Seddon team members and supply chain partners have stepped up as ‘Big Sisters’ to mentor 12/13-year-old girls for over 12 months. The impact on the ‘Little Sisters’ as mentees has been simply life changing. The girls reported major shifts in their confidence, communication skills, mind-set and, most importantly, their visibility.
Seddon volunteers have also taken part in Role Model Relay. This dynamic, fast paced, two hour event provides girls with the opportunity to learn about a variety of career opportunities available to them, to raise their aspirations by again meeting and interacting with positive role models.
As a business, Seddon has partnered with Girls Out Loud since 2020. The team here at Seddon recognise that there is a real challenge around gender diversity within construction industry. Nicola Hodkinson, owner and director of Seddon, now sits on the Girls Out Loud Advisory Board, which truly demonstrates the company’s commitment to ‘closing the gap’ and making construction a more inclusive industry.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
