YWCA England & Wales

what we do

Education, training, jobs and work

Young women who are born poor often stay poor throughout their lives. For many this is because they are steered into the lowest paid work which offers no prospects.

Careers advice and guidance

Disadvantaged young women are not getting the careers advice and guidance they need.

They need to know what’s available, what it will pay in the long term and what skills they will need.

Instead many are channelled into gender stereotypical work which offers low pay and little chance of progression, in particular the five Cs: caring, cashiering, catering, cleaning and clerical.

Apprenticeships and diplomas

The Government wants to double the number of apprenticeships across the UK to 500,000 by 2020.

If the Government wants apprenticeships to be successful it must tackle persistent gender inequalities. The lowest paid trainees work in hairdressing, which is made up of 91% women. The highest paid are electro-technical apprentices, which is 99% male.

Diplomas have only just begun, but we are concerned that without guidance and accurate information, girls will choose stereotypically female options for their diplomas which will lead to lower paid work.

Opting out of school

School doesn't work for some girls. There are many reasons for this but the end results are worryingly familiar: poverty, unemployment and social exclusion.

Boys who opt out of school or disengage from learning are often noisy or disruptive. But girls become quiet and withdrawn and internalise their problems. This makes it particularly hard for teachers to spot the problem and tackle it.

Sixteen- to 19-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) cost the government about £97,000 for one person over their lifetime. There are approximately 94,000 NEET women in England and Wales.

What we do

We think there should be some single sex classes and support groups which tackle gender stereotypes and help girls to achieve where they are struggling.

YWCA runs informal education and personal development programmes in our friendly, women-only venues where young women feel welcome and safe to learn and grow.

Wise up develops young women’s skills and confidence. It helps NEET young women to speak out, become active citizens and take part in all kinds of activities. Wise up caters for the most socially excluded young women.

To read more about young women and education, training and employment read our briefings and information sheets.

Visit our More than one rung campaign website which we launched in 2007 to help young women work their way up and off the bottom rung of the career ladder, and step up to a better life.