Meals with Impact Inspires for International Women’s Day

 

For a day dedicated to celebrating women and their incredible achievements and contributions to society, the William Angliss Institute Skills and Jobs Centre International Women's Day (IWD) lunch was nothing short of inspiring. Close to 100 participants were lucky enough to hear from Nikki Blanch, Co-founder, Programs & Social Impact Manager of social enterprise, Meals with Impact alongside team member, Yana Stepenanko.

Meals with Impact supports migrant and refugee women through empowering them to find employment success through a shared love of food. With this year's IWD theme being #inspireinclusion, Nikki explained the impact they have had in closing the gap on gender inequity and supporting women within this community to return to the workforce.

“We not only want to support strong job outcomes, but the bigger vision is to contribute to systemic change to achieve gender equity. This means gender equity for all women, regardless of race, level of education, or cultural or religious beliefs,” shared Nikki. 

“We aim to inspire inclusion through representation and providing a platform for all voices to be heard. We recruit with diversity in mind and facilitate cultural exchange through special workshops and through the sharing of food and culture, which informs the development of the menu. The teamwork with a shared value to respect and encourage diversity, and we can proudly say that everyone feels like they are part of a family,” she continued.

William Angliss Institute is Australia’s largest specialist centre for foods, tourism, hospitality and events.  The International Women’s Day Lunch was the first of many initiatives between the Institute and Meals with Impact including:

• Collaborating with our Skills and Jobs Centre to deliver job-readiness workshops and organising one-to-one career counselling sessions. 
• Facilitating industry connections for William Angliss Institute students, enabling them to volunteer or undertake work integrated learning, thereby supporting their business delivery and offering our students-hands on experience.
• Exploring the opportunity of offering ready-made meals from Meals with Impact, for our students so they can sample these Halal-friendly and delicious options.

“The International Women’s Day lunch was a great success,” said Manager of the William Angliss Institute Skills and Jobs Centre and co-organiser of the event, Brendan Clennett.

“To hear firsthand from both Nikki and Yana, about the positive effect and successful employment outcomes, gained by women participating in this work integrated social enterprise, left a positive impression on all attendees,” he added.