Lewes FC marks International Women’s Day with sponsorship announcement

Lewes FC is the first and only club in the world to pay its male and female players the same salary, while The English Soap Company senior management team is more than 50 per cent female. Overall the workforce is female dominated with no gender-biased roles in the factory and a zero-gender pay gap like Lewes FC.

Lewes FC is careful with its brand alignment and concurs with the equality and sustainability ethos of The English Soap Company. The club also likes that the products are cruelty free and made in East Sussex.

Oliver Butts, Managing Director of The English Soap Company, said: “We are thrilled to be sponsoring three female players and the manager at Lewes FC. It’s the only club in the world to have a zero gender pay gap and is setting a fantastic example for the sporting and corporate world. My company shares the same values, so we are delighted to be supporting the club in this way. We also want to set an example to fellow businesses, supporters of Lewes FC and our customers that we should be assisting organisations that practise and promote equality.”

Lewes FC Director Willa Bailey, one of the youngest female directors in the FA, added: “We’re delighted to be working with The English Soap Company. It’s essential for the club’s success to work with brands that have a similar social impact ethos and working together offers benefits for both organisations. Lewes FC and The English Soap Company mirror each other in many other ways, especially the fact that we’re both local organisations that have a global reach.”

Another synergy is that The English Soap Company and Lewes FC both have connections with Chailey Heritage Foundation. The English Soap Company employee Heather’s daughter Issy has been looked after by the charity, while the father of one of Lewes FC’s staff members is a trustee. The club plans to work with the charity more in the future.

Lewes Football Club is a community owned, semi-professional football club based in Lewes, East Sussex, England. In July 2017 the club became the first professional or semi- professional football club to pay its women’s team the same as its men’s team. They were Division One South runners-up in 2017–18, earning promotion back to the Premier Division.

From its premises in Waldron near Heathfield, The English Soap Company manufactures luxury soap bars, toiletries and soy wax candles of the highest quality at affordable prices with a strong focus on sustainability. All products are hand finished, ensuring quality and care from start to finish and cruelty-free.

Producing over four million bars a year which are sold through major UK and international retailers, hotel and gift suppliers, The English Soap Company is a family business with a mission to ensure everything it does upholds the values of an English product. That means dedication to quality while offering honest and fair value with excellent customer service.

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