The gender pay gap in Australia is real. The latest figures show that on average, women earn 13.4% less per week than men. It doesn’t matter which way you cut the data, women overwhelmingly take home less cash in their pay packet. 

Then you look at an industry like fashion. It is an industry dominated by female participation. And, much like other female-dominated industries, the rag trade isn’t one know for its high salaries.

Don’t even get us started on the lost income during our child-rearing years… or the fact that the hit many women take to their superannuation while raising children actually puts them at greater risk of homelessness later in life.

The situation is grim. But women supporting women is a value we hold so very dear at Eva Cassis. We know that small steps create big change so we’re taking action to play our part in shifting the dial on women’s workforce participation.

Eva Cassis and Dress for Success

We’re proud to announce that we will be donating 1% of all sales to Dress for Success Sydney. It was important to us that we chose a charity that aligned with our values and was meaningful to our company and to you, our customers.

We found it in Dress for Success. 

The mission of Dress for Success is to improve the “employability of disadvantaged women, trans women and non-binary people comfortable in women’s spaces who are in need in NSW.” We love what they do, and we love how they do it. To achieve its mission, Dress for Success provides a range of services, including:

• professional clothing
• styling and presentation skills
• coaching
• career development tools and support 

Much of the Dress for Success service is powered by volunteers. They rely on donations - monetary, clothing and volunteer hours - to support their invaluable programs.

Why 1%?

1% seems like such a small amount. But there are a few reasons why we chose it as our number.

Firstly, 2020 was an extraordinarily challenging year for us at Eva Cassis, like it was for so many others. We had to pivot - and pivot hard - to ride the unexpected waves of change that were part and parcel of the year.

As a small micro business emerging from what has been an extraordinarily challenging year, 1% is sustainable for the long term. We know that one-off donations are amazing… but ongoing support is so much better.

By choosing 1% we can make sustainable contributions while being absolutely transparent with you about exactly how much we are donating from your purchases.

As Eva Cassis grows, so too does the amount we donate. 

Women supporting women

At the end of the day, we are all about designing clothes to flatter all women. We have a sustainable fashion ethos and we are slow and humble in everything we do.

But we’re so much more than that. We are women, mothers, daughters, sisters. We might not always get it right but we are always striving to do better as women supporting women.

Whether it’s our commitment to Dress for Success, our passion for helping women look and feel amazing or how we support other women in business, at Eva Cassis, we will also keep fighting the good fight for people and the planet.