Press Release
Women in the CaterpillHERs cohort will have access to coaching on Upwork Academy, an interactive learning hub that offers career tips, upskilling opportunities, and other educational resources. CaterpillHERs is a Pakistan-based organization that supports women in starting and growing their businesses and careers. As part of the partnership, participants in the CaterpillHERs career acceleration program will receive mentoring, tools, and resources for using and succeeding on the Upwork platform.
“The collaboration between Upwork and CaterpillHERs will enable us to close the gender gap in the freelancing sector by giving women in our career accelerator access to vetted and validated content on using the platform as well as direct coaching from the Upwork team. The mentoring and support that Upwork has provided to the women in our cohort has unquestionably changed the game for us, according to Hira Saeed, CEO and Founder of CaterpillHERs.
With 63 percent of the population under the age of 25, Pakistan has enormous potential for freelancing growth. In terms of the growth of the freelancing market, the nation is ranked fourth in the world.
Women may take the lead in this evolution by utilizing their current skill sets and remotely learning new ones. Freelancing can be a job option that changes a woman’s life due to the caregiving duties that women have in a place like Pakistan.
According to Faiza Yousuf, Director of CaterpillHERs, “the hands-on teaching from Upwork’s team makes the site more approachable and less daunting for these prospective freelancers.” “I have previously dealt with Upwork, and their team is always quite helpful. Because they actually are an inclusive organization, our values really mesh well with theirs.
According to Fran Murphy, vice president of community at Upwork, “learning from others who have done it before and having the support of a like-minded community is one key component of creating and scaling a freelance business.” We’re honored to be able to offer to coach to CaterpillHERs members so they may connect, develop, and have a more enjoyable Upwork experience.
Visit the Freelance Career Accelerator program page for more details on the CaterpillHERs cohort, and Upwork Community for more details on the Academy.