International Women's Day

Every year International Women’s Day is observed on the 8 March and celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievement of women. Although it is a day of celebration, it is also a day of awareness of what is yet to be achieved for women across the world.

This year, International Women’s Day is calling on people to pledge for gender parity and asking people of influence to take action by pledging their support and becoming champions of gender parity. For example, the multinational professional services firm, EY, have pledged for parity, arguing that the UK economy is losing out due to women’s academic achievements and talents not being effectively utilised. 

In light of the shocking statistic by the World Economic Forum, which estimated in 2015 that it will take until 2133 to eliminate the gender pay gap, the gender parity theme could not be more relevant today. The NFWI’s report, The WI at 100: A century of Inspiring Women, which draws on 5,450 member’s experiences, highlights similarly worrying statistics in relation to the role of women in the workplace and leadership roles. 83% of surveyed members believe more women are needed in leadership positions and 59% of members disagree that women have the same opportunities as men in the workplace.

To reach gender pay parity many other complex, societal norms must also change and develop, such as changing the way women are viewed in society in comparison to men, developing a more inclusive and flexible work culture and  promoting positive role models for today’s girls. The NFWI’s report reflects this need, as 82% of members believe that women are judged by different standards to men. These differing standards are then reflected in the workplace, which often results in conscious/unconscious bias.

70% of members aged 40 and under agree that women are penalised in the workplace for having children. An important step to achieving gender pay parity is a flexible work culture. Through implementing progressive policies that accommodate flexibility and integration for all, flexible working can be seen as the norm which in turn changes the culture of prejudice women face during and after pregnancy. 

In addition, 78% of members agree that there are not enough positive role models for today’s girls, and identified Malala Yousafzai as the most popular role model for young women. Without positive and ambitious role models for girls to look up to it can be hard to illuminate a path to leadership and success for girls. By highlighting career options through popular figures girls can be inspired to achieve the same level of success and determination.

A recent step the Government has taken to help eliminate the gender pay gap involves introducing requirements for private and voluntary sector companies, who employ over 250 employees, to publish information about their own gender pay gap. The plans were announced by Women and Equalities Minister Nicky Morgan in February 2016. Firms are required to start calculating their pay gap from April 2017, with the intention of publishing the results on their websites in April 2018.

Although this is a step in the right direction to driving diversity and encouraging women to demand more from their companies, there are concerns that without enforcement, companies may actually publish their own data. Many believe it is essential the Government consults closely with businesses to ensure that the new legislation produces results and helps to close the gender pay gap by prompting concrete actions to tackle the problem, rather than just producing data.

As Regina Moran, chief executive of Fujitsu UK and Ireland highlights, differences in pay are often part of a wider context, as highlighted by the statistics from The WI at 100 report; pledging for gender parity must involve everyone and inspire a multitude of changes to take place, not only in the workplace but also in the wider society.

The NFWI asks that WI members take a moment today to celebrate women’s achievements, past and present, and to speak with friends, family and colleagues about pledging for gender parity. You can find out how to get involved with this year’s pledge for parity theme here.

To read the full report of The WI at 100: A Century of Inspiring Women please download it here.

Cervical Cancer Screening

The WI first passed a resolution calling for a national screening programme to detect cervical cancer in 1964. The WI’s campaign successfully made the case for screening facilities, as well as raising awareness about the importance of cervical screening.

What do women need to know today?

This week is Cervical Cancer Prevention Week (24 – 30th January). Every day in the UK eight women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and three women will lose their lives to the disease [1]. Cervical cancer is largely preventable thanks to cervical screening and the HPV vaccination programme. The WI’s pioneering campaign called for better screening facilities, more public information and an effective recall system, which was first achieved in 1988. But in recent years take-up of cervical screening has declined year on year.

Research by cervical cancer charity Jo’s Trust has revealed that one in three 25 – 29 year old women in the UK do not attend their smear test when invited [2]. In England, cervical screening peaked at around 82% in the late 1990s but rates are now just above 78% [3]. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, screening rates are very similar. Worryingly cervical cancer is on the increase, with the Office for National Statistics data showing a 6% rise in cases between 2013 and 2012. Even more worrying is that the UK has one of the lowest survival rates for the disease out of the OECD countries [4]. This highlights the importance of cervical screening as the NHS cervical screening service saves around 5,000 lives a year in England [5].

In 2014 Jo’s Trust published a report which explored the financial impact of cervical cancer on the woman, the NHS and the state. It revealed that the average cost to the NHS per person diagnosed with stage 2 or later cervical cancer is £19,261, while for those at stage 1a, the cost to the NHS is around £1,379 per person. In addition, the combined financial burden of cancer-related costs, additional living arrangements and loss of income for women diagnosed with more advanced cancer is £1,102 a month. However, early detection reduced the financial impact on individuals and their families to just £360 a month [6].

These figures highlight the importance of early diagnosis, not only to increase the chance of recovering, but also to reduce the cost of cervical cancer to the NHS and some of the impacts on the individual woman and family.

The WI’s campaign made a huge impact in expanding access to screening and raising awareness of the issue, but it is clear there is still more to be done. The NFWI is calling on members to educate themselves and others about cervical cancer screenings and speak with friends, family and colleagues about the disease and whether they have had a screening recently. 

Why Women Will Save the Planet

Could women’s empowerment transform the chances of achieving environmental sustainability?
NFWI Vice Chair Marylyn Haines Evans, has added her voice to the ranks of environmental campaigners in a new book that seeks to show that the answer to this question is, emphatically, yes.

Part of Friends of the Earth’s Big Ideas Change the World project, the book – Why Women Will Save the Planet – is a collection of articles from women across the globe.  The book demonstrates that women’s empowerment is essential to securing a healthy and safe environment in which people and nature can thrive.

Marylyn’s article in the book explores ‘One hundred years of collective action for environmental change’ and draws on the WI’s history of collective action, of women coming together in order to exert the power and influence that they did not have as individuals. It highlights our environmental campaigns, from the 1927 resolution on polluted seas, to Keep Britain Tidy, through to SOS for Honeybees. 

The vision of the WI has always been a movement that could unlock the potential of all women and so create a strong, informed and active civil society. WI campaigns take a two-fold approach, while pressing for change from decision-makers, they also examine the role of individuals as change agents, leading the way in their own communities.

There is a great quote in a 1921 edition of the WI membership magazine Home and Country: 'if one person alone cannot make her wants heard it becomes much easier when there are numbers wanting the same kind of things.  That is why large numbers of women organised in bodies such as the National Federation of Women's Institutes can become a real power’.

At a time when the vote for women had not yet been won, the WI believed that if women learned how to conduct meetings, run committees and speak in public, they would be able to come together with other women and exert influence in public life.

With our roots in rural life, the WI has long been at the forefront of caring for the countryside and wildlife – and talking about land use, conservation and food production. As early as the 1920s and 1930s, our foremothers were working on environmental issues as diverse as marine pollution, crop diversity and food security, the preservation of ‘wide areas of special beauty,’ and the prevention of the rapid widespread destruction of wild flowers. 

More recently, a 2005 resolution on protecting natural resources inspired a nationwide action day that saw WIs return excess packaging to supermarkets. The WI Carbon Challenge, launched in 2008, saw 10,000 members signed up, pledging to reduce their carbon footprint by 20 per cent. The C02 savings achieved were equivalent to filling the Royal Albert Hall 108 times. 

Marylyn helped launch the book at a special event hosted by Friends of The Earth, where she led a discussion on Grassroots campaigning on gender and the environment. 

Why Women Will Save the Planet is available to buy now, get your copy here: http://zedbooks.co.uk/node/21960 

To find out about the WI’s latest environmental campaigns, visit the NFWI website: 

https://www.thewi.org.uk/campaigns/current-campaigns-and-initiatives/the-climate-coalition-for-the-love-of/show-the-love-make-a-heart-to-wear-and-share-on-valentines-day 

The floods

Guest post from Helen Hinvest, Chairman of Cumbria Cumberland Federation

Cumbria-Cumberland WI members are overwhelmed by the friendship and support offered by WI members throughout the country.  Just to know that fellow members are thinking about us is a great comfort during what has been, and continues to be, a very difficult time.

It has been raining for a week, but the heavy rain started on Saturday morning 5 December 2015.  It rained again all day yesterday 9 December, causing Patterdale/Glenridding to be flooded for a second time.

It was our Centenary Carol Service in Carlisle Cathedral in the afternoon and about 170 members battled through to the city to join us. One of our readers couldn't get through from Cockermouth but we drafted in Vice Chairman Joyce and she did a sterling job!  We had a specially formed WI Anniversary Singers group, who sang four lovely carols as part of the service, lead by Jean, WI choir leader.  They had been practising every week for 12 weeks and on Saturday five of them couldn't get to the Cathedral, but the rest of the Singers sounded wonderful!  One of the readers couldn't get home to West Cumbria and had to stay in Carlisle.  I acted as a Reception Centre for three of my own family members who couldn't get home to West Cumbria either!  Our honoured guest, Lord Lieutenant Mrs Claire Hensman, had a terrible journey from her home in the Kendal area to be with us, and an even worse journey home.

I've been in touch with affected WIs in the Federation since the floods on Saturday and they fortunately they are all safe and well.  Any members who have been affected/evacuated are being looked after by family and/or WI members;  in true WI spirit our members are helping their communities to recover.  Several WIs have both lost their WI meeting venues, including has my own WI here at Warwick Bridge, which is beside the River Eden - now a raging torrent.

I've been visiting two of my own WI members who've been flooded, they are so grateful for the WI friendship (they are both relatively new members).

We cancelled our scheduled Board of Trustees meeting;  it is simply unwise for our members to travel in to Carlisle and add to the chaotic traffic problems in the city.  I did get into the WI office yesterday, as did our Secretary who battled in despite huge traffic jams, and when I drove home along Warwick Road I could have cried; every house in darkness due to no electricity, and the pavements were covered with sodden carpets, mattresses, furniture, waiting to be collected by the Council.  Usually there is a beautifully decorated Christmas tree in the window of every house down Warwick Road at this time of the year.

I've had messages from WIs all over the country, too numerous to list here, and it is truly heartening, and the WI network of sympathy and support is incredible and awesome.  I’ve passed on these messages of support to all WI members I’ve spoken to this week, and will continue to do so.  They are all really grateful for fellow WI members’ kind thoughts and messages of support, including offers of practical help, holiday accommodation, and money.  It has brought home to us all what being part of the WI is all about, and it is very much appreciated.

So, thank you to every WI member for kind thoughts and sympathy.  We will assess what help, either practical or financial, our members will need over the next few weeks and months.  When the media interest has died down, we know that members and WIs will still need our support, and will be in a better position to identify their requirements, which is where we can step in and offer help. So if we don’t take you up on your offers of assistance immediately, I hope that you will understand, and hold on until we know what our members need.

Best wishes to all WI members for a happy Christmas and a successful 2016.

I can only end by saying a huge THANK YOU, which seems inadequate but is heartfelt.

WI members knit for Dementia patients

Elderly patients with dementia or sight impairments in East Surrey Hospital’s Newdigate ward can now enjoy beautiful sensory blankets, thanks to the Aylesford & Eccles WI.

Sensory blankets – or comfort blankets – provide a wonderful source of visual, tactile and sensory stimulation for those with dementia or sight impairments. They are small pieces of fabric with additional items stitched on, with different shapes and textures.

Pam Trangmar, a physician’s associate working on the Newdigate Ward, explained: “People with dementia often have restless hands and like to have something to keep themselves occupied. When I first started work on the ward, I noticed that a high number of our guests, who are mainly elderly, found their change of environment very distressing. A nursing colleague recommended comfort blankets and I asked my mother, who used to be Aylesford & Eccles WI president, whether some of her WI wanted to help make some. They made some gorgeous ones, and our guests are enjoying them greatly.”

Mary Barton, a patient with some sight impairment on Woodland ward, said: “I really like my comfort blanket, the different patterns and pictures – it’s lovely to touch and makes me feel very calm.”

Michael Wilson, Chief Executive of Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, said “I’ve seen first-hand how our patients with dementia and sight impairments have felt comforted by these blankets. We are very grateful for the skill and time that the ladies of the Aylesford & Eccles Women’s Institute have provided to make these.”

Other WIs around the country have been doing similar activities, such as Jevington and Filching WI (below) in East Sussex. They made 40 of these “Twiddlemuffs” for residents living in dementia care homes in their area.

Ansdell and Fairhaven WI (Lancashire) also got involved and made 100 as part of their Centenary Projects. They have more information about the project on their website here: http://ansdellwi.weebly.com/

If you and your WI would like to get involved, please get in touch with your local hospital and suggest the idea to them.

World AIDS Day

World AIDS Day is held on the 1^st December each year and provides a vital opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support to people who live with HIV and remember those who have died. Inaugurated in 1988, World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day.

The NFWI was one of the first organisations in the UK to talk publicly about HIV and AIDS following its 1986 resolution ‘to inform the general public of the true facts concerning the disease AIDS’ and used its unrivalled network of local organisations to educate the public and get people talking about the issue. One of its first tasks was to debunk the myth that AIDS wasn't a women’s issue. Just because women were officially categorised as a low risk group, the NFWI argued, that didn’t mean that the challenges AIDS presented to women weren’t real, pressing, or unique.  

To tackle this misinformation and produce information relevant to women, the NFWI teamed up with the Terrence Higgins Trust to help publish and produce the educational pamphlet ‘Women and AIDS,’ aimed at sparking a dialogue amongst women about the disease and how to protect themselves and their families. Marylyn Haines Evans, the chair of the WI’s public affairs committee was in fact part of that campaign. Haines Evans distributed Terrence Higgins Trust’s ‘Women and AIDS’ pamphlets “around village halls educating much older women about condoms and sexual health.” In contrast to what some may think older women are interested in, Haines Evans recollected that “they wanted to learn.” 

In the years immediately following the resolution, WI members participated in the government’s awareness raising campaign and challenged media characterisations of AIDS as a ‘plague’ because ‘this has led to unnecessary prejudice and extreme isolation for many sufferers.’ The NFWI also submitted evidence to the Social Services Committee inquiry on AIDS. In 1987 the BBC challenged the WI to ‘Face up to AIDS’ by organising public meetings to discuss the disease. The BBC subsequently reported that the WI response was amongst the best received, with Federations taking part up and down the country. This resolution is proof that, as the Terrence Higgins Trust said in 1986, ‘the WI does not flinch from the more difficult issues that face society.’

Despite significant advancements in HIV treatment and care, World AIDS Day remains as important as ever. There are over 100,000 people living with HIV in the UK. In many regions of the world women are at a higher risk of HIV infection than men; there are an estimated 380,000 new HIV infections among young women aged 15 – 24 every year with 80% of all young women living with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa.

Women are a vulnerable group in the fight against HIV; they are particularly at risk due to societal norms such as gender-based violence, lack of access to healthcare services and lack of access to education. A number of studies have shown that intimate partner violence (IPV) increases the risk of HIV infection, as well as unwanted pregnancy. For example, a study from South Africa found that young women who experienced IPV were 50% more likely to acquire HIV than those who did not experience violence. Societal norms regarding gender-based violence also increase a woman’s risk of HIV. A study from Tanzania found that women are expected to stay loyal to their partner even if they are being abused; however men are encouraged to engage in unprotected extramarital sex, thus passing on the infection.

Women can face significant barriers in accessing health care services and education, for example child marriage can mean girls are taken out of school early, resulting in a lack of education about HIV. In addition, youth friendly HIV services are often inadequate due to age restrictions and lack of training on the laws around the age of consent and abortion legislation. For some women, working in the sex industry is their only choice to earn money, which means they are particularly affected by the age restrictions on health care services if they are under eighteen.

Charities such as Wise Up are trying to improve services for sex workers and their clients in Ethiopia by expanding HIV prevention services to venues associated with transactional sex to address underlying factors such as limited access to condoms and education. In addition, the charity Sophia Forum supports the health and welfare rights of women with HIV living in the UK by promoting prevention and treatment for women and increasing understanding of women’s sexual health.

The WI’s pioneering work helped fuel debates specifically about women and HIV and challenge the stereotypes people so often had about AIDS.

The NFWI asks that WI members take a moment today to commemorate World AIDS Day by speaking with their friends, family, and colleagues about the virus and asking yourself what you could do to help educate others and support those living with HIV and AIDS. 

WI Tea - Cheshire Federation's digital transformation

By Rachel Hughes, CFWI's Webeditor

Many of our WI members in the 40 plus age bracket find themselves in the group of women who left school before digital literacy became the 3rd basic skill taught in schools.

These members now find themselves making up part of the 10.5 million people in this country who have never been online.  Unless they worked for a company who encouraged the development of digital skills, then they can find themselves excluded from large parts of our modern society which is based on digital literacy.

Since the NFWI ran its initial Digital Champions scheme a few years ago computer skills have been superseded by the introduction of tablets. Many members find tablets easier to use and we have seen a rapid growth of interest from members wanting to use the internet and looking for support in doing so. Children and grandchildren have bought tablets for ‘Mum’ or ‘Gran’ but not sat down to help them come to terms with the new technology.

Our members have coped with so much rapid change over the years. They have all coped with new modes of transport and methods of communication and new gadgets in the home.  Tablets and the use of laptops can also be taken on-board quite readily with just a little help and support, and welcome guidance to the meaning of new words which have entered their vocabulary.

Cheshire Federation has spent the last 12 months improving its internet access and support for members.  The new website www.cheshirewi,org.uk has attracted half a million visits since it went live at the start of the centenary year.  Within the website are links to every WI in the Federation, where they can include links to their own websites and Facebook and Twitter pages.  Every WI in the Federation can also have their own information page within the county website to promote themselves and use as an independent web page if they want to.  WIs recognise the importance of a web presence to bring new members into their WIs and now over 60% of the WIs in Cheshire have taken advantage of these promotional tools.

On WI day on 16^th September 2015 we launched the Cheshire Federation Facebook page and have attracted friends from all over the world who follow our posts.  We received over 2,000 hits for the first meeting of the newly formed WITea training session held in WI House on 28^th October. Through Facebook we can keep in touch with WIs and Federations and share events and information amongst our members.

One of the WIs in our Federation submitted a Resolution this year to alert members to the problems of digital exclusion.  The resolution was not shortlisted, but we believe in what we are doing and are helping to offer support to our own members.

With the help of Cheshire East and Cheshire Libraries we have now launched our WITea scheme to train WI members who enjoy the benefits of being online, giving them the information they need to help their fellow members to use the internet for friendship, shopping and banking online safely.

We are rolling out support through WIs across the county making use of the resources which are free of charge to members of the libraries.  We also have computers and a WIFi hub in WI House in Chester which is used for running IT sessions for members.

Our second training session is being held at Macclesfield Library this week and in the New Year we are going to offer more drop-in sessions at libraries across the county and in WI House.

Now they are trained, members of the scheme are already running one to one sessions with fellow members and have set up WI training groups within their own WIs.  With the help of the MOODLE we have put together training materials and information to share with members and are busy setting up guidelines for internet protocol.

The last stage of the Cheshire Federation reaching the digital age is the launch of an online newsletter for members to subscribe to in 2016.

As to our WITea and cupcake logo.  Our scheme does what it says on the tin.  We offer IT support to WI members over a cup of tea and a cake.  The WI Inspiring Women.