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IWD 2022 - SSAW Collective

For International Women’s Day 2022, we caught up with Olivia Wilson, Jess Geissendorfer and Lulu Cox of the SSAW Collective. 

The SSAW Collective is a community of chefs, florists & growers committed to an ethical way of working with seasonal produce. They create experiences that truly celebrate seasonality, advocating for positive and progressive ecological change in our food, floral and farming systems. 

What does IWD mean to you and who are you feeling inspired by or celebrating this year?


[Lulu] For me, International Women’s Day is an incredible event and one that I’m so glad to see has grown in momentum year on year. It’s a special day to remember and celebrate what females bring to the world. 

I am totally inspired by my co-founders Jess and Liv, both florists and growers. They are pushing boundaries by being within the farming industry which is traditionally a very male-dominated industry. They’re not phased by hard graft in the field and then, when they are back in the studio, their creative vision and what they bring to the floral industry is incredible.  

I’m also inspired by all the female chefs out there. It’s a hard graft, like floristry.  

And finally, from an environmental point of view, I’m very inspired by a female activist, Clover Hogan, who is doing a fantastic job representing the younger generation and really bringing some interesting points to view. Check her out here.



What do you do to empower other women?
 

[Liv] I think that collaboration being at the core of what we do at SSAW is how we empower other women. We try to raise awareness of issues that people within the industry are facing and bring those to the attention of other people who might not be so aware of them. It creates a space where people feel they can be honest about the experiences they are having and the dilemmas that they are facing, and they can be braver in talking about those issues.  

Something that we’ve felt as a three, is that being together as a collective has really empowered us individually to feel more confident in being more outspoken about the ethical and environmental issues that we face as people working within the events industry.

 
Have you faced any barriers in your life or career being a woman?


[Lulu] Yes. When I started in the industry as a chef, I was quite young, naïve, and possibly quite immature too. I definitely faced quite a lot of sexism within restaurant kitchens. At the time, I don’t think I quite understood or saw it for what it was, but looking back now there is no chance I would stand for some of that behaviour. 

That was 10 years ago, and things have progressed a lot. Females within kitchens are now highly valued and it’s great to see the positive change that there has been within that space.



What's the best piece of advice you've been given or what message would you like to share with other women this IWD?


[Jess] Someone once said to me that instead of trying to be more like men, we should be more like women, which has always stuck with me. I think there is a tendency for a lot of the characteristics supposedly inherently female to be downplayed as those characteristics that make us the weaker sex. I think they are what make us unique, special, and powerful. There is no need to try and emulate male traits and there is no need to try and hide them either. Be more woman, not less woman.

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