Join the Rights at Work Project Group
Young Women’s Trust helps young women get fair pay, respect, and security at work. Many young women face illegal and unfair treatment as well as low wages. We want to change this. In June, we’ll be launching our Rights at Work campaign that aims to challenge unfair and illegal treatment at work by:
- Explaining rights at work to young women so they feel confident to stand up for themselves and their rights.
- Asking the government to make changes in the law to ensure that workplace rights are properly applied, protected and promoted.
What is the Rights at Work Project Group?
A team of 15-20 young women aged 18 to 30 (including trans women and non-binary people who are happy to be involved) living in England and Wales who will:
- Work with Young Women’s Trust staff to design the campaign (e.g. thinking about how we get people’s attention to support it etc.) and find out more about young women’s experiences (e.g. thinking about questions we’d like to ask, and asking young women about these).
- Share experiences with politicians, employers, and the media, with support from staff.
- Take action through events, petitions, and online campaigns.
Why join the group?
By joining the Rights At Work Project Group, you will get:
- Some paid opportunities
- Technology support if needed – for example if you need support with digital access to attend the online activities e.g. a laptop, smartphone and/or data
- A personal coach for career and personal help
- To develop research, communication, problem solving and teamwork skills
- Free travel, accommodation and childcare for events you attend
- To be part of a supportive community fighting for change
Who can join?
We welcome young women (including trans women and non-binary people who are happy to be involved) who have faced problems at work, such as:
- Unfair treatment (because of age, sex, race, disability, etc.)
- Sexual harassment
- Zero-hours contracts
- Low pay or below minimum wage (which is currently £11.44 per hour)
We particularly want to encourage interest from young women who are working-class, Black and racially minoritised and disabled young women, as well as those in entry level jobs or who do not have a degree.
Ready to make a difference? Let’s do this together! Simply answer a few short questions about your experience and motivations for joining the group.
Closing Date: Apply by 12 Noon, Thursday 20 March 2025. However, if we receive a lot of interest, we may close earlier, so complete the form soon!
FAQs
How long is the membership?
The membership term is 2-years, or until your 31st birthday, whichever comes first.
Do I have to stay for the full 2 years?
After the first couple of months there will be an opportunity for you to decide whether this is a commitment that you’re happy to stay involved in.
It’s also a chance to for us to make sure that you can apply the skills and experience required to this project
When do I have to be available?
Important dates in the coming months to be aware of include:
- Onboarding welcome and training event (in person) – Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 April (Paid)
- Project meetings (online) – at first these will be weekly and the first two are on Wednesday 30 April 6-7.30pm and Thursday 8 May 12-1pm (Paid)
For in person activities all travel, accommodation and childcare, if needed will be covered for you.
What kind of activities will I be doing?
You will:
- Join an in person 2-day welcome and training event
- Attend online meetings
- Help with research and campaign development (e.g. thinking about what questions we’d like to ask young women and how we get people attention to support the campaign etc.)
- Join events, campaigns, and media activities and share experiences
- Learn about campaigning, public speaking, and creating digital content
Will I be paid for all opportunities?
We are committed to paying young women fairly for their involvement. However, not all opportunities will be paid, and we cannot guarantee how often paid opportunities will be available.
Membership of the group should not be relied upon as a form of income, and we would always recommended prioritising paid work over these activities.
Where opportunities are paid, this will be clearly stated.
Do I need to have any skills or work experience?
No. All we ask is that you:
- Have an interest in or want to learn about research and campaigning.
- Are keen to work as part of a team and engage in the project.
- Are up for speaking directly to politicians and others in positions of power – with lots of support and training from us!
- Are open to share your own personal experiences to drive change.
We’ll provide the training you need and support you every step of the way.
What happens after I register my interest?
Since spaces in the group are limited, we will review all interest received and notify you by Thursday 27 March if you’ve been invited for a short informal online chat.
If selected, we’ll arrange a convenient time in the week beginning 31 March to get to know you better, share more about the programme, and answer any questions you may have. This will help you decide if the group is the right fit for you.
We’ll let you know by Monday 7 April if you’ve been invited to join the group.
Use of the term ‘young women’
We welcome all young women and marginalised gender identities in our work, including trans young women and non-binary people. While we highlight distinct experiences where relevant, we collectively refer to this group as ‘young women’ throughout our work.
