Robin Wright is proud that her charitable sleepwear line Pour Les Femmes enables "female empowerment".

Robin Wright

Robin Wright

The 52-year-old actress set up the label with her lifelong friend and business partner Karen Fowler two years' ago and profits from sales of the range go towards local charities helping Congolese women who have survived violence and provide education and vocational training, such as sewing workshops, to impoverished females in the country.

The 'House of Cards' star believes teaching women skills rather than simply donating money puts power back into the "hands of the individual" and it is one of her main missions.

In an interview with ELLE, she said:"I mean, that is female empowerment - putting it back in the hands of the individual. It's empowering to have a skill, have a trade, have a knowledge of something and pass that on to somebody else and see them ascend.

"Then they're empowered too. I think it's just, it's the beautiful, gradual escalation of something."

The 'Forrest Gump' actress has learnt a lot since she set-up the label and she is still learning new things, such as the importance of inclusivity and making every person who is part of her team feel like they are contributing something important.

She explained: "My gosh. So many [lessons].We built from such a small grassroots, and we're growing, and we have such a great team. I feel like I've really learned to listen and trust others in our company.

"To me, it's inclusive of everyone. Everyone has a voice in our company. We're not just the bosses, and we listen to everyone, and it's nice. I think it empowers them. We have a girl that's 20 years old in our company and she's sweet and young and she was quiet. Now she's not, and she's got a voice. I think she's developing and growing and I'm proud of that."


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