Meet the Bournemouth duo who want to empower working women

Coach Stef Allegrini and counsellor Sheela Hagan want to help women globally with their new movement, Beautiful Badass Women, and have started with their home town Bournemouth. 

The duo hope to build the confidence of women in themselves and the workplace, using their experience to create a space for women to come together, support each other and thrive.

Stef said: "Sheela and I have been working together for a years and we have a podcast together on helping women. We both thought though we needed to bigger as there is no real support for women and we wanted to find a way to get together so we can benefit form each other's support. 

"We both have loads of experience with local women who maybe have their own business who struggle with confidence and getting themselves out there so we offer courses like our branding course to help women understand how to present themselves in their markets."

Open to women from all walks of life, the movement offers a wide range of courses, seminars and talks to help women improve on themselves. 

Beyond offering help in presenting themselves, Stef and Sheela pride themselves in offering assistance in how to keep a positive mindset amidst financial crises while recognising they have a pivotal role within families and communities. 

Stef said: "I think women lack confidence due to a societal imprint. There is a lot of imposter syndrome because often they only say they're able to do something once they're 100% certain. 

"Whereas a man in an interview might say 'I'm not 100% sure I'll be able to deliver the project', so I'll say yes because I'll figure it out. It's a lack of confidence because they feel as though they're not perfect."

Both Stef and Sheela hope to make the movement global, already working with women in California and planned a trip to work in an elephant sanctuary in Thailand. 

The movement has begun to offer a wide range of courses and events with more information available on their website.