How do I summarize me?

I am a Londoner, I am a woman, and I am Turkish Cypriot.

In a nutshell, I did not do particularly well at school, a combination of factors, my parents never had time, and they were working to give us a better standard of living.  I was to coin the phrase a “latchkey kid”.  My school , which today gains a relatively acclaimed status for guiding and influencing young people, particularly Minority Ethnic communities did not in my day.  We were ignored most of the time, never given the encouragement or determination to take forward our ideas for the future.  What would become of the Cypriot girls?  The stereotypical view was hairdressers, machinists, housewives.

Well, as a nineteen year old I fell in to a job as a Creche Worker for Turkish Education Group seeing it as a means to earning some money.  I did not really see it as a career and a few years later I applied for a job as a Women’s Advice Worker for Turkish Cypriot Women’s Project.  Working with women and seeing the problems they faced opened my eyes and gave me the kick-start to think about how we as women could change our lives.

 

I became Co-ordinator of the Turkish Cypriot Women’s Project when it was relatively small, what was I co-ordinating, relatively small compared to my role now.  But it gave me further confidence as a woman to put ideas in to practice.  I also approached managing with a different concept, I did not want the structure I experienced of manager above staff (hierarchy system).  I felt that you would get more out of staff members by showing respect, encouraging ideas and dialogue.

I think as women we have all had to work hard to dispel certain myths and that we are breaking down barriers but there is still much to be done.

—”every individual can meet their potential—But people have to believe in them, I think that our organization sets out to listen to women and give them the opportunities to develop.  It is not just about providing a service, but more about what Turkish Cypriot/Turkish women want and need.

 “ I like to be a hands on person, I like to experiment and create new initiatives.  I get a buzz out of creating and developing projects.  As a manager, I think it is important to enable staff to contribute and give them the encouragement to make their mark. 

The scope of my work has changed, a change which reflects a more strategic role in directing the organization to meet our objectives of service delivery.

I like to think that as a mother of two children I am a role model to them, I encourage them to meet their full potential obviously with my partner who also shares the same ideals.

I have a Management qualification and I am currently studying towards my BSC in Social Policy. 

 

 

Co ordinator

E-mail: I.incirli@tcwp.org.uk

Imren Incirli