From Car Park to Boardroom: New Programme For Teaching Women to Hold Their Ground

Whether it is standing tall in a high-stakes boardroom or navigating a dark car park after a late meeting, women are being provided the tools to stand their ground with the launch of Empower + Thrive. The new programme has been built to meet the goal of helping women feel confident, capable and prepared, while building the resilience and self-belief they can carry into every area of their lives.

Created by qualified self-defence instructor Jules Brim, Empower + Thrive bridges the gap between physical safety and professional confidence. Having seen and experienced challenges during her own corporate career she is equipping women with the skills to protect their boundaries, command a room and speak up with certainty, wherever they are.

The launch comes at a time when new research is putting numbers behind what many women already know. According to HiBob’s 2025 UK research, two in five women (40%) have experienced some form of workplace harassment in the past five years, and one in four women (24%) say they’ve been made to feel uncomfortable or less qualified at work because of their gender, an issue that often goes unnoticed by colleagues, particularly men.

“Self-defence starts long before physical confrontation,” says Jules, who holds the Strike Back Self Defence Level 1 Instructor Qualification. “The same skills that help a woman feel safer walking to her car can also help her speak up in a meeting, push back when something isn’t right, or hold her ground in a difficult conversation. These workshops are about helping women feel safe, confident and prepared, both at work and in everyday life.”

Aimed at organisations, conferences, wellbeing events and community groups, each session blends practical self-defence, such as palm strikes, breakaway methods and creating distance from a threat, with confidence, boundary-setting and de-escalation training with sessions lasting between 2 and 6 hours.

Jules adds, “It affects career progression, promotions and training, and it can mean missing out on opportunities if you don’t feel safe leaving work late or in the dark. No fitness level, prior experience or martial arts background is needed, and we can create sessions as needed with many of our workshops supporting the social value commitments under the UK Government’s PPN 002 Social Value Model, particularly around wellbeing, confidence-building and positive outcomes for women and young people.”

For more information go to https://www.julesbrim.co.uk/empower-thrive-self-defence

For media details, information, images and trial sessions, contact Natalie Trice via natalietrice@natalietrice.co.uk