Real Impact on Women
Through working at a bakery, our hope is that women can build and invest in social networks to prevent future violence. We have installed my position of Bakery Operations Manager (BOM) to serve as much more to the women – a leader, a counselor, and a mentor – with the hope that women have a safe place to discuss challenges they face in society.
Though TWB explicitly works as an organization to educate women, our empowerment work is just as important. This extends into the realm of the lives of the women we work with – considering their safety, health, and family lives.
In Africa, one out of three women will be beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime[1]. This is real statistic from the United Nations, illuminating the fact that women throughout the continent (and also the world) are in need of protection, education, and rights. Through working at a bakery, our hope is that women can build and invest in social networks to prevent future violence. We have installed my position of Bakery Operations Manager (BOM) to serve as much more to the women – a leader, a counselor, and a mentor – with the hope that women have a safe place to discuss challenges they face in society.
In addition to violence (whether physical, sexual, or otherwise) that women encounter, TWB also seeks to address the root causes of perpetual poverty that many of the women we work with face. Women make up the majority people how living in extreme poverty. As part of elevating their individual situations, it’s critical that women not only have a job, but a sustainable job, one where they can receive a livable, meaningful wage. Moreover, poverty includes political, social, and economic forces; at TWB, we hope that through employment and opportunities for health, the women at our bakeries will be able to overcome these barriers and change the landscape of their lives.
This part of our work is not easy. Empowering a woman takes resources, time, and investment. However, we remain committed to this cause, improving the health and well-being of women, one bakery at a time.
TWB's Pilot Campus Chapter
Alayna Davis, TWB A&M President, shares about TWB's pilot campus chapter at Texas A&M University. Starting off as a small group of officers, brainstorming what a TWB campus chapter would look like, TWB A&M is now a thriving organization with over 40 members who love and believe in The Women’s Bakery’s mission and vision!
Written by Alayna Davis, TWB A&M's Chapter President
Last spring, The Women’s Bakery launched our pilot campus chapter at Texas A&M University. We started off as a small group of officers, brainstorming what a TWB campus chapter would look like. We are now a thriving organization with over 40 members who love and believe in The Women’s Bakery’s mission and vision!
As a campus chapter, our goals are to raise awareness and funds for The Women’s Bakery as well as to educate Texas A&M students and our community about topics such as women’s empowerment and social enterprise.
Our Finance Officer, Kelyn, gave an update on our chapter’s work so far, “To date, we have put on internal group events and completed two separate fundraisers, as well as begun working to plan a large scale program for the spring.”
Our internal events consist of socials, put on by our Social Officer, Natalie, as well as our meetings planned and run by our Education Officer, Colton. At these meetings we have discussed topics such as Rwandan and Tanzanian Culture and Women’s Empowerment.
At another one of our meetings, Colton conducted an interview via Skype with Heather Newell. Colton described his experience: “I had the privilege of interviewing Heather... It was so fascinating and informative getting to hear from someone that has been with TWB from its early stages and has watched it progress over the years.”
Our Vice Chair, CJ, has done a great job facilitating our biweekly officer meeting and says that, “The officers have done an incredible job at creating a welcoming environment for our members and a tangible spirit of unity throughout the organization.” After just a few months as a campus organization, we are already making an impact on campus.
We have had two articles published on campus about our work and have generated a lot of support via social media. We have also made a personal impact on our members. Our Marketing Officer, Madi, describes the effect that The Women’s Bakery has had on her, “The Women’s Bakery has been so much more than something to throw onto my resume. I have learned about other cultures around the world, other people at my own university, about what feminism means to others, and I’ve even learned a bit about myself… The Women’s Bakery has been very eye-opening for me.”
Our Campus Engagement Officers Samira and Ashlie “anticipate an upcoming semester filled with even more events that are informative, meaningful, and fun! All of our members are very excited to be working on programs that will educate the Bryan/College Station area on women's empowerment and the work of The Women's Bakery.”
We also foresee our already large membership growing even bigger as many students have contacted us in hopes of joining us next semester. TWB A&M is off to a fantastic start and all of our officers and members feel so fortunate to have the chance to play a role in this exciting new development for TWB.
