05: Speaking Diversity and Inclusion in the Sseko Ssisterhood (Carisa & Taylor)

I had the pleasure of speaking with two other Independent Sseko Fellows who also happen to be some of my favorite humans as well. The bond we all share is priceless and unique. And it's a gift to live life alongside one another. On this episode, we talk about the highs of the work we do in ethical and sustainable fashion along with what keeps us going on the hard days. We are also honest about diversity and inclusion both in direct sales generally and Sseko Designs specifically.

Sseko Designs is a for-profit, ethical fashion brand, that hires academically gifted young women in Uganda who have not only finished secondary school (the equivalent of high school in the US), they are in the top 5% of scholars in Uganda having been accepted to Cornerstone Leadership Academy (CLA) which gets over 1000 applications from all over East Africa and only accepts 30 women. These women work during the "gap" period between secondary school and University. They are required to save a minimum of 50% of their earnings which are fair wages plus benefits including health insurance, meals during the work day and professional development classes like mentorship, budgeting and more. The University-bound women also get housing as part of their benefits package, while the veteran women (non-University-bound) also have maternity leave as part of their benefits package.

To empower Carisa:

To empower Taylor: