The power of the collective action of women for International Women's Day

Buckle up, I reflect on four events for IWD that reinvigorated my commitment to the cause. This is lengthy, but as much for me to recognise the women as the work they do.

In 1995, as a high school senior, I organized 40 speakers for International Women’s Day at Central High School in Philadelphia. Little did I know, thirty years later, Women’s Day would become my most challenging week of the year.

The anniversary of Sarah Everard’s murder on March 3rd, 2021 by a serving police officer, aligns with International Women’s Day on March 8th to focus on women's safety, rights, and the gender pay gap. Although I was initially frustrated by superficial acts of solidarity like Instagram quotes, the events I attended this year reignited my dedication to advocating for a more equitable society where women and girls are safer, happier, and treated with respect.

The past two weeks made me realise how fortunate I am to be surrounded by incredible women doing the hard work of making the world better for women and girls. I often get caught up in only talking about the violence and misogyny we face, and forget to look for the helpers.

This is my lengthy reflection on the heroic women that I am lucky enough to have as co-conspirators, activists, friends and sisters in the resistance movement that we form and reinforce daily. They are my coven that I look up to, learn from, depend on and in many cases love for building me up and inspiring me time and time again.

The four of events I participated in for International Women’s Day shattered my expectations. The genuine engagement and thought-provoking discussions were incredible thanks to the time and effort that went into programming and moderating what are difficult and complex topics.

The first IWD event I attended was Glamour Magazine and the End Violence Against Women Coalition’s second parliamentary roundtable on online image abuse. The speakers were concise and powerful, and the room was filled with determination. We were informed about how much had been done to further the education, legislation and experience of women in the fight to stop image based abuse. The discussion reminded me that progress is made through collective, daily effort.

I wrote about that event here:

Waiting in the queue for security at Parliament, I met a young woman who had heard my Guilty Feminist episodes and loved how wild and unexpected my activist awakening was, and how shocking it was to be invited into Parliament. We spoke about how I sometimes still question if I had earned the right to stand among other trailblazers and activists. We all devalue our contributions and it needs to stop. As activists, we need to own what our actions, and voices and experiences have meant to women we will never meet or get to hear from.

The second event was a fundraiser for Rosa for Women, a grant making foundation and charity in its own right. The theme of the evening was the power of collective action. Frankie McCamley, BBC news anchor and journalist, interviewed Dame Heather Rabbatts, Chair of Time’s Up UK and Estelle Du Boulay from Rights of Women and then me and Khudeja Amer-Sharif from the Sharma Women’s Center) one of the grantees from the Stand With Us Fund where the £500,000 Reclaim These Streets originally raised for women and girls was donated.

Khudeja shared how the Stand With Us donations enabled her to help abused women at all different stages of their lives receive respect, love and assistance in Leeds. She has done unbelievable and powerful work to bring protection and a safe space to women that had been let down or ignored by the government and other services. Her work includes a pilot project for teaching non English speaking women about the need for cervical cancer screenings and what happens in a pap smear to communities where no one has ever shared what to expect and what will happen behind that curtain.

Rosa is responsible for most of my schooling on what grassroots tiny charities that were created by communities for those very communities need and how many of them constantly live on the precipice of being closed despite being the online lifeline for thousands of women all over the country. The years I have spent as part of the committee to distribute the Stand With Us Fund has been incredibly eye opening and gratifying. Who is given the opportunity to work to decide how to give £600,000 to women?

The respect that Rebecca Gill and her team at Rosa have for every fund, every decision and organisation they support and in that same breath, the respect for their judgement on where funds will best be used. When we were distributing the money that the public donated, Rosa and the advisory panel who have lived this work for decades advised us that we shouldn’t implement strict guidelines on how funds were used outside of future proofing and investing in the survival of small charities rather than applying the money to delivering front line resources; we have been told the multitude of ways funds have been applied to training, freeing up a CEOs time to back fill her admin work to seek more support and fundraising.

Rosa has now established the Thrive Network of high worth individuals that can raise huge money that will create endowments and keep the lights on for the charities that are the least known and the most needed. I have learned that Rosa’s recommendations for our awarding process and recommendations meant the money we raised was quadrupled when applied to the 18 organisations we were able to grant funds to. Women escaped trafficking and were given beds because of the money the public donated. Tiny charities survived the pandemic because of that money and were able to futureproof their team and practices.

Those lives were saved in Sarah’s name by the funds thousands of members of the public donated.

We need to keep donating. Women are no safer and need Rosa. Communities need charities created to address very specific needs and run by women from that same community.

Rosa is the only UK-wide funder of the women and girls’ sector. They exist to make the UK a safer, more equal and healthier place for women and girls. Their main activity is grant-making – they raise money and then distribute it to mainly small, community-based, women’s and girls organisations.

These organisations deliver life-changing and life-saving services, advocacy and campaigning across a huge spectrum of issues that women in the UK face today, at every stage of their life – from childhood and education, to employment, motherhood, relationships and healthcare. However, the women and girls sector is under threat because it is woefully underfunded. Despite the crucial work these organisations deliver, the women and girls sector receives JUST 1.8% of charitable funding.

Most of the women that volunteer for the organisations that Rosa supports were women that received support from the same charity they return to to offer their time and service. These are absolutely vital organisations that are virtually invisible and desperately require our help to assist the most vulnerable and invisible women in our society.

Rosa’s work mostly goes under the radar. Rebecca and her team are who we need to champion on International Women’s Day.

Khudeja and her team is who we need to champion on International Women’s Day.

They are the embodiment of decades of accelerating action to save women’s lives.

Of everyone I have met, and everyone I have learned from, the women like Khudeja spend decades doing the front line day to day work. Khudeja, who wants to roll out her cervical cancer plan nationwide because of how effective it was and how much impact it would have. She is the real soldier and the real hero. Khudeja’s family will absolutely know that a spare bedroom or empty seat at her table will always be offered. And Khudeja’s work is revolutionary, make no mistake about it. And never ending.

I want to go to Leeds and shine a light on her work and raise as much money and attention as possible to extend and amplify her impact and to recognise the generations of women she has given a safe haven to and listened to and treated with love and respect.

And that’s where I most feel like my mom’s daughter. Coming up with ways to use my platform to be someone else’s cheering section. I am good at going on the news and raising awareness; but I don’t hold hands. I don’t wipe tears. I don’t rescue children or grandmothers– but I can sure as hell raise money to help an organisation like Rosa that does.

Actually meeting the women that were given the money fuels me to keep going. To think bigger, to be the resistance and to look for the helpers. Because we are powerful. It matters. Funding organisations where the head of the charity is from that community, is trusted, speaks the language and knows the approach and the methods to actually rescue someone rather than just put on galas where 5% of the monies raised actually hits the women who need it most.

Rosa privately raised all of their overhead costs from the two years of overseeing and distributing the Stand With Us Fund so that every cent that members of the public donated hit the actually charities and not administration costs.

The women at Rosa and the organisations they support embody the ethos of walking the walk and having impact– and making sure that the money goes to charities that save the most neglected women in the poorest areas that no one is helping.

And that’s why four years down the line, I will go to any dinner, have any phone call, do any interview, if it helps Rosa continue to do what they do best which is to tirelessly work to get as much money into the hands of women who absolutely know where it is most needed.

On stage, I told a story about when we were going through grant applications and every single applicant asked for the whole £25k except a charity for Roma and Traveller women who itemised where the £8k they were requesting would go down to the penny. We questioned if we could give them the full amount and guidance on how to best spend it.

Rosa not only went back and offered them the full amount; they also provided a CEO to donate their time to help show where all of the money could be best invested to make their spend and time as impactful as possible.

Being allowed to ask that question and apply that money and that guidance is to this day one of the decisions I am the most proud of. Hand on heart, Rosa is the best organisation I have ever worked with because they live the work.

Next up was an event for Centenerary Action and Women in the Food Industry that my company the Tomorrow Group was hosting. Bringing Women to the Table: Women in Food & Politics was made up of an incredible panel.

● Caroline Voaden – Liberal Democrat MP for South Devon & Vice Chair of the APPG for Hospitality & Tourism.

● Amanda Hack – Labour MP for North West Leicestershire & Vice Chair of the APPG for Food and Drink.

● Nicola Bates – CEO of WineGB, representing vineyards and winemakers across Great Britain.

● Juliane Caillouette Noble – Managing Director of The Sustainable Restaurant Association, a passionate advocate for sustainability and food education.

● Kate Howell – Food strategist and communications expert, formerly of Borough Market, deeply committed to food as a force for community and sustainability.

● Nicola Hart – Founder of Agua de Madre, an innovative beverage brand.

● Antonia Jamison – A mentor and advisor to some of the UK’s most exciting start-up food brands.

Imagine my honour to meet Helen Pankhurst and Philippa Bilton, descendants of legendary suffragettes Emmeline and Sylvia Pankhurst and Emily Wilding Davison (who stepped in front of the King’s horse and was a martyr for women’s right to vote). They were there to campaign for parity in parliament. Talk about feminist royalty.

Mex from Women in the Food Industry and I met 8 years ago when I was running London Seafood Festival. Aceil Haddad is a much more recent friend and activist, and the woman that showed up at my door with lempsip and strepsils when I lost my voice after the Rosa event. And Anita Iwugo who organised and moderated the panel— I’ve never witnessed a panel that large produce so much powerful information that compelled action.

My whatsapp to the group after was “Every conversation was curious- how can I help? what are you into? how can we connect and build and not tear down… generous, curious and willing.”

To have two MPs attend and participate and dig in and tell the audience to be more persistent, write more letters. Be noisy, be present and stand and be counted. To hear about what rural communities face with hiring and transport and VAT policy and the pandemic decimates restaurants that need to stay open but are suffering because of the cost of staying open and the lack of a food minister. And how these decisions disproportionately effect women on zero hour contracts that share shift work. And the implication of childcare costs on absolutely every effort to gain equal footing.

Listening to the passion and ideas from each of the panelists once again reminded me of the power of collective action.

I couldn’t stop trying to figure out what I could do to help. The way I could best contribute to this fight is by informing everyone about Braidr, our data and AI consultancy about how AI could be implemented to more effectively get needed messaging out to voters and supporters. We discussed the gender gap in adopting AI tools and how it will only widen.

A young woman in the audience spoke about how her employer, in an effort to be pro woman on International Women’s Day, had her go home when it was early and safer but without pay for the hours she would not work.

This example reminded me that good intentions often backfire and by not having the well meaning solutions come from knowledgeable women we end up with rape alarms and self defence classes for Women’s Day rather than sharing resources to attack misogyny and support teachers battling the influence of Andrew Tate.

Women in the Food Industry hosted a Women’s Safety event last year that I spoke at. That event was well attended by men and women in hospitality and council representatives and the women who wrote and established the Women’s Night Charter for Restaurants. These are the efforts we need to highlight and support and the organisations that create a space to respect and protect their teams. And recognise the very real issues that arise when drugs and alcohol are involved in hospitality.

My last IWD month event was hosting Farzana Baduel a founder of the Asian Comms Network that our aforementioned Braidr sponsored after three powerhouse women came together after the race riots to offer community, opportunity and solidarity for an invisible but large portion of professionals in PR and Comms. Braidr was the ACN’s launch sponsor. The Asian comms community was largely built by word of mouth rather than structured support and events dedicated to mentoring and addressing issues particular to a community facing voiced hate and racism that hasn’t been seen in this country in twenty years.

ACN already now has over a thousand members. Founded by Farzana, Shayoni Lynn and Advita Patel, they have embodied accelerating action.

Farzana and I discussed DEI in hostile environments, and how to lend support and build a pipeline for future hires. My team heard about what it was like to go home and hear about an auntie scared to go outside in a hijab in a country that has been home for thirty years. For relatives to plan to leave the UK because it no longer feels like home despite being where generations of your family has been born and raised. We discussed the need to recognise cultural celebrations of holidays and not the importance of not centring social and work events around drinking and events that are exclusionary. Farzana and I discussed how to exist and thrive and fight back, quietly and loudly depending on what is appropriate for your business and threshold for being part of the resistance of hate.

We talked about what it is like to watch America and the impact on the rest of the world and how our children are treated and how our elders now feel. These are not easy conversations to have; but having them and having them head on with male and female staff engaged and asking questions signifies intent. It shows that we are not just posting a black square on Instagram and claiming to be part of the fight against hate.

It is about asking women and especially Women of Colour how they would like you to show up and support them and not make it about me as a White woman.

What part can I play? What part can you play? What can you do as part of collective action?

How you can get your company to sponsor initiatives? How you can facilitate mentorships and exposure to school children that have no idea that careers in your field exist? How can we be role models?

I can’t solve the state of misogyny and male perpetrated violence against women, but there is a multitude of ways that I have grown my community and influence to save a lot of lives. To make my words resonate. To make my time matter. To work with organisations like the Tomorrow Group who offer space for connections and future impact and inspiration. To support organisations that provide comfort and community and might not exist without financial support, to offer pro bono services that transform how small charities raise funds.

We must communicate, collaborate and connect the right people to save and improve women’s lives. It is not just about surviving. It is about seeking and receiving respect and love and education and valuing ourselves and the role we play. I only found out tonight that I was the one that first introduced Centenary Action and Women in Food– and didn’t even realise.

Introduce anyone that wants to actually save the world and believes that we must engage. It’s the easiest way to make huge impact. Putting kindred spirits together cannot be underestimated. Donate to Rosa.

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/standwithusfund

Volunteer. Speak up. Mentor girls. Talk to men about your lived experiences.

These events showed me just how much is being done. Day in and day out and how powerful the collective action of women is.

Thank you to the women that turned my International Women’s Day experience into one of collective action and hope. We march on.