wHM Magazine - The Official Guide to Women's History Month 2017 ®

2017

Open

Syrie Barnardo

OPEN TO

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES

The Woman behind the man 100 YEARS OF THE MEDICAL WOMEN’S FEDERATION CITY WOMEN NETWORK WOMEN’S EQUALITY PARTY EQUITY PLAY FAIR

open to you

Rule yourself in As the UK faces increasingly diverse threats, we need an increasingly diverse range of people to combat them. So we value people with different skills from a variety of backgrounds, who bring unique perspectives to complex challenges.

SUPPORTED BY For more information on the roles on offer, visit careersinbritishintelligence.co.uk.

1 ALSO INSIDE - A MESSAGE FROM THE MINISTER - STONEWALL - WOMEN IN STEM - EMBRACING IDENTITY

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2017

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A MESSAGE FROM THE MINISTER THE MEDICAL WOMEN’S FEDERATION CELEBRATING 100 YEARS

STONEWALL’S INFORMATION SERVICE 12 -WOMEN THE WORLD OVER 13 - EXPLORING THE LGBT SCENE 14 - INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY FOR ALL WOMEN

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EMBRACING IDENTITY THE GOOD AND THE BAD – A PERSONAL STORY

WISE 16

NOMINATE AN AMAZING WOMAN IN STEM

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SYRIE BARNARDO THE WOMAN BEHIND THE MAN CITY WOMEN NETWORK CONNECT, CONTRIBUTE & GROW

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PLAY FAIR

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WOMEN’S EQUALITY PARTY

Open

OPEN TO

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES

open to you

Rule yourself in As the UK faces increasingly diverse threats, we need an increasingly diverse range of people to combat them. So we value people with different skills from a variety of backgrounds, who bring unique perspectives to complex challenges.

SUPPORTED BY For more information on the roles on offer, visit careersinbritishintelligence.co.uk.

© Copyright 2017 wHM Magazine - Women’s History Month ® is published by Talent Media. Copyright of all images and articles remains with the publisher unless otherwise stated. All other rights recognised.

No material in this publication may be used without prior permission from the publisher. Disclaimer: We cannot accept responsibility for any unsolicited text, photographs or illustrations. Views expressed and included in wHM Magazine by individual contributors are not necessarily those of the publishers.

Talent Media would like to thanks: Nagina Kayani, Victoria Huntley, Charlie-Ann Mathers, Matt Horwood, Sarah McLoughlin, Ann Goodger, Francesca Moreda, Evelyn Forsythe-Barnett for your help and contribution to this year’s magazine.

Cover image : Syrie Barnardo, supplied by Barnardo’s

Published by: : Talent Media, Studio N, Container City Building 2, 48 Trinity Buoy Wharf, Orchard Place, London, E14 0FN, Tel: 0203 697 9372. Email: info@talentmedia.org Publisher: Darren Waite, Sub Editor: Robert Ingham, Editorial Assistants: Kelly Gent/ Sally Cranfield, Social Media: Nate Parker, Art Director: Christopher Powell

The Minister for Women, Equalities and Early Years International Women’s Day is a chance to celebrate the achievements of women both in the UK and worldwide. It is also an opportunity to ‘Be Bold For Change’, which is the theme for IWD 2017.

This year, this Government is taking bold steps to deliver gender equality. We will be one of the first countries to introduce gender pay gap reporting requirements.

This law will mean all large employers have to publish their gender pay gap figures from April and will shine a light on where women are being held back in the workplace. We have already seen our gender pay gap fall to a record low of 18.1 per cent but this change will help accelerate that progress.

As a businesswoman myself, I know that in business what gets measured gets managed, and what gets published gets managed even

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better. Publishing this data will empower employers to tackle this issue in their organisation. That could mean helping their female staff return to work after they have started a family, or traditionally male-dominated industries doing more to attract women into their professions. I am confident that British employers will embrace gender pay gap reporting and, more importantly, will deliver positive change for their female employees as a result.

We have achieved so much already. We have record numbers of women in work and more women on the boards of the UK’s top companies than ever before.

We are helping women to fulfil their career ambitions by supporting them with shared parental leave, flexible working and free childcare.

We’ve also just recently seen Cressida Dick appointed as the first female chief of the Met Police. Maria Balshaw

has become the Tate’s first ever female director. And I’m proud that we have Theresa May as our second female Prime Minister.

These are great achievements and I know there are talented women across the UK who are inspiring the next generation to dream big. But as long as any woman is held back, purely on the basis of her gender, there is work for us to do. We will continue to take bold steps to make sure that every girl is able to fulfil her potential. Because no country can truly succeed if half their population is left behind.

I hope you have a fantastic International Women’s Day and that you are inspired you to be bold for change too.

Caroline Dinenage MP

Barnardo’s Registered Charity Nos. 216250 and SC037605 18623dos17

I am

free

Help us transform vulnerable children’s lives.

Search ‘Believe in Me’

Founder member and President of the MWF, Dr Jane Walker

100 Years of The Medical Women’s Federation

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By Sarah McLoughlin

he Federation’s story begins in 1917 with just 190 members but one very united voice. Emerging from the Association of Registered Medical Women in the wake of the First World War, distinguished names such as Louisa Aldrich-

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Blake, Britain’s first female surgeon, and Ethel Williams, the first female doctor in the North East, were just two of the many female medical pioneers who joined MWF in its infancy. Concerns about the position of women in the war saw MWF push for better working conditions for medical women

serving in the Forces.

Writing in The Times in 1918, Founder member and President, Dr Jane Walker wrote: “When they (women doctors) travel, they travel not as officers, but as soldiers’ wives”.

The end of the First World War however brought about fresh concerns for MWF as some medical

MWF Conference

Ethel Williams, the first female doctor in the North East

schools effectively shut their doors to female students having opened them during the war.

As well as pushing for equality, MWF was passionate early on about raising awareness of health issues uniquely affecting women, and quickly formed committees on the State and Venereal Disease and Maternity and Child Welfare and, in 1926, a leaflet on the Hygiene of

Today MWF works tirelessly to challenge pre-existing attitudes and discriminatory practices towards women in medicine Menstruation published by the Federation sold 10,000 copies in one year.

Throughout the years, MWF has continued this work and has campaigned on the rights of the married woman to work, have access to contraception, abortion, FGM and, more

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prevail with a 2015 study revealing female medical students would earn 35% less than male graduates by the age of 557. MWF recognises these ongoing challenges affecting women in medicine and, as an organisation, pushes to make sure equality is always at the forefront of the conversation.

recently, flexible working for women doctors.

The role of MWF in today’s world has certainly not diminished.

Although we can now celebrate that 55% of medical students are female1 and 53% of consultant trainees are women, as well as 69% of GP trainees2, there still exists a gender gap at senior levels within medicine. Currently, only 3 34% of consultants are women and within the surgery specialty this drops to just 12%4. Women also only make up 24% of Trust Medical Directors5 and 24% of Professors6.

Concerns over a gender pay gap in medicine also

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Today MWF works tirelessly to challenge pre-existing attitudes and discriminatory practices towards women in medicine, working alongside medical Royal Colleges and Government Committees developing best practice. Twice a year, MWF host national

conferences in London and the regions of the UK to reach out to its membership across the country and bring women together in a supportive and educational environment.

MWF provides advice to members who may be experiencing problems unique to women in medicine.

There is also support available to members who wish to be recognised for clinical awards and the opportunity for members to represent MWF at committee meetings. MWF also supports its younger members by offering a

Concerns about the position of women in the war saw MWF push for better working conditions for medical women serving in the Forces

MWF Conference

range of grants and prizes for medical students and junior doctors.

In its centenary year, MWF celebrates its diverse membership which ranges from medical students to retired doctors with a weeklong celebration in May 2017, open to all.

This week of lectures, workshops, drinks receptions and dinners all on the theme ‘100 Years of Medical Women: Past Present and Future’ will 1.

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run from Tuesday 9thSaturday 13th May 2017.

The events will celebrate the fantastic achievements of medical women over the past 100 years and discuss the landscape of medicine for women today, as well as looking forward to the future of medicine for women.

it was when the Medical Women’s Federation was first established, but the message of the federation remains the same; providing a voice for women doctors so they may thrive within the profession.

To find out more visit: www.medicalwomens federation.org.uk

The world of medicine in 2017 is certainly a very different place now to how

http://www.gmc-uk.org/information_for_you/23490.asp https://www.rcpe.ac.uk/sites/default/files/focus_on_physicians_2015-16_0.pdf http://www.nhsemployers.org/~/media/Employers/Publications/Gender%20in%20the%20NHS.PDF http://careers.bmj.com/careers/advice/Feminisation_or_equality%3F_The_issues_now_facing_women_in_medicine https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/sites/files/kf/media/women-in-medicine-final.pdf http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37407540 http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/5/4/e007335

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Stonewall’s Information Service exists to provide information around issues that affect LGBT folk and their allies.

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esbian, bi and trans women encounter specific issues and hurdles in their everyday lives that straight and cisgender women might not, whether that’s related to fertility treatment and adoption, discrimination in the workplace or changing your title with the bank, for a few examples.

I manage our Information Service here at Stonewall, alongside a team of 31

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fantastic volunteers from diverse backgrounds, who came to us with a range of reasons for choosing to support Stonewall’s work.

Some of our volunteers are LGBT, others are close to someone who is, and many of them are straight allies who just believe we should all be accepted without exception.

They all receive training and support to respond

to the often complex enquiries we receive.

Last year, those volunteers spent a total of 2,304 hours answering 10,000 enquiries.

These ranged from issues about immigration to how to support LGBT children at school, down to what kind of community groups existed for elderly lesbian women.

As we approach International Women’s

Month, as we celebrate how far equality for women has come, we must not forget the huge number of women who will still be struggling and in need of guidance.

Many of these women will be lesbian, bi and trans, and Stonewall’s Information Service will be here to support them.

If you ever need that support, you can reach out to us on the details below.

Or if you’re interested in volunteering your time to help our ongoing work, we would also love to hear from you.

LOUISE KELLY IS STONEWALL’S INFORMATION MANAGER You can contact Stonewall’s Information Service on 08000 50 20 20, on e-mail at info@ stonewall.org.uk or on Twitter at @StonewallUKinfo.

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Women The World Over Face Oppression On Varying Levels As A Result Of Their Gender.

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omen who also belong to the LGBT community face an additional layer of discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

Recent world events have shown us that the rights of marginalised communities are increasingly under threat. It is more important than ever that we stand by all women, especially those women who face discrimination on multiple levels.

In many countries, lesbian, bi and trans women face a whole host of issues due to their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Criminalisation and, in some cases, even the death penalty, forced marriage, gender-based violence including homophobic rape

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aimed at ‘curing’ lesbians and bi women, poverty and homelessness are too commonly faced by many.

Yet, in the face of such adversity there are several lesbian, bi and trans groups and activists across the worl working tirelessly to protect and promote, not only their right to exist and to belong, but to thrive.

The Women’s Health and Equal Rights Initiative, a women-led organisation working to combat stigma and marginalisation of sexual minority women in Nigeria, is just one example. Executive Director, Akudo explains: ‘we need to mobilise sexual minority women and encourage these women to be part of a community.’

In Egypt and Sudan, Bedayaa Organisation provides

safe spaces for queer women to communicate and express themselves the way they want, says Executive Director Noor.

‘Queer women hope to live our life the way we want, with equal rights, without having to hide our real identity and live a double life,’ says Noor.

We must stand by all women, including lesbian, bi and trans women. And not just those women who we live with, work with or encounter on public transport, but women everywhere. Akudo reaffirms the importance of solidarity - ‘no one can create change alone.’

ALYSHA KHAMBAY IS STONEWALL’S INTERNATIONAL OFFICER

Exploring the LGBT scene for the first time can fill many of us with excitement and hope to find spaces of solidarity and empowerment, where we feel safe and accepted for who we are.

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Misogyny in LGBT and queer spaces is rife. But we just don’t talk about it.

One night, a woman pulled me towards her and asked: “Who is your owner?”

Queer women often objectify one another in their own spaces, and slut-shaming is another common issue.

These behaviours are learned from the heteronormative (or ‘straight’) world we are so often taught to imitate or fit into, and often lead to violence in our communities.

hen I first began to explore London’s LGBT scene, this was no different, however it didn’t take long for disillusion to knock on my door.

Confused, I turned away and ignored her. The idea of internalising the problematic concept of ‘owning’ another woman was alien to me.

Years that followed proved that this was far from an isolated incident.

As women, we must recognise that sexualising or shaming other women can be extremely harmful, whether in an LGBT space or not.

We must start addressing these issues to build confidence in tackling misogyny within our own communities.

Acceptance and safety is something we can all agree that, as women, we crave in our own spaces.

So let’s help one another deconstruct these toxic behaviours to create the environments that we want to party, live and love in.

CHAKA BACHMANN IS STONEWALL’S RESEARCH OFFICER

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International Women’s Day is a poignant day in my diary.

But it’s not just a day for me. International Women’s Day is for all women.

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t’s for women of colour, who might lose out on job opportunities for no other reason than racism.

It’s for newly married women who don’t feel able to talk about their new wife with colleagues.

It’s for older women, who are ushered out of the workforce and deemed ‘past it’, while their male counterparts are ‘in their prime’.

Or for younger women who, despite trying to climb the ladder, get pushed back because they’re ‘too early’ in their career.

At the same time, their young male colleagues are viewed as ‘hungry and ambitious’.

It’s for all the working mothers who are perceived by their employers as ‘preoccupied’, while working

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fathers are ‘so good at balancing work and home’.

It’s for women of faith who are too often dismissed as oppressed because of their views, when real strength and determination is defined by standing up for your beliefs.

It’s for trans women who want to take a bathroom break without endless discussion about which facility they’ll use, and who live in fear of violence and abuse on their way home from work.

It’s for the women with learning difficulties who have decisions made about their future without being consulted.

It’s for migrant women whose intelligence is undermined purely because their perfectly fluent English is spoken in an accent.

It’s for women across the world who still aren’t allowed to go to school and will never have the opportunity to even begin overcoming any of these challenges at work.

Gender equality isn’t just for one type of woman.

It’s for every single woman, everywhere, and so is International Women’s Day. Now more than ever, it’s vital that we continue to consider how much all women around the world have achieved, and how much we have left to do.

VICKY CONSTANCE IS A GROUP CLIENT MANAGER AT STONEWALL

Embracing Your Identity: The Good And The Bad

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By Charlie Ann-Mathers

f you look at someone as a sort of diamond, it’s much easier to understand the idea of intersectionality. No person has just one identity. For example, I am not only a female, I’m also cisgender, bisexual, demiromantic, anemic. I also suffer from depression. I come from a large working class family.

I’m a child of two divorces.

There is so much more to one person that you might think from a glance.

The experiences I’ve had, whether good or not, through the different facets of me have shaped me to be who I am today. A part of me that not a lot of people truly understand is my romantic orientation - Demiromantic.

When I asked a good friend of mine what he thought that meant, he replied “Being in love with Demi Lovato” (which isn’t wrong but definitely wasn’t what I was aiming for). My friend is quite understanding of most things and an intelligent man, so this gives you an idea of how underrepresented and not very often discussed demiromanticism is.

In the depths of the internet, I came across an analogy I feel helps people understand it a little more. For this, you have to imagine a person being a piece of pizza - “It is like a person who has never had any interest in pizza at all, until they come across one particular pizza after smelling it for long enough, then they realized that they are hungry for that particular slice of pizza”.

Being demiromantic also feels like a label of being a hopeless romance to me, because as soon as I get to know someone quite well I fall quite hard for them.

A part of me that gives me more grief than being demiromantic is my mental health condition Depression. I’m lucky in the fact that my friends aren’t victim to the social construct of mental health being a taboo topic. I am free to talk about it when I’m struggling, because I know that I have people close to me who will listen and do all they can to help, even if that help is just making me a cup of tea and listening to me talk.

The concept alone of talking through my problems was one that my friends pushed me to understand, knowing how much it could help.

It took me a while to stop hating myself for having depression. I’d blame myself for every bad day which immediately made myself feel even worse. I had a love-hate relationship with my antidepressants when I first started taking them but as my counsellor told me, “Some people need help. People who have sight problems need glasses.

People with mental health problems need medication”.

I think every woman has parts of them that they don’t like, whether it’s physical or not. The important part though, my message that I want everyone to take from this article, is that everyone should embrace all these different parts of your life!

Learn to love and be proud of your sexuality. Accept and embrace your difficult mental illness. Flaunt and own every single inch of your body.

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(L to R) Helen Wollaston, CEO of WISE with award winners Sky representative Shivani Uberoi, Amy Hart, Debbie Forster, Professor Hilary LappinScott, Amali De Alwis, Anne-Gaelle Colom, Professor Clare Elwell, Dr Ying Cheong representative, Yvonne Bennet representative, Tom Jones.

Nominate an amazing STEM woman for WISE awards Do you know a woman in science and engineering who would inspire girls to follow in her steps?

Or a man or woman who has done amazing things to encourage women to follow computer science and technical careers?

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WISE, which campaigns for more girls and women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) careers, is encouraging nominations for their

2017 awards, closing date Friday 23 June 2017.

Finalists will attend a dinner in London in November - WISE patron, HRH The Princess Royal

If you know an amazing woman please get her to enter

has presented the awards for the last five years. All winners will receive a money-can’t-buy prize of a day’s work shadowing with a director from sponsor companies BAM Nuttall, Goldman Sachs, Babcock, NHS England, Rolls-Royce, Intel, MBDA, Aveva, Thales and AWE .

Award categories include best toy to make science and tech fun for girls up to age 11; best apprenticeship programme; tech innovation; health advance in patient treatment or care; best employer; one to watch for a woman under 21

and world award for making a difference in society through STEM. Helen Wollaston, chief executive of WISE, said: “These awards are very special. We want to find women who will inspire young girls to look at STEM careers, and also identify female leaders who could sit on boards.

We are looking for toys that will show girls the fun side of engineering and technology and recognise great products and inventions that are changing lives. If you know an amazing woman please get her to enter!”

Online nomination forms at https://wiseawards. gtisolutions.co.uk/Home/ Guest. Nominees will be interviewed in person by the judges on Wednesday 13 September in London.

”I found the Wise Awards both humbling and inspiring. It felt like a huge privilege to be surrounded by so many very talented women and to celebrate their achievements in style. What a great event.”

Anna Jones, Sky News Presenter and WISE Awards 2016 compere

“Thank you so much for inviting me to such a splendid event. I was hugely impressed and enjoyed the sheer energy in the packed room.

WISE can feel pleased and proud of what it is doing.”

Dame Fiona Woolf DBE DL, Energy Lawyer, CMS Cameron McKenna

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HRH The Princess Royal, Royal Patron of WISE, codes micro:bit to play ‘rock, paper, scissors’ as part of a knockout game involving all 500 guests

Founded in 1984, WISE is a Leeds based non-profit community interest company which provides expert support to employers, educators and training providers seeking to improve gender balance in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in the UK. It has 160 member organisations.

All its revenue comes from membership fees and sponsorship. Its activities include:

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Sharing insight and knowledge about the causes of and solutions to gender imbalance in STEM in the UK, from classroom to boardroom Collaborating and connecting WISE members (individuals and organisations) to be THE leaders, role models and champions of gender balance in science, technology and engineering

Amplifying impact through inspirational events and campaigns Helping girls to make STEM career choices through People Like Me sessions For further information contact Victoria Tomlinson, Northern Lights

01423 562400 0780 168 6132 Sarah Shaw, WISE 07545 208530

We have the technology

The UK requires modern, battle winning forces to defend its interests and to contribute to strengthening international peace and security.

These forces increasingly depend on scientific and technological advances to maintain their ability to operate effectively; this means the provision of technologies of tremendous speed, power and capacity to deliver a decisive operational edge.

We are: The Ministry of Defence, Defence Engineering and Science Group.

Organisation Description: Government Department. The DESG is the team of thousands of engineers and scientists within the MoD.

DESG offers you many benefits including: 1. One of the very best graduate development schemes for engineers and scientists available in the UK – fully accredited by IMechE, IET, RINA, RAeS, IoP and IMarEST. 2. Considerable investment in support of your personal professional development; along with a wide range of exciting placement opportunities (including placements in industry).

3. An accelerated path to Chartered or incorporated status in your engineering or science profession; with the DESG it’s possible for you to achieve professional Chartership in just four years.

4. A truly rewarding career. MoD projects are fascinating, valuable, unique and sometimes highly classified.

Degree Disciplines required: A multitude of engineering disciplines, including Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Naval Architecture, Systems Engineering, and many more.

Applications: Now open for applications. Apply on-line via our website (click ‘How to Apply’).

www.gov.uk/mod/desg

19 The MoD is an Equal Opportunities Employer.

The Woman Behind The Man How Syrie Barnardo’s legacy continues today.

Syrie Barnardo portrait - Sara Louise Elmslie's marriage to Dr Barnardo in 1873 paved the way for Barnardo's work with girls

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lmost 150 years since Syrie Barnardo first believed in the destitute girls of London’s East End, her legacy lives on in the work of the UK’s leading children’s charity.

This Women’s History Month we remember the inspirational woman and reflect on how her early influence paved the way for Barnardo’s work today.

Although Thomas Barnardo’s vision more than 150 years ago may have been to help all destitute children, his early work focused mainly on boys. It wasn’t until he married Sara ‘Syrie’ Louise Elmslie that Barnardo’s was able to care properly for the thousands of girls living on the streets or in abject poverty around London’s East End A philanthropist in her own right, Syrie had already set up her own Ragged School, and her marriage to Barnardo in 1873 paved the way for the charity’s work helping girls – a legacy that continues to this day.

As a wedding present, the Barnardos were given a 15-year lease on Mossford Lodge in Barkingside – the site of the charity’s headquarters today – which became Girls’ Village Home.

Syrie’s involvement in Barnardo’s opened the door for thousands of girls who would otherwise have been forced into begging or prostitution to earn money.

It’s this which laid the foundations for Barnardo’s current work supporting victims of child sexual exploitation like Martha.

Martha was targeted online by a group of older boys and began to meet up with them. They took her to parties, and made her feel special and grown up. She trusted them and thought one of the boys was her boyfriend but, one night at a party, he held her down for the others to rape her.

After her horrific experience, Martha urgently needed Barnardo’s specialist care to cope with the trauma she had suffered and was supported every step of the way as she relived her

experiences by telling her story to police and in court.

With help from her support worker Emma and a specialist counsellor, Martha was able to talk about her feelings, and she now has more selfbelief and confidence and knows how to recognise abusive relationships.

Today, Barnardo’s has 40 services across the four nations of the UK and, last year, the charity’s direct child sexual exploitation support services worked with more than 2,400 people.

In total, Barnardo’s provides more than 996 services across the UK, including supporting young carers and care leavers, providing fostering

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best in each of them, whoever they are and whatever their circumstances.

Viv, 76, and her husband Ken, 84, have dedicated the last 30 years to fostering scores of children through Barnardo’s, many of whom have had a very difficult time.

A donation to Barnardo’s could help a vulnerable child like Martha reclaim their childhood

and adoption services and providing training and skills or parenting classes. Last year 248,000 children, young people and families were supported.

“Syrie’s dedication to the organisation after Thomas Barnardo’s death in 1905 continued for another 40 years, until she died at the age of 96.”

In the 19th century, Syrie Barnardo was instrumental in setting up the Girls’ Village Home in Barkingside, Essex which provided a safe haven for the street girls and offered them opportunities to train in domestic service and nursery nursing.

Her legacy continues with the thousands of women who now work or give up their time voluntarily to support the UK’s most vulnerable children and bring out the

“All they want is love, and often they are very loving themselves because they haven’t had it at home,” said Viv. “You try to give them such a happy experience and show them it’s not all doom and gloom and their life can be good.”

Barnardo’s also provides specialist services for girls through the National FGM Centre - run with the Local Government Association – which aims to end new cases of FGM in England in 15 years.

Jenny battled for years trying to get the authorities

“She was described by Barnardo’s contemporaries as determined,” Barnardo’s Archive Manager Martine King said.

“This determination and hard work made the village the success it was, providing safety, education and training to nearly 250 girls in the first year alone. By the 1920s there were around 1,500 girls living there.

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Syrie’s involvement helped thousands of girls who would otherwise have been forced into begging or prostitution and paved the way for the work Barnardo’s does today supporting victims of child sexual exploitation

to do something after her husband threatened their daughter with female genital mutilation. Thankfully, a chance meeting with a police officer at a women’s refuge changed that.

She was referred to Barnardo’s last year and since then her and 14-yearold Dominique have been helped by Helen, a specialist family support worker from the National FGM Centre.

Sensitively, Helen explained to Dominique about FGM and the country where her dad was born, and has helped her talk through her feelings about what her dad wants to have done to her.

Working with a legal team, she is now helping Jenny through the court process to get a restraining order and an FGM protection order, to protect Dominique.

Jenny said: “It feels like nobody has done anything before and now suddenly it’s going at 90mph because Barnardo’s has come in and said: ‘Actually no, we are going to protect your daughter and teach her that what her dad is trying to do is wrong.’”

Barnardo’s work lets girls be girls and can help them to reclaim their childhoods.

The charity runs 20 services across the UK for young carers and their families by helping them find support through local services and clubs, providing advice and emotional support, liaising

with schools so that teachers can better support their students, and providing opportunities for young carers to take a break from their caring responsibilities.

Fourteen-year-old Tomomi has had to grow up fast, doing chores around the home to help her mum who suffers from sickle cell anaemia, instead of enjoying a carefree existence like her peers. It has meant becoming self-reliant and helping before and after school with her older sister, which she does without complaining.

For Tomomi, visiting Barnardo’s Indigo Project gives her the opportunity to feel like a normal teenage girl.

She said: “I make new friends every time new people come into Indigo. It helps children to express their feelings.

and have the same problems.

People don’t judge you like they might do in school.”

Today, women make up more than two-thirds of the workforce in the charity sector. Syrie’s pioneering work almost 150 years ago laid the groundwork for generations of women to follow in her footsteps, and helped lay the foundations for gender equality in highlighting the plight of girls in Victorian London.

Becoming a Barnardo’s volunteer can be a rewarding way to reach out to people in your community. Visit www. barnardos.org.uk/get_involved/ volunteering to find out more.

To donate to help Barnardo’s support victims of child sexual exploitation like Martha visit www.barnardos.org.uk/martha

“For young people who don’t have the opportunity to take time for themselves, it’s fun to get to know other people from the area who are in the same situation

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City Women Network (CWN) is a vibrant community for senior professional women to connect, contribute and grow. Our mission is to be of service to our members (individuals and corporates), and to business in general, in three ways: Connections: Through the rigour of its selection process, CWN provides a high calibre environment for members to make connections and grow their professional networks.

Development: CWN is committed to providing events and opportunities to support members in their personal and professional development.

Advancement: CWN believes in the economic and business value of gender and cognitive diversity. CWN is here to help and to add its voice to that of members and the wider community.

CWN members are a diverse group of managing directors, partners, non-executive directors, trustees, members of livery companies, entrepreneurs and women in the management ranks of corporate and public sector companies. CWN has always attracted senior women as individual members, however on an initiative introduced by India Gary-Martin (CWN President 2010–12) CWN built up its corporate membership.

Our current President, Sandy Lucas, continues this work, supported by the CWN Board of Directors. As the commercial

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City Women Network Connect, contribute & grow world realises the economic and business value of gender diversity, we work in partnership with our corporate members bringing together the rich blend of erudite, learned and great business people and CWN’s active and engaged audiences. Our current corporate members are: ANZ (Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd), GE Capital, EE, JLT (Jardine Lloyd Thompson), Nomura and professional services firm RPC. Commenting on CWN’s corporate members, Sandy Lucas says, “It has been a real privilege to work closely with our corporate members to better understand their businesses and objectives and to help them provide a complementary programme to their own talent, diversity and client initiatives. We are also very appreciative of all of the support that they provide to the network in terms of the strong pipeline of members and ‘rising star’ talent as well as sponsorship of our various events. Our relationships with CWN corporate members are true partnerships.”

From its foundations in 1978 by Joni Lysett Nelson and a group of senior women working in financial services and law, CWN is now a thriving multi-sector women’s network playing a leading role in increasing opportunities for, and supporting the pipeline of, female talent in business. From its London base, CWN has successfully grown and broadened its reach, with now almost 300 senior women as members, the quality of peer networking opportunities is guaranteed.

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“It has been a real privilege to work closely with our corporate members to better understand their businesses and objectives and to help them provide a complementary programme to their own talent, diversity and client initiatives.”

Sandy Lucas, President CWN Diane Morris, CWN member and Past President (2003–06), joined the network on returning to the UK, having worked in the�US and Far East. Diane had benefited from women’s networks while working abroad and wanted to replicate that experience. Diane remembers CWN as being a very welcoming place where you could meet like-minded individuals. The network not only fostered friendships but also built business connections.

Corporate and individual members all�enjoy the professional development events programme. These are carefully targeted�at developing and refreshing skills our members need in order to lead in an increasingly dynamic business environment and to support corporate talent programmes. Our Financial Literacy and Board Effectiveness programmes are always fully subscribed and highly rated by participants.

One of the most notable things about a CWN event is that there is never a shortage of hands going up at the Q & A stage – our members are keen, curious and very engaged.

CWN seminars and workshops are planned around a topical business theme, with topflight speakers. Through the calendar year we also collaborate with corporates and select UK Business Schools to arrange events covering specific topics relevant to our members.

CWN members like to give back, not only in supporting fellow members, but also with

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As we go from strength to strength, CWN believes that collaboration is key to supporting women’s progress. We are keen to grow our membership and continue to partner with other groups who share our goals and interests. fundraising. Annually, our membership chooses CWN’s Charity of the Year. CWN seeks to support smaller charities aimed at supporting women and children both in the UK and, since 2013, internationally. Our relevant committee is very involved in the selection process, taking time to meet nominees and considering the charities’ viability and also the value CWN could add.

Over the past five years CWN has raised over £120,000 supporting charities including, Karma Nirvana, Eaves’ Poppy Project and The MicroLoan Foundation.

CWN’s Charity of the Year for the second year running in 2017 is Working Chance, which supports women with previous criminal convictions to find quality employment.

But it isn’t all about fundraising. CWN likes to try and support its Charity of the Year beyond the financial, whether by raising its profile amongst a larger audience or with some in kind support such as financial management, research and marketing. The CWN ethos of women supporting women really comes to life within our Charity of the Year framework.

We continue to attract accomplished and inspirational speakers at our fundraising events to support our nominated Charity of the Year. During her recent tenure as 686th Lord Mayor of the City of London, and only the second woman to hold that office, we welcomed Dame Fiona Woolf as Keynote at one of our major fundraising events and more recently, we were privileged to hear from Rebecca Stephens MBE, the first British woman to climb Mount Everest.

CWN continues to voice and exert influence in business by carefully selecting and nurturing strategic partnerships.

Members are often sought out by the media and researchers for expertise regarding both women’s and business issues. We have many members who are authors, speakers and moderators and we have worked with the BBC (Radio 4 and Today), BBC News, City AM, Sky News, The Financial Times and The Times.

Sandy Lucas adds, “At CWN we lend our voice to wider industry initiatives that advance the business case for greater diversity in the workplace. Much recent progress has been made to significantly increase the number of Board roles filled by women in the UK, with the spotlight now appropriately turning on executive management level. We support the need to do more to fuel the pipeline of female talent, and actively support a small number of initiatives, playing our part in ensuring this upward trend is sustainable.”

As we go from strength to strength, CWN believes that collaboration is key to supporting women’s progress. We are keen to grow our membership and continue to partner with other groups who share our goals and interests.

If you would like to find out more about connecting, contributing and growing with us, follow us at @CityWomenLondon or take a look at our website citywomen.org or contact us at admin@citywomen.org

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Play Fair

E

quity is the UK trade union for professional performers and creative practitioners.

As a leading industry organisation, Equity is known and respected nationally and internationally for the work it does with, and on behalf of, its members working across all areas of the entertainment industry.

Equity’s 40,000+ members form a cultural community that is of major importance to the UK

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by Equity

in artistic, social and economic terms, and Equity works to support them by negotiating their terms and conditions including fee structures with all kinds of employers and employer’s groups. In

addition, the union’s 5,000 Student Members are also able to access information and advice to help prepare them for work in the industry.

A campaigning and organising union

This challenges the entertainment industry on the persistent under-representation of diversity

with a long record of taking arts issues to parliament and other centres of influence, one of Equity’s current campaigns is Play Fair.

This challenges the entertainment industry on the persistent under-representation of diversity and discriminatory practice in casting.

Equity is calling on employers to Play Fair on inclusive casting and deliver more diversity on stage, screen, online and on-air; Play Fair with the law and improve their knowledge of their legal duties and deliver good practice; Play Fair

on accessibility and give proper thought to ensuring disabled performers have equality of opportunity in the casting process; and Play Fair and monitor the diversity of their casts and performers so progress can be measured.

If you want to find out more about the Play Fair campaign then have a look at www. equity.org.uk/playfair.

The best way to get involved in this initiative or anything else Equity does is by becoming a member. In order to join the union you need

to be able to show that you have been paid as a performer, director, designer, choreographer etc. There is also student membership if you are studying performing arts full-time at level 3 or above. As well as giving you a voice in the industry, membership brings with it a range of personal benefits such as free insurance, legal advice, job information and career development.

More information about all of this is on www.equity.org.uk

Supporting performers for 80 years.

Together we make things better.

Join in: www.equity.org.uk/join

@EquityUK EquityUK equalities@equity.org.uk 020 7670 0273

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Sophie Walker and WE members and supporters

The Women’s Equality Party

W

E are the UK’s newest party and the only collaborative force in UK politics. We run candidates in our own right to campaign on our policies, but we also believe in working with other parties and across the political spectrum to make England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland the first gender-equal countries in the world.

Frustrated by the lack of progress towards equality, broadcaster Sandi Toksvig and journalist Catherine Mayer founded the Women’s Equality Party (WE) in 2015. The response was overwhelming.

The first meeting of the emerging party took place at the Southbank Centre

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on 28 March 2015, and a second meeting was held at Conway Hall on 18 April, agreeing the party’s name and six core objectives.

the UK’s streets: https:// www.youtube.com/ watch?v=1JQMWNYcYk0.

WE opened for membership on 3 July 2015 and, on 22 July announced our leader, Sophie Walker, who has led the party through its formation phase ahead of a leadership election by the members in spring 2017. WE launched our first policy statement on 20 October 2015.

For our first elections in May 2016, WE polled more than 350,000 votes across London, Wales and Scotland. One in twenty of the votes cast for London Mayor went to WE’s candidate Sophie Walker – an astonishing achievement for such a young party. WE didn’t just make an impact at the ballot box – WE changed the nature of the debate.

During 2016, WE ran a number of extremely successful campaigns, including the launch in March of #WEcount, featuring Pavan Amara, which highlighted the prevalence of sexual harassment, assault and intimidation, first on London’s, then

In June, WE worked together with the Liberal Democrats to create new legislation, drafting amendments to the Policing and Crime Bill to help victims of revenge porn.

WE called for anonymity and compensation for victims, as well as the requirement that it be made an offence

to promote or profit from this awful crime.

discussions in 2017 – direct politics in action.

Our #NoSizeFitsAll campaign launched in September 2016 to widespread acclaim, and the British Fashion Council is now reviewing its policy on sample sizes. September also saw us field our first local council election candidate: Rebecca Manson Jones polled an impressive 7% of the vote in the Brockley by-election, coming in just behind the Conservative Party candidate and way ahead of UKIP’s.

Manchester played host to our first ever party conference in November 2016, when 1500 delegates gathered to make policy, debate key equality issues and to enjoy an amazing, empowering event in the city that gave birth to the suffrage movement.

And in October we launched our ground-breaking What Women Want campaign to make 10,000 women’s voices heard. The responses gathered will be fed directly into our policy

At the end of 2016, WE endorsed Lib Dem candidate Sarah Olney in the Richmond by-election, helping her secure a win against Zac Goldsmith, whose London mayoral campaign sought to split communities in order to secure votes. It was an historic win for our new style of collaborative politics.

WE are now the fastest growing political force in UK politics with 65,000 members and registered supporters, and 73 branches across the UK.

WE are now the fastest growing political force in UK politics with 65,000 members and registered supporters, and 73 branches across the UK. In 2017, WE have helped organise the Women’s March in London, which saw 100,000 people of all genders take to the streets to protest the rise in racist, misogynist and sexist political rhetoric.

WE helped ensure the process for ratifying the Istanbul Convention (the gold standard framework for tackling violence against women and girls) has been a success.

And WE are working on a nationwide Women’s Day Off for 2018 - to mark the centenary of women’s suffrage – which will see women across the UK down tools to demonstrate the invisible and unvalued paid and unpaid contributions they make to our economy, communities and family life. Join us!

For more information see: www.womensequality.org.uk And follow us on twitter: @WEP_UK

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Open

OPEN TO

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES

open to you

e l u R yourself in As the UK faces increasingly diverse threats, we need an increasingly diverse range of people to combat them. So we value people with different skills from a variety of backgrounds, who bring unique perspectives to complex challenges.

For more information on the roles on offer, visit careersinbritishintelligence.co.uk.

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