How One Shoe Company Is Giving New Support To Women’s Careers

The Office of Angela Scott is putting an emphasis on comfortable functionality.ANGELA SCOTT

The pandemic changed our relationship with fashion, and many brands have scrambled to adapt to consumers’ shifting needs. In 2020, heel sales plunged nearly 71%, and our renewed time at home has redefined what is “appropriate” female office attire. The Office of Angela Scott, the leather shoe purveyor, best known for her bespoke women’s Oxfords, is primed to deliver on the accelerating trends reshaping the future of luxury fashion – from sustainability and social responsibility to a return to basics and emphasis on comfortable functionality.

Another impact of Covid-19 is the reported 140K job losses for women. As a female-founded, funded, and operated business, Angela Scott also feels strongly about the empowerment of women and girls. While the brand aims to celebrate and promote women every day, they will donate a portion of their proceeds to The Mom Project’s  RISE Program in honor of Mother’s Day. This program supports accelerating equity for moms of color, providing access to upskill certifications while harnessing the power of community, support and job placement. Their goal is to raise $20,000 from May 1 – May 10.

“I started The Office of Angela Scott to offer women shoes that were equal parts beauty and function,” said Scott. “Shoes that make them feel and stand confident while they achieve incredible things in their careers. I wanted to take the same craftsmanship traditionally offered to men and provide the best-made shoes for women to make them feel powerful and feminine.”

In that vein, Scott and her company are proud to celebrate working moms by partnering with such a dedicated organization that puts working women and mothers at the forefront of all they do. Knowing that women and mothers deserve to be celebrated every day out of the year, Angela’s latest charitable partnership comes on the heels of announcing her pledge to donate $1 million to female-centric organizations over the next ten years.

Giving New Meaning To Shoe Support

“Women have this undeniable strength, and even more so when other women empower them,” Scott stated. “I think we are so lucky as a company to have such astute and dynamic women wearing our shoes. I feel like it’s our responsibility to not only give them a platform to share their stories and inspire other young women, but it’s our responsibility to amplify the voices of other women and young girls that need that extra outreached hand.”

Scott began her career construction industry on project sites when she was in her early twenties. To be taken seriously, she shared that she’d often wear pencil skirts and high heels. However, she often found herself running in high heels behind men, trying to keep up, both literally and figuratively.

“I believe a woman can be confident and sexy in comfortable shoes, and I saw the importance of making a product that allows women to walk in stride with their male colleagues.” She said. “When I moved to Dallas and began working in public relations at Neiman Marcus, I saw the real gap in the offerings for women in the way of flat shoes. It gave me the courage to take the leap and launch The Office of Angela Scott to offer women shoes polished and command authority without sacrificing comfort or individual style.”

In learning more about The Office of Angela Scott, you discover that the people behind making the shoes are in a small village in Portugal. Their factory is owned by a family of fifth-generation cobblers who put great care and attention into preserving traditional craftsmanship, reducing their impact on the environment, and creating a safe and fair workplace for their whole team.

The entire team is committed to creating pieces that are equal parts, beauty, and function, whether their workspace is at home, in an office, a studio, a classroom, or a hospital. They hope their shoes help women feel confident as they achieve incredible things in their careers.

Paying it Forward

Last month, The Office of Angela Scott celebrated International Women’s Day with a $30k donation to AAUW. This donation supports the Education and Training Fund and the For Women Who Mean Business Career Development Grant, which provides a woman who is preparing to advance, change careers or re-enter the workforce in education, health, or medical sciences.

For the remainder of 2021, they are working towards supporting organizations such as Dress For Success, and Buy From A Black Woman.

“This pandemic has disproportionately left women unemployed from industries like retail, hospitality, entertainment, and education,” said Scott. “This challenge is a chance to do better and to rebuild an economy that supports working women. The only way to create this environment is to invest in the infrastructure that working women need to thrive when they return to their careers and help them find the pathways to a career that supports their strengths.”

Recent projections estimate that employment for women may not recover to pre-pandemic levels until 2024 as per economic scenarios modeled by McKinsey and Oxford Economics. Also, according to a study done by Gender, Work & Organization, mothers, in particular, have had to cut their workweek by about two hours on average during the coronavirus to balance work and their families.

It’s evident Scott and her company wants to help address these setbacks and, quite literally, give women a new pep in their step. They also hope other companies will follow suit.

“I believe that there is more to success than the bottom line,” Scott stated. “It’s not just about individual success, but about raising others and paying it forward.”

Article Credit: forbes