Our why is female empowerment, and it is at the core of everything we do. Our key focus is on empowering women to be financially independent through employment.
Our mission is to empower women to have choices to help build a life full of passion and purpose, whatever that may be. We are firm believers that employment is the key to financial independence, and financial independence provides freedom of choice.
Explore our initiatives below that all work hard towards this mission.
Empowering women is our everyday mission. It’s in our DNA. The way we see it, every female should feel inspired and encouraged in the workforce.
Our Paid Parental Leave Program (PPLP) helps close the gap on inequality for those balancing the fickle art of work and parenthood. Life happens, family members get sick and need support, and to us, that’s OK. Our PPLP normalises the need to focus on the things that matter. Deadlines can wait, family can’t.
As a female-founded business (and one that’s employed a lot of women), we can’t ignore what our team need at every stage of the parenting journey. We strive to give ongoing support to DISSH families while they navigate every new stage. There’s a reason it takes a village.
On average, an Australian woman earns $1 million less than an Australian man across her career. Motherhood comes with an earnings penalty. Across the first five years of parenting their first child, women’s earnings are reduced by 55% on average. During the same time, men’s earnings remain unaffected (Australian Government’s Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce 10 Year Plan).
We are determined to do our part to close this gap. Women work, women also create life and have children (can you say that again?!), and it's our view, if you wish, you should have the freedom to choose both. So, we’ve made a commitment. Every year we will take inspired action to continue to close this gap. We will continue to build on this legacy PPL program over the next 5+ years. As we grow, the impact we can make grows. Reinvesting profits, back into our people.
There is no doubt that the challenges faced by working women are complex, wide, and varied, but with the right support from employers, these challenges are infinitely more possible to overcome.
Two years on, our most asked questions is ,"How does a business with 94% women afford a PPLP?" Our answer? We can't afford not to. Our call to action? Employers, leaders, business owners. It is time to prioritise programs like this. It’s not only the right thing to do, it’s good business. We have undertaken a self-case study to understand the true cost of our PPLP. What started as a commitment to do the right thing and empower our women has evolved into being a strategic business decision driving long-term success in talent retention, attraction, and engagement, and we have the stats to prove it, including a 140% increase in job applicants from 2023.
If you’re a business or leader wanting to make change, our doors are open. Reach out to PC@dissh.com.au and join our collective mission.
Our belief in female support doesn’t stop at those already within our walls. We extend the offer through our involvement in pioneering a game changing employment program: The Encoreship. A three-month paid placement for women facing challenges re-entering the corporate world. Be it financial independence, confidence, skill set, or other, our call to action is to help and assist, because everyone deserves to have a purpose-filled life.
Only 32% of mothers feel confident enough to re-enter the workforce (Get Qualified, 2016), and only 59% of mature age women (55 – 65 years) keep at it, compared to 72% of mature age men (Australian Government Women’s Workforce Participation, 2020). To us, that’s unacceptable, and highlights the undeniable inequalities prevalent in the workplace. With initiatives like The Encoreship, we can bridge that gap.
In 2021, we welcomed our first inspiring and deserving woman into the program at DISSH, with 5 currently in our Encoreship Alumni. With a new year just getting started, we plan to do it all over again in 2025.
How fortunate to have organisations like Suited To Success, who exist to help people overcome the barriers to employment. Suited to Success is a not-for-profit community organisation that helps people overcome the barriers to employment. Our contributions help assist women in Australia become independent, by empowering them with the practical tools, support, and confidence they need for job seeking.
To date, we have donated over $300,000 of stock that supported their styling services (and we don’t plan to stop any time soon). By partnering with this not-for-profit community, we’re helping women across Australia get their foot in the employment door. Every woman deserves a chair at the table.
Women are crucial in leadership roles across a range of industries. Period. It’s important to recognise the significance women have in these positions, and celebrate them for their efforts, excellence, and ability to change the societal view that it’s a man’s world. Because it simply isn’t.
In an effort to prove this, in March 2024 we strengthened our partnership with the Children’s Hospital Foundation (CHF) through supporting the return of the Mary McConnel Career Boost Program – an initiative established to honour the pioneering woman who inspired Queenslanders to re-evaluate the care and treatment of sick children. We have a multi-year commitment and have pledged to donate $450,000 over the next 3 years to annually support three inspiring female researchers in a bid to close the gender gap in academic research.
“Our support of the Mary McConnel Career Boost Program ensures women in research have the right support framework to face the complexities of their family and work.”
– Lucy Henry-Hicks, DISSH CEO
In 2024, only 20 percent of women account for senior academics in Australian universities and research institutes. It doesn’t take a scientist to realise the scales are unbalanced. With our pledge, we hope to even out the playing field through financial aid and opportunity.
We sat down with Dr. Anna Francis, 2024 MMCBP Recipient. Read her story here.
