Migrant women build own businesses after years of unsuccessful job applications

It started with a plate of sandwiches nobody wanted.

The mostly migrant and refugee women attending a support group in Ballarat decided they could make better fare.

Every Thursday, as they discussed obstacles lying in their way of a better life — domestic violence, unemployment, limited English skills — they brought dishes from their homelands to share.

“We would exchange stories of why that food was important to us or who taught us to make it,” group facilitator Shiree Pilkinton said.

At the time, Ms Pilkinton was the intercultural engagement advisor at Women’s Health Grampians.

Intercultural is a word she is passionate about.