WOMEN24 - A Series of Talks

WOMEN24 - A Series of Talks

Welcome to WOMEN24 - A Series of Talks! As we move into Spring ‘24, we will kick off a series of online talks led by and tailored to local women and girls. These talks will delve into critical issues impacting women in our borough, such as the cost of living, access to education, healthcare, and employment opportunities.

Our first online talk is scheduled for Thursday 16th May at 5.30PM, and will explore the theme of WORK, OPPORTUNITY and ASPIRATION.

Women who are economically inactive due to long-term and often complex social/health issues and furthest away from volunteering, further education / training, paid work etc. face a variety of barriers to engagement in access-to-work services and to progression. Services are often insufficiently appropriate and sensitive in the context of a lived reality of e.g. low self-esteem and confidence, isolation, complex / multiple social problems, emotional/mental health difficulties, cycles of deprivation.

Current access-to-work engagement / support models are falling short: the real needs of the women in question, and the barriers they face, are often not recognised, leading to significant problems of non-engagement. So there is a gap / missing link of engagement and progression that needs to be bridged, if more women with complex needs are to be successfully supported into work, or at least into pathways towards work.

We want to look at some of these issues, and open up a conversation about how we can work together, through collective action, to recognise and support women and girls.

We aim to have some keynote guests join us, with a view to exploring how current policy gets shaped, and inspirational speakers will share how local women can influence policy and affect change. Examples include: health practitioners, council leads, women and girls with lived experience, commissioners ... but also artists, producers, activists and change-makers!

But, we really want these conversations to be shaped with and by you! And we hope these events lead to meaningful discussions, the identification of actionable solutions, and contribute to the overall goal of creating a community where everyone can live their best possible life.