On Tuesday 8th March, we joined women around the globe to celebrate International Women’s Day, an opportunity to promote women’s rights, address gender bias and increase women’s visibility.
As an organisation with a large female workforce, this was the perfect opportunity to thank our wonderful staff members for everything they do, as well as learn more about the lives of some of our residents and help tell their stories to a wider audience.
Have a read of some of the inspirational stories below...
Shirley (86) was married to her husband Gordon for 66 years, until he passed away in 2019. She was employed as a comptometer operator, responsible for performing complicated calculations. An intrepid woman, Shirley loved to travel, visiting countries ranging from Spain to Australia, Italy to America.
Mabel (96) grew up in Stocksbridge outside Sheffield with her brother and sister, now both sadly deceased. War broke out when Mabel was 14 years old and she remembers hearing bombs dropping on Sheffield, though her parents largely shielded her from the realities of the destruction being caused. She spent her entire working life at Fox’s Steel Works in Stocksbridge where she was employed as a tracer, responsible for tracing plans onto linen using ink; an important role in a male-dominated industry.
Shirley (73) worked as a health care assistant at Nether Edge Hospital. Always a determined woman, she went to University as a mature student and achieved a degree in Applied Social Studies (BA Hons) in 1991 when she was in her forties.
Our homes were decorated in the traditional colours of lilac, green and white to mark the occasion and we hosted two bake sales, featuring some really fantastic cakes and buns, which raised over £120 for domestic abuse charity Women’s Aid.
Our residents decorated female figures, which gave us the chance to join together and talk about everything it means to be a woman, and our carers also handed out gifts to our ladies to show our appreciation in person.
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