Work with us
We work with businesses who are keen to support mums back into the workplace via a meaningful work placement over a 4 week period. The mums we work with may be looking for a career change or more usually have been out of the workplace for at least a year. They may have faced challenges including domestic abuse, lone parenting, children with SEN or home displacement.
The primary outcomes for every participant at the Women's Work Lab are for them to leave being closer to work and with improved confidence & mental wellbeing. The work placement offers vital current work experience for our participants and gives them concrete skills that they can talk about in job interviews. We believe that with good planning and buy-in from across your organisation, our women will thrive.
How to become a successful Placement Partner
Hear more about our partnership with Buro Happold
Changing lives with AtkinsRèalis…
Hear from Fiona at AtkinsRéalis and our graduate Suveena on the real impact of placements.
2026 programmes
We ask employers to offer work placements for approximately 15 hours per week, usually Tues, Weds, Thurs 9.30-2.30pm. The placement may be spent in a single role within the same team, or you may consider a rotational placement so mums can find out different things about an organisation.
There is no limit to the type of placements we need as the numbers of women we support continue to grow and their interests are so varied- we make bespoke matches depending on the mums aspirations and skills. Examples in the past have included: admin roles, retail, hospitality, support and charity work, TAs, healthcare plus many other industry specific roles.
We can support you to create a placement plan for your mum and you may wish to consider a project for the placement so that our mums will have something tangible to work on and then speak about.
In 2026 we are delivering 13 programmes across Birmingham, Bath, Bristol, South Glos and Somerset. Please do email our Partnerships Manager Fern Davies fern@womensworklab.co.uk to find out more.
Support Us
Recognising that different companies aim to deliver social value in their communities in different ways, the Women’s Work Lab works with organisations in a non-prescriptive way to best support our Mums and our employers.
As a registered C.I.C, we are run entirely for the benefit of the communities that we support. As such, any profits are always reinvested to create greater impact, not to generate shareholder dividends.
