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Women's Employment
We create dignified jobs for women from low-income and low-education backgrounds. In our Paid-to-Learn Employment Program, women are guaranteed:
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Salaries above living wage (Our average seamstress salary is 75% higher than Togo's minimum wage)
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3 month paid maternity leave (at full 100% pay)
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Paid time devoted to adult education (10% of our work week is dedicated to adult learning programming)
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Free Child Care
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Unlimited paid sick leave, social security benefits, national health care and retirement enrollment
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No more than 40 hour work weeks
Before working at S H E
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75%
of our seamstresses had never been to school
2
of our seamstresses had official documentation for formal employment
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0
were enrolled in national social security, retirement, or health care benefits
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0
had bank accounts or personal savings accounts
0
had ever received a formal paycheck for their work
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8
children of S H E employees weren't enrolled in school due to lack of financial means
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Why We employ women in Togo
Togo, Africa has one of the highest rates of gender inequality in the world.
Only 20% of Togolese women have completed primary school. In Togo alone, this leaves 1.6 million women without an education.
Seamstress training is one of the most popular careers for women in Togo, yet there are no formal job opportunities to support them.
Seamstress labor is too-often exploited. Our seamstresses report delayed payments, refusal to pay, and lack of business owner protections before coming to S H E.
Akouto
S H E seamstress since 2020
"What makes my job at S H E so special is that it's a program that doesn't just find projects to grow the workshop, no. On the contrary, it is a program that invests a lot in us as women. S H E is concerned about our financial, moral and social well-being.
I also like the atmosphere in S H E because when we attend the monthly meetings with our team, we feel that our voice counts. There is a kind of mutual respect and we are seen as the young bosses that we are, not like women from disadvantaged backgrounds who are illiterate or don't know their rights. Most people just think of taking advantage of women like us, but at S H E, we are respected and cared for. Our leaders teach us how to read, and write, how to live in society, they teach us about our rights as women.
First I learned to read and write, and next, we will be learning how to manage our salaries. Frankly speaking for me, there is no better place than S H E."