Today we publish the third instalment of our ‘Friday Fifteen’ list – 15 women who are making their mark in Liverpool city region – an extension of our International Women’s Day focus

 

This week Friday Fifteen puts the spotlight on three female innovators who are offering lifelines to the most vulnerable Liverpool city region and offering cultural enrichment.

4Wings founder Ciiku Sondergaard has created a “space of solidarity” for women from all sections of society, Paper Cup Coffee pioneer Michelle Langan has directed her entrepreneurial skills to support homeless people while Lucy Byrne’s dot-art operates on the ethos that art is truly for all.

Check out LBN every Friday for the next few weeks to see who else is on the Friday Fifteen list…

 

 

Ciiku Sondergaard

In 2013, Ciiku Sondergaard co-founded 4Wings, a community-led organisation that has become a “space of solidarity”, a place where women’s voices are centred, and their resilience celebrated.

Ciiku says 4Wings provides a lifeline for women navigating complex barriers, from the impacts of abuse and trauma, to economic hardship, employment, immigration challenges and more.

Despite limited resources, 4Wings has grown into a powerful space where women uplift each other, creating pathways to independence, healing, and leading with empathy.

Intersectionality has shaped every part of her journey. As a migrant woman, she navigated barriers that go beyond gender, but she didn’t do it alone. Along the way, certain women, some with more privilege than she had, stood beside her, advocated for her, and made space where doors were closed.

Their allyship shaped not only who she is, but how she chooses to operate in every space she is in today.

She recognises that women are not monolithic, some face multiple layers of bias and discrimination other than gender, shaped by race, migration status, disability, class and so on.

Ciiku said: “4Wings is a space where no woman is left behind, where lived experience is valued, and where women with different levels of privilege stand in true allyship.

“International Women’s Day is a global celebration, a moment to honour the contributions, strength, and brilliance of all women.

“Audre Lorde said ‘I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own’. This day reminds us that solidarity should extend to those who face the greatest barriers. 

“IWD is also about joy and recognising how far we’ve come. For me, it’s about celebrating the power of women’s collective strength. As Maya Angelou beautifully put it ‘Each time a woman stands up for herself, she stands up for all women’.

“Here’s to continuing to rise, together.”

 

 

Lucy Byrne

Lucy Byrne founded dot-art in Liverpool 2006 and has grown it into a unique and multifaceted organisation which occupies a vital position in the city region’s cultural infrastructure.

It offers services to artists that cannot be accessed elsewhere and encourages everyone, from schoolchildren to business people to the general public, to value, engage with and participate in visual art.

She said: “International Women’s Day for me is an opportunity to reflect on how far we have come as a society – and how far we still have to travel.

“As a female business owner I have seen the landscape shift over the last 20 years, with more women in senior roles across the city and far less often finding myself as the only female in a room.

“However we still have a long way to go and we all need to support and champion women in business 365 days of the year.”

 

 

Michelle Langan

Michelle Langan is chief executive of Paper Cup Project, a Liverpool charity which supports people experiencing homelessness.

After starting out leading a volunteer-led outreach group, Michelle opened Paper Cup Coffee, a coffee shop with a social purpose, on Queen Square in the city centre, three years ago.

“I think scouse women always have a reputation for rolling up our sleeves and cracking on with things, when we see a problem or when someone needs help,” said Michelle.

“I had the idea for the coffee shop after seeing similar places in London, and there was nothing like it here. I wanted a place where people who are homeless could come and have a coffee and feel the same as everyone else, with no stigma, having some choice and self- esteem.”

Paper Cup Coffee offers a pay it forward system, where customers can pay £3 which gives a hot drink to one of the homeless customers who visits the shop.

The coffee shop is a not-for-profit, and has also offered paid employment and work experience to people experiencing homelessness.

Michelle added: “I think International Women’s Day is a good time to reflect on the fact that not all women have the same opportunities, and so many women face daily struggles.

“We have a lot of female customers who are homeless, and we do our best to make sure they are safe, and have what they need. Women are so vulnerable on the streets, and although we have come a long way, there are still so many inequalities.

“Women often have to shout loudest to be heard, so for us with the loudest voices, we speak up for those who feel like they aren’t being heard.”