WOMEN HELPING WOMEN ANNOUNCES TWO-YEAR PARTNERSHIP WITH GREATER CINCINNATI FOUNDATION SUPPORTING ITS GROUNDBREAKING WORKSTRONG™ SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WorkStrong™ Helps Businesses Identify Signs of Gender-Based Violence, Better Understand How to Help Survivors in the Workplace & Increase Productivity
CINCINNATI, OHIO - October 8, 2019 –– Women Helping Women (WHW), the leading regional resource for the prevention of gender-based violence, formally announced WorkStrong™, a workplace-based program designed to train employees on recognizing the signs of gender-based violence in the fall of 2018. Since the launch, WorkStrong™ has successfully trained 407 employees at Cincinnati companies such as 84.51° and Rhinegeist. And as part of a broader growth strategy, WHW has licensed WorkStrong™ to The Family Place, a $15M Dallas-based domestic violence agency to further the advocacy of gender-based violence workplace certification there.
Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF) recognizes the significant impact that gender-based violence has in the workplace and WHW’s innovative approach through WorkStrong™, awarding the organization a two-year funding commitment of nearly $50,000 earmarked to program operations to expand and strengthen the foundation of the social enterprise locally and nationally.
“WorkStrong™ breaks barriers to serve survivors in the workplace. Every business can benefit from WorkStrong™ because gender-based violence impacts workforce effectiveness and heightens levels of absenteeism,” said Meghan Cummings, Executive Director of The Women’s Fund of Greater Cincinnati Foundation. “As we work to support women’s economic self-sufficiency we anecdotally witness women who complete job training programs, enter the workforce and are then pressured or threatened by abusive partners. That affects how they think about career next steps, and some even choose not to elevate their skills due to those pressures.”
WHW’s WorkStrong™ helps employers have the confidence, skills and resources to better identify and understand signs of gender-based violence and provides bystander intervention techniques and other proven best practices to maximize the human connection and minimize the bottom line impact.
“If companies can understand what is impacting an employee’s behavior or performance at work, it can work to help that person with proven solutions as well as designing policies that positively help with employee retention and productivity; that’s where WorkStrong™ comes in,” said Kristin Smith Shrimplin, President and CEO of Women Helping Women. “The commitment from The Women’s Fund and the Greater Cincinnati Foundation is critical as we continue to expand our WorkStrong™ effort and we are truly grateful for their partnership.”
WorkStrong™ certified workplaces will be supported by WHW with ongoing confidential support services.
ABOUT WOMEN HELPING WOMEN
Women Helping Women (WHW) is a 501(c)3 organization founded in 1973 to serve women and men who are survivors of dating violence, sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking in Southwestern Ohio. WHW’s mission is to prevent gender-based violence and to empower all survivors. The agency provides crisis intervention services including hotline, hospital accompaniment, court advocacy, support groups, on-scene response, and face-to-face advocacy for survivors as well as conducts trainings and prevention education to the community and schools. Funded in part by the United Way, WHW serves more than 12,000 people, including survivors and their children, annually. For more information, visit www.womenhelpingwomen.org.
About Greater Cincinnati Foundation
As the region’s leading community foundation, Greater Cincinnati Foundation connects people with purpose in an eight-county region in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. GCF is leading the charge toward a more vibrant Greater Cincinnati for everyone – now, and for generations to come. As a 2019 Queen City Certified Silver Leader in Gender Equity, we are committed to fostering a more inclusive and equitable workplace through rigorous and ongoing third-party assessments of policy and culture, collaborative learning experiences and the implementation of data-driven action plans. To learn more about GCF and The Women’s Fund, go to https://www.gcfdn.org/Investing-in-Our-Community/The-Womens-Fund/Start.
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