Lady Boss – structured enterprise training for women from minoritised communities

Since 2000, Preston has ranked within the top 20% ‘most deprived’ areas in the UK’s Index of Multiple Deprivation.  In the  2021 Census 27.4% of residents identified their ethnicity as “other than white”. Since minoritised communities are traditionally underserved by mainstream enterprise schemes, Preston Co-operative Development Network (PCDN), in conjunction with Kind Communities CIC, designed and delivered a structured enterprise training programme for women cooks from these  communities. It was funded by Preston City Council  through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in response to stated community needs.

The Lady Boss programme engaged with 10 non-registered, home-based cooks from minority communities who were interested in gaining the requisite food safety qualification; registering with the local authority for food safety purposes; and incorporating as a business. 70% of the group came from Preston’s most deprived wards, and 60% were non-native English speakers. To overcome language and cultural barriers, and ensure legal and technical concepts were understood, the programme was led by a multi-lingual PCDN Consultant, with programme mentors and speakers sharing the group’s background and fluency in community languages. All were women, in accordance with the group’s preferences.