Google.org, the not-for-profit arm of Google, has provided US$500,000 (AU$736,579) grant support to Global Sisters a not-for-profit enabling women to start their own businesses and achieve financial independence.
The grant will enable Global Sisters to roll out their three-year pilot program designed to help women with disabilities and their carers attain financial independence by providing flexible and sustainable jobs for 100 women with disabilities.
A recent Australian Institute’s Health and Wellness report found that one in six Australians have a disability. Further research from the University of New South Wales shows that women make up half of the Australian population with disabilities but represent just over a third of NDIS recipients.
Research also found that women are more likely to be diagnosed with disabilities like fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, conditions that often restrict their ability to receive disability payments through the NDIS. Any job acquired is most likely part-time and low-paid.
Global Sisters founder Mandy Richards (pictured) said that although most women in their program face multiple barriers to economic participation and employment, it is exacerbated for women with disabilities, who make up a significant proportion of their program participants when disability carers and non-NDIS supported disabilities were factored in.
“The funding we’ve received from Google.org will enable more women living with a disability to participate in our lifecycle of business support, so they can access all they need to start and grow their micro business, and embark on the path to financial independence,” Richards said. “Women with a disability and those who are permanent carers for people with a disability are frequently marginalised from mainstream employment due to structural, systemic barriers or are in low-paid employment. The overall aim will be for each of these women to establish a micro business that generates a sustainable income for themselves.
“We’ve developed a solution to break the cycle of exclusion and poverty experienced by many women with disabilities,” Richards added. “Our model equips women with confidence, skills, community connections, business networks, coaching, and flexible income necessary to foster economic participation and achieve financial independence over time that would otherwise be inaccessible via mainstream employment.
Thankful that Google.org has seen the potential in her model and are supporting her demonstration project, Richards’ intention is to increase accessibility and business as a genuine possibility for women with disabilities. It is also part of a broader systems change initiative with three demonstration projects, with specific cohorts of women, to provide critical impact evidence to create permanent welfare policy changes that will support women into self-employment.
“Global Sisters aspires to transform the social system into a safety net rather than quicksand entrenching poverty,” Richards explained. “This demonstration project is a critical step in this mission.”
Global Sisters was launched in 2016 with the aim of building a scalable and efficient model of supporting women to create an income stream via self-employment. Accessible to women across Australia with just a smartphone and internet access, Global Sisters’ free long-term business support aims to empower women to take control of their business journey by selecting the support and tools they need for their specific business at their preferred time.
The organisation’s team also tracks the progress of the participants across business stages and six impact domains over time. Global Sisters reported that as of 2022, 72 per cent of women achieved a business income after six months or more after being part of its program.
This story was originally published on Inside Small Business.
