Sonya Lennon: How WorkEqual wants every woman to feel like a CEO

WorkEqual is on a mission to support women going back to the workplace. It’s on a roadtrip, writes founder Sonya Lennon – and their first stop is Cork

Sonya Lennon, designer and WorkEqual head. Pic: Marc O'Sullivan

I had a lively discussion and a stimulating disagreement with a friend recently about ‘marginalised communities’ and the barriers they face in playing an active role in our society and economy.

As useful as the term ‘marginalised communities’ is as a catch-all term for groups and individuals facing discrimination, it occurred to me that it means nothing to most of us. 

It is a dehumanised category devoid of individual stories and the invisible circumstances that impede our understanding of lives so different to our own. It is a blanket of ‘otherness’.

During the discussion, the argument was posed that we have a first-class free education system that is universally accessible. 

It followed that we are a prosperous country with strong social service provisions and that if people want to make it, all they have to do is work hard and get on with it.

In many ways, this echoes the sentiment of JD Vance’s book, the now even more famous Hillbilly Elegy. 

When I read that book, I was hugely taken with his story, his triumph to pull himself out of the clutches of a devastated Appalachian America ravaged by poverty, prescription pain medication and other unwanted addictions. 

I urged everyone to read it, fascinated by an upbringing so different from mine and mesmerised by his ability to change his circumstances.

Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, stands on stage after speaking at the third day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

It was only when I heard the author and social activist, Barbara Kingsolver, in an interview, struggling to conceal her repulsion of Vance, that I began to see his story from another perspective. 

Kingsolver had interviewed hundreds of Appalachians while researching her magnificent and searing book Demon Copperhead. (She alluded that Elegy may have been the impetus to write Demon.) 

She strongly believed that Vance’s account of discipline + hard work = success was reductive and compounded the stereotype of lazy drunken hillbillys, a word now widely seen as an unacceptable slur not unlike refering to the Irish as drunken paddies.

So, how can we begin to build understanding and empathy for people to whom we can’t relate?

Every day at WorkEqual, our team and our incredible volunteers meet, greet and serve women who, through their life circumstances, have lost their footing, their confidence and their financial independence. 

We hear the stories of losing careers due to taking time out for caring duties. We hear stories of smart, accomplished women unable to get work because of their age. 

We hear stories of migrant women, many with valuable qualifications. ‘We just get moved from one room to another’, one woman told us. ‘I arrived at WorkEqual feeling like pass-the-parcel, and I left feeling like a CEO’.

We treat our clients with respect and kindness, and our stylists help them choose interview clothing that is theirs to keep. Our HR volunteers, career guides, mentors, and coaches work one-on-one to unlock each individual’s potential based on their past experience and current situation.

Our services are delivered by appointment, by skilled volunteers. The client never pays and becomes a client for life, availing of ongoing support and our client network for peer support.

For 12 years, we have opened our doors and supported over 6,000 people back into employment. But something doesn’t sit right with us. Some clients tell us we are Dublin’s best-kept secret. And that’s not good enough.

Gabriella Chisholm and Kate O’Driscoll pictured at a WorkEqual styling session event in Penny’s on Patrick Street in Cork City. Picture Chani Anderson

Every month, clients from all over Ireland come to us to avail themselves of this service. But now, in partnerships with Primark, Irish Rail, and others, we are bringing our services to different parts of the country. 

Because our sister organisation, Dress for Success, used to exist in Cork, we know there is an acute gap there, and we have decided that Cork will be our first stop. We see so many clients from Cork, mainly women who spend money they can’t afford to make their way to our boutique.

Noq we’re coming to meet them. This is a huge operation that is only possible with the support of our partners. Cork City Council has welcomed us with open arms, and we feel sure that this will be replicated across Ireland. 

Our work has such community virality. Suddenly, these visible role models for positive change are creating alternative possibilities in people’s minds. Children, sisters, brothers, and nephews see new options.

One of the elements that makes our work so rewarding is seeing the immediate positive impact firsthand. One of our amazing, dedicated stylists, Janet, talks about that moment when the client suddenly sees their own potential in the mirror. 

They know they look great, feel great and feel ready. Janet calls that moment ‘the switch’. The shoulders go back, the chin rises, and a smile widens across their face. Sometimes, someone else has to believe in us before we can believe in ourselves.

We are looking for all shades of support for our upcoming event in late September in Cork. 

We are actively looking for stylists, HR volunteers, work clothing donations, corporate sponsors and social media support. 

Moreover, we are looking to reach those women who need our help to confidently get that job and change their lives and those of their families for the better. 

Imagine if you could gift someone confidence and a sense of the possible? With an introduction to WorkEqual, you can.

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