Hello Qraters!
At Qrate, we value collaboration with organizations. On the 27th of August, the Qrate team (Mbali & Mogau) with the assistance of our Founder and Director (Candice Chirwa) delivered an interactive presentation on period education to the Ford Motor Company (FMC) female employees for their Women of Ford event.
For Women’s Month, Ford (an automotive company) wanted to highlight the extraordinary women behind the #BuiltTough brand who are predominately responsible for creating the vehicles seen on South African roads. In addition to this celebration, Ford has made a ground-breaking feat by offering period products within their Ford factories and facilities through medical vending machines!
Women of Ford South Africa is an employee resource group dedicated to the unique needs of women of FMC. Their vision is the empowerment and development of women in the company by creating an inclusive environment that fosters female authenticity and equality for women. The day includes speeches from the Chief Financial Officer (Yota Baron), Ford’s FCSD Director (Maja Smith), and Ford’s Plant Material Flow Engineering Manager (Lesego Madiba) and we were graced by an amazing performance by Thandi who works at the Manufacturing facility!
Our mini workshop included a quick-fire quiz session, where we tested the Women of Ford employees’ knowledge on period poverty, and afterward, we conducted our popular Alien Game period product activity where 5 Ford employees were tasked with presenting different period products to the rest of the group. Following that, we ended off the workshop with our Qrate Menstrual Pledge and our Vagina Chant. In honoring our partnership with Ford, we donated a copy of Flow: The Book About Menstruation to the Ford Library to ensure the employees have access to menstrual education outside of the workshop. Social Media Lead, Londeka Mkhize thoroughly enjoyed the workshop and the passion and dedication the Qrate Team provided on the day.
We’d like to thank the Ford Motor Company for honoring us and their employees in ensuring a period-positive environment at their facilities!