Making Work Work

Still time to register! The Readiness & Incubation for Social Enterprise (RISE) programme, delivered by The Challenges Group and Firstport, supports women and non-binary people across Scotland to explore social entrepreneurship as a way to build a sustainable income while creating positive change for people and the planet and designing a (work)life blend that works for them.

Registration is now open for our online panel event and information session on Wednesday, 17 June. Join us to discover what social enterprise is all about, hear inspiring stories from women who have turned their ideas into sustainable livelihoods, and learn how the programme can support you in taking your first steps into social entrepreneurship.

Sign up today at www.makingworkwork.scot/rise

Have you heard? Our social entrepreneurship programme, Ready to Rise, is back!

Delivered in partnership with Firstport, Ready to RISE (Readiness & Incubation for the Social Economy) supports women and non-binary people across Scotland to explore social enterprise and unlock their potential to build a flexible, purpose-driven career while creating positive change in their communities.

There’s still time to register for the final in-person event this side of the Summer, being held in Glasgow on Thursday 4 June 1.30 PM-3.30 PM at The Wee Retreat Southside: https://events.humanitix.com/ready-to-rise-information-session-at-the-wee-retreat-southside

Watch this space for more information coming soon!

What does it mean to make work work?

For us, it means people feel valued, connected to purpose, and part of a business that cares about more than the bottom line.

Last week, our Programme Founder and Senior Learning and Leadership Manager, Lynn Houmdi, joined PeerWorks and GoFibre's Chief Revenue Officer, Sam Calvert, at MyEdinburgh for a brilliant Lunch & Learn exploring exactly that, how purpose sits at the heart of good business, and how companies like GoFibre have achieved real, lasting growth by putting community, customer service and impact first.

We were especially moved to see the launch of the new Purpose in Business guide (University of Glasgow), not least because PeerWorks' own Eleanora Vanello is a Making Work Work alumna, a reminder of exactly why we do what we do.

The research is clear: when employees understand how their work connects to a wider purpose, motivation, loyalty, and well-being all follow. And when businesses invest in good work, fair conditions and strong relationships, they don't just do good; they perform better too.

That's the heart of Making Work Work. Preparing women to not just re-enter the workforce, but to lead, contribute and help shape the kind of purposeful, people-centred workplaces this research describes.

Find out more and register your interest in upcoming programmes at https://www.makingworkwork.scot/home🔗

Are you ready to RISE?


The Readiness & Incubation for Social Enterprise (RISE) programme, delivered by The Challenges Group and Firstport, aims to inspire and support women and non-binary people across Scotland in exploring social entrepreneurship as a means to create a (work)life blend that works while earning an income and making a change to people or planet.

Registration is now open for our online panel event and information session on Wednesday 17th June: discover what social enterprise is all about, hear inspiring stories from women turning their entrepreneurial ideas into sustainable livelihoods and learn more about how this programme can help you take your first steps.

Sign up today at www.makingworkwork.scot/rise

Earlier this year, we celebrated 5 incredible years of our Making Work Work programmes!

At our monthly ‘lunch-and-learn' session in the office, we shared the highlights of this journey with our colleagues at The Challenges Group: presenting the amazing partnerships we've built, the wonderful participants who've been part of it, and the fantastic outcomes they've achieved along the way.

We also reflected on our key learnings and, excitingly, looked ahead to how we can further grow the impact of our programmes.

Here's to everything we've accomplished together, and everything still to come.

This week is “Learning at Work” Week: an annual campaign celebrating the importance of creating positive learning cultures and recognising the many ways people learn at work.

At Making Work Work, learning is at the heart of everything we do. Alongside employability training and personal development, workplace skills are a crucial part of helping women return to work with confidence after a career break. For many, that journey can feel daunting, especially in fast-changing workplaces, so creating supportive, accessible opportunities to learn, connect and grow is essential.

This year’s theme, “Many Ways to Learn”, particularly resonates with us because we work with a high percentage of neurodivergent women and women navigating menopause, alongside participants with a wide range of lived experiences, backgrounds, strengths and learning styles. We know there is no single “right” way to learn. Confidence grows in different ways: through peer support, practical experience, mentoring, reflection, discussion, flexibility and feeling genuinely understood and supported.

Our participants continually shape our learning too. Their feedback, ideas and lived experience have been invaluable in helping us better understand different learning needs, priorities and values. As a team, we’ve continued to develop our own knowledge around neurodiversity, menopause and safeguarding at work so that we can make our programme as inclusive, responsive and supportive as possible.

Learning goes both ways and we are committed to creating a programme where every woman can learn in the way that works best for her.

We are delighted to share that our social entrepreneurship programme, Ready to Rise, is returning!

In partnership with our friends at Firstport, Ready to RISE (Readiness & Incubation for the Social Economy) is a programme to help women and non-binary people across Scotland learn about social enterprise and discover their potential to use entrepreneurship to make a living, work flexibly and positively impact their communities.

We will be sharing more information very soon, but for now you can sign up for an in-person information session in Glasgow. Following from the first event last week, there are two more planned for May and June:

· Tuesday 26 May 11.00 AM-1.00 PM at Empower Women for Change in Glasgow: https://events.humanitix.com/ready-to-rise-information-session-at-empower-women-for-change

· Thursday 4 June 1.30 PM-3.30 PM at The Wee Retreat Southside: https://events.humanitix.com/ready-to-rise-information-session-at-the-wee-retreat-southside

Watch this space for more information, events and webinars!

More families in Scotland are living in poverty or teetering on the edge of it. The pressures are real, and they're growing.

According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, poverty is deepening: nearly 1 in 10 people in Scotland are in very deep poverty with incomes below 40% of the median (the standard poverty line is below 60%). Nearly 1 in 4 children are living in poverty. (JRF Poverty in Scotland Report 2025). Fair, flexible employment is key to reducing poverty rates for parents and their children.

That's why programmes like our recent Scottish Government-funded Fair and Flexible Futures matter. On Making Work Work, we recognise that women are often only one life event away from disaster; no one is immune.

On our Fair, Flexible Futures programme, we worked with mothers facing real financial pressure, helping them rediscover their professional selves, maximise their household income, navigate benefits, and build pathways into secure, flexible work.

When a parent's income grows, children's lives change. Truly tackling child poverty takes a whole system pulling in the same direction.

We’re really encouraged to see the Educational Institute for Scotland (EIS), Scotland's largest education union, representing over 80% of teaching professionals from early years to higher education, launching its PACT Programme to equip educators with a deeper understanding of the nature, causes and consequences of poverty.

Schools are on the front line. When educators understand what poverty really looks like, they're better placed to support the families we're all trying to reach.

Strategic. Connected. Committed to change.

Women don't lack confidence; they lack permission.

This powerful CMI piece unpacks why women self-censor at work, explores the hidden cost of caregiving, including the often-overlooked demands of SEND ((Special educational needs and disability) parenting, and highlights why flexible working isn't a perk, it's core business infrastructure.

The message for managers is clear: this is a systems issue, not an individual one. And until organisations redesign work around reality, they'll keep losing talented people at exactly the moment they're needed most.

Our Making Work Work programmes incorporate CMI Management and Leadership accredited training specifically to equip our participants with the knowledge and confidence to name these barriers, challenge them, and thrive despite them.

Read the full article here: https://www.managers.org.uk/knowledge-and-insights/article/shifting-the-dial-gender-caregiving-and-why-management-systems-must-evolve/

Ready to RISE is back! In partnership with our friends at Firstport, Ready to RISE (Readiness & Incubation for the Social Economy) is a programme to help women and non-binary people across Scotland learn about social enterprise and discover their potential to use entrepreneurship to make a living, work flexibly and positively impact their communities.

This is a free training programme, with the potential opportunity to access funding to help take your idea forward.

Watch this space for more information about the programme, but in the meantime there's still the chance to sign up for this week's information session in Glasgow:

· Wednesday 13 May 10.30 AM-12.30 PM at Glasgow Caledonian University

This session will feature Darroch Tree Nursery founder Elana Bader MCIEEM speaking about her journey with social entrepreneurship. Darroch Tree Nursery is not-for-profit social enterprise dedicated to growing native, local provenance trees in and for Scotland.

Sign up here: https://events.humanitix.com/ready-to-rise-information-session-at-glasgow-caledonian-university-entrepreneurial-hub