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Headshot of a woman with brown wavy hair, wearing a navy floral blouse and jean jacket.

(Courtesy Malia Razzaia)

Dress for Success: Getting Seattle women suited for new careers

Malia Razzaia knows a thing or two about empowering women toward new careers.

Sheā€™s executive director of Dress for Success Seattle, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting women toward sustainable economic independence.
The organization provides everything from education to outfits for job interviews.

ā€œWhat makes Dress for Success Seattle unique is that we provide a safe space for women, wherever they might be in their professional, personal, and economic journeys,ā€ says Razzaia. The organization helps between 500 and 1,000 women in King County leap into the workforce or transition to new work.

Razzaia also knows a lot about the barriers women face. Moms, she notes, are disproportionately expected to carry the burden of caring for their families, and many leave the workforce due to the stress and cost of child care. Women also continue to face pay inequity compared with men. In a recent review of pay parity across the United States, Washington ranked bottom. The state was ā€œthe second worst in the entire nation for parity,ā€ says Razzaia. ā€œWe edge out only Utah.ā€

Dress for Success aims to help women navigate such challenges.

ā€œOur mission is to support women who are unemployed or underemployed,ā€ Razzaia says. She adds that the group meets its mission by asking questions like ā€œHow do we set a woman up for financial success in the long term? And not just herself, but her family, her kids.ā€

From there, Dress for Success provides women with educational workshops, career coaching, mentoring, professional attire, and more. Financial education is another critical part of the support pie.

ā€œThe reality is that sustainability is what is going to lead women to pay parity,ā€ says Razzaia. ā€œItā€™s what is going to lead society to a shift in this belief that women are solely responsible for child-rearing. It is whatā€™s going to change the world.

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About the Author

Charlene Dy

Charlene Dy writes about kids and the people who love them. A Manila-born Chinese-Canadian, she now lives with her family on the Eastside, where she is definitely that mom chatting you up on the playground.