Empower a woman towards financial independence
Dress for Success is the community that women turn to when difficulty comes their way.
With your support, we can help more women to get a job that can provide a safe, secure future for their family.
Women like Anita* know that, with a bit of support, they can turn their lives around. They simply need a community like ours to support and guide them through this journey.
Please make a donation today and together we’ll transform the lives
of more women like Anita.
When we first met Anita*, she had lost her confidence.She had been out of the workforce for 13 years, had gone through a relationship breakdown, and was struggling to find her feet in a job market that had changed dramatically in her absence.
Anita had once been a strong independent woman, working in an administrative role for a large company. However, when on maternity leave she was made redundant, and so it was decided that Anita would focus on raising the family and keeping a home.
Thirteen years later, Anita was ready to get back to work but... didn't know where to start. Over the course of her marriage, she had found herself increasingly shut out of decisions about the family’s finances. With her husband as the breadwinner, her bank accounts slowly dried up and ultimately were closed. She was given smaller and smaller “allowances” to pay for the family’s expenses, while her husband was vague about where the rest of their money was spent.
Anita could see that her family’s finances were changing for the worse, but her husband denied it. Anita and her husband began fighting about money. It was when he threatened Anita and their daughter that she knew she had to leave.
Anita was referred to our Styling Service, where our volunteer stylist gave her the confidence to see herself as she is – a woman willing to move the world to keep her daughter safe and housed.
Anita then learned about our Career Support Program, and took advantage of as many workshops as she could. Job hunting had changed so much while she had been a full-time carer, so workshops around core job hunting skills (like LinkedIn and resume writing skills) changed the way she approached her job search.
After taking advantage of Dress for Success’ resume review and interview one-on-ones, Anita was able to secure a new job - that she loves - that supports her and her daughter in their new home.
My experience with Dress for Success has been life-changing.”
