National feminist organisation YWCA Australia launches an exciting 10-part webinar series today focusing on personal and professional development opportunities for young women. Titled ‘Reflect. Grow. Thrive’, the series will run in the week leading up to International Day of the Girl (11 October), and features notable guest speakers including Nayuka Gorrie, Carly Findlay, Manal Younus, Amy Thunig, Elizabeth Wright, Rae Cooper, Lucille Cutting and Nkechi Anele.
YWCA Australia’s Young Women’s Development Manager Sarah Hill said the ‘Reflect. Grow. Thrive’ webinar series was a great opportunity for young women who were looking for self-development, connection with like-minded peers, and engagement with a range of intersectional feminist issues.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted young women – they’re a group that’s been most likely to lose their employment, to have their education disrupted, to have to withdraw from already low superannuation accounts to make ends meet, and to experience poor mental health as a result of physical distancing,” said Ms. Hill.
“Combined with Federal Government policies and pandemic responses that don’t address the specific impacts on young people or women, there has never been a more necessary time to focus on supporting young women’s development.”
‘Reflect. Grow. Thrive’ has been created in conjunction with members of YWCA’s Young Women’s Council (YWC) to ensure that the webinar series is developed by and for young women, with presenters who will understand and resonate with young women across Australia.
YWC member Shaylee Leach said “As an employee of the Working Women’s Centre in South Australia, I’ve seen the impact of the current pandemic on young women’s employment, their working rights and financial stability. Being able to influence session topics and speaker selection for this webinar series has meant that we can ensure that they will address the current needs and interests of young women in Australia.”
Beginning on Monday 5 October and ending on Friday 9 October, the 10-part webinar series is free to access for all YWCA members or $2.50 per session for non-members.
“We’ve been lucky to have the support of a community grant to run this series,” says Ms. Hill. “It was important that we make this webinar series as accessible as possible to as many young women. Membership to YWCA is free and comes with many benefits, so we encourage everyone to sign up as a member in order to get free access to the webinar series.”
For more about the ‘Reflect. Grow. Thrive’ webinar series, visit ywca.org.au/IDG2020
