WRC at Feminism in London

P1100282, originally uploaded by ctrouper.

WRC were at the Feminism in London conference last weekend. It was a vibrant and exciting day with a diverse range of workshops and discussions and some practical sessions such as self defence. The day opened with Susie Orbach asking important questions about contemporary women’s bodies and how they are shaped by the beauty industry, and included panel discussions on racism and sexism, and prostitution, which were powerful and raised many important issues for women and the sector.

We made lots of new contacts and were mainly promoting the lobby of parliament on November 4th for women with no recourse to public funds, and the Rape Crisis campaign. It was great to see so many feminist and women’s organisations packed into the busy hall. We were sharing a table with Pink Stinks and you could buy back issues of Spare Rib from the Feminist Library, as well as find out about the next Million Women Rise March.

Women had come from across the country including some all the way from LGBT Youth Scotland, and there was a real sense of working together and building a movement. Exciting times!

How social media meets our strategic aims

Leah from women's resource centre gives a talk, originally uploaded by hellobeautifulworld.

I've done a couple of presentations to charities about our use of social media. Last night I went to the NFPTweetup (a meeting of people in charities who use Twitter) and someone took a picture of my slide. Sometimes charities who are new to social media find it difficult to justify (to their colleagues or managers), so I thought it might be useful to see our reasons.

The NFPTweetup is a great, friendly event. It was fantastic to see a couple of other women's organisations there, including Mina from Rights of Women and Ann-Sophie from Rosa. They're held about 4 times a year, so look out for the next one!

A gendered perspective on climate change

We have all been hearing a lot about climate change recently – for some this may mean reducing our carbon footprint by pledging to recycle more or not fly, for others this is such a huge issue that we may feel powerless or be waiting for the government to make changes first. This is seen as an issue that affects us all but does it affect some of us more than others?

Globally, women are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change due to our different social roles and status. In the UK and other developed countries, increasing costs for energy, transport, healthcare and nutrition are likely to affect women more than men. In developing countries, women are already suffering disproportionately more as a consequence of climate change.

Unfortunately many campaigns around climate change do not take this into account and ignore the fact that their campaign actions may also disproportionately affect women. For example asking us to recycle more, turn down our thermostat, buy organic produce and wash at 30 degrees are all actions which women, the majority of the time, will be responsible for.

There is a rich history of women being involved in environmental activism and luckily there are various women’s organisations that are still raising these issues and working on climate change. From the Women’s Environmental Network and the Women’s Institute’s work with their members, to Wise Women, to the Climate Rush, who recreate great Suffragette actions with a new agenda; as well as all the women’s organisations that have environmental policies and are working sustainably as part of their work with and for women.

There is also a new campaign which aims to have cut UK emissions by 10% in 2010. The 10:10 campaign is just beginning but there is a chance for women’s organisations to get involved and profile their environmental work. Contact harriet@1010uk.org for more information.

Climate change is an issue that will effect us all but we must make sure that gender is not an afterthought to this movement and that women are not shouldering the burden of responsibility – Take action now, this is only the beginning!

Visiting the Bronze Woman

The Bronze Woman, originally uploaded by Women's Resource Centre.

On a WRC away day, we made a little 'pilgrimage' to the Bronze Woman monument in Stockwell, London.

The Bronze Woman is many things – she is the first public monument of a black woman in England, a symbol of the contribution of Caribbean, and indeed all, women to society and proof that people who have the courage to pursue their dreams can inspire others to great achievements.

It's a truly beautiful sculpture and the result of a lot of hard work by a group of very committed people. Visit it!

http://www.bronzewoman.org.uk

Government ignores UN targets on tackling discrimination against women

Last July, the UK Government was assessed by the UN's CEDAW Committee on their track record on gender equality, and was found wanting. As a result, the government is required to report to the Committee this month - twelve months on rather than the standard four year reporting cycle.

However, on the last day of July, we have seen no signs of such a report. Meanwhile, there are still women in this country who are unable to access a place of safety when escaping a violent relationship. These women have no choice but to return to violent partners or become destitute.

In the one year on report, the government is required to include information on how it has ‘incorporated all provisions of the Convention’ into the Single Equality Bill, announced by Harriet Harman in June 2008. However, to date no measures have been taken by the government to incorporate the Convention into domestic law.

The CEDAW committee also expressed concern over funding to the women’s voluntary sector in the UK and have requested that the government report on this.

So... where is the report? Read more here.

Celebrating women with roses and grants

Last night, the WRC team was out in force to celebrate Rosa's first birthday. Undaunted by the tube strike, people turned out to hear which projects had been given funding in Rosa's first round of grants.

Rosa is the UK fund for women and girls, and their first grants will go to the Powerhouse, Mimbre, and Feminist Webs for their work on body image. The guest speaker, Susie Orbach, spoke powerfully about the impact of the beauty industry and cultural pressures on women, girls and increasingly men, calling it a "real public health emergency". Fourteen year old Omena Osivwemu from the Feminist Webs project spoke movingly about her hopes for the project and the importance of feminism to her and other young women.

The atmosphere was celebratory and this carried through to the amazing "Celebrate Her" embroidery, where people could dedicate a rose to a woman they wanted to celebrate (by making a small donation, naturally). The roses looked beautiful and they'll also be transferred to Rosa's online rose garden, so everyone can see!

Women's organisations get tweeting!

Well, I've been away for a few weeks and have only just caught up with all our various communications. I've been particularly pleased to see more women's organisations embracing Twitter, Facebook and blogs. You can really see the difference in the way they can reach out to their supporters and new audiences - spreading campaign messages as well as interacting and responding to people's comments, concerns and input.

In the last week, Newham Action Against Domestic Violence (@NAADV) has tweeted about their new service for young people (would have been even better with a weblink for people to follow). Women's Aid got namechecked in a tweet from Sarah Brown (@SarahBrown10). If they'd retweeted it (twitter-speak for forwarding a post), their supporters would have known about this high-profile fan too. And I've been chatting on Twitter to @Bell_Bajao, an Indian organisation with an incredibly interactive website, campaigning to end domestic violence.

Do you know any other women's organisations using these or other online tools really well? Post in comments below or send me a tweet (@whywomen)!