Green Party Women

Green Party Women Newsletter – April 11 2024

amandastones — Sun, 21 Apr 2024 14:30:39 +0000

Our commitment to Raising Women’s Voices gets off to a powerful start with a webinar about how to drive change through policy development.

Make Change Happen!

Our first webinar of the year aims to give you the confidence and the knowledge needed to get involved in policy making in The Green Party.

On Monday 22nd April, Anne Gayfer, Policy Development Co-ordinator, will talk about the work of the PDC (Policy Development Committee) and the policy working groups.

Join us at 7pm to find out how you can get involved.

Green Party Women’s very own Liz Mansfield will then talk to us about the Truth About Zane campaign.

What is the story behind the campaign? How was the campaign’s profile raised within the Green Party? What was the ground breaking achievement of Green councillors in Lewes and how was it brought about?

There will be time for questions from our members after our speakers have given their presentations. We will take questions from the floor but would really appreciate having as many questions as possible in advance.

Get in touch at info@greenpartywomen.org.uk and let us know whether your question is for Anne or for Liz.

Committee News

The committee met on Monday, with members reporting back on what they had achieved since the March meeting, agreeing the Social Media policy and strategy for the year, planning our first webinar and discussing issues around EEDI (Equity, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion).

The productive meeting was ably chaired by Liz who stepped up to the role at very short notice, allowing us to finish with an Open Mic session where any observers were able to raise matters of interest or of concern.If you were unable to attend the meeting, you can read the full minutes here.

In the interests of transparency and openness, all documents discussed have already been uploaded to the Green Women’s Space to make them accessible to all of our members. You can also read them by clicking on the links below:

Social Media Strategy

Social Media Policy

April Membership Secretary report

April Secretary report

April Social Media report

April Treasurer’s report

April Website report

Building an Inclusive, Equitable and Diverse Green Party

As you are aware, from a previous newsletter, Hamza Egal, EEDI (Equality, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) manager for the Green Party is conducting an EEDI needs assessment survey. This is your opportunity to share your experiences and make suggestions for improvement to current practice.

The survey is confidential and should take about 10 – 15 minutes to complete. It was originally due to close at the end of March but with hundreds of submissions already, it is providing invaluable data which is helping Hamza and his team to pinpoint challenges and craft solutions that will make a real difference in the next few months, especially on EEDI training.

As a result, the deadline has been extended and the survey will now stay open until 29th July. Take part in the survey and please share with your local party.

Club News

Quick reminder: our next book club will be on Tuesday 30th April at 7pm and, as always, will be on Zoom. This month, we are going to be reading Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch by Rivka Galchen. “Funny and Scary” according to our Twitter team.

Green Witchers, our birding (and more!) club is back and will again be hosted by Anne. Our first meeting will be at 7pm on Tuesday 16th April and will focus on the tension between supporting green energy and supporting wildlife and wildlife habitats.

Green Women in Action

We usually celebrate women in GPEW but we couldn’t ignore the amazing achievement of the Swiss environmental campaigners who, in a landmark case, have won the first ever climate case in the European Court of Human Rights.

The campaigners are all women and are mostly in their 70s. They successfully argued that their sex and their age made them particularly vulnerable to the effects of heatwaves linked to climate change.

2 Minute Activism

In the run up to the 2024 General Election, Women’s Aid is calling for the national prioritisation of domestic abuse and other forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG). Find out more about the campaign.

We are proud to confirm that the Green Party’s Caroline Lucas is part of the Women’s Aid network of Parliamentary Champions, already helping to elevate the voices of survivors of domestic abuse.

We would encourage you to sign Women’s Aid’s open letter which calls on all political parties to commit to investing in services to reduce domestic abuse and to support survivors.

best wishes,

Tina, Sue, Kaz, Hazel, Jess, Anne, Linda (Loppy), Sarah, Siobhan, Rachel, Liz and Amanda
Your Green Party Women committee

The post Green Party Women Newsletter – April 11 2024 appeared first on Green Party Women.

Green Women in Action

hazelpegg — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 13:40:53 +0000

Congratulations to Green Party Councillors in Lewes

Green-led Lewes District Council became the first council in England to call for a ‘Zane’s Law’ aimed at making toxic waste dumps safe.

This comes ten years after the death of seven-year-old Zane Gbangbola when water from a contaminated landfill entered his family’s home in Surrey.
You can find out more about the campaign here and sign the petition here.

The motion was proposed by Green councillor Imogen Makepeace.

During the meeting, which was attended by Zane’s father, Kye Gbangbola, she paid tribute to the “extraordinary courage” of his parents “who are still fighting for the full truth of what happened to their beloved son”.

Imogen added that the proposed law “would go a long way towards preventing such a tragedy happening to anyone else”.

The post Green Women in Action appeared first on Green Party Women.

Green Party Women election results

hazelpegg — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 10:10:51 +0000

Your new committee would to thank everyone who voted for us; our hard working EROs, Kate Souper and Sarah Bingham and the staff members who supported them running the election. We are excited to be elected and look forward to the year ahead.

Meet your new committee:

Your new committee are:

Co-Chairs: Jude English and Tina Rothery

Secretary: Sue Williams and Kaz Kruzycka

Membership Secretary: Hazel Pegg and Jess Goldfinch

Treasurer: Anne Baker

Non-Portfolios:

Linda (Loppy) Oubridge and Sarah Bond

Siobhan Scanlan and Rachel Hardy

Liz Mansfield and Amanda Stones

First Committee Meeting

The first meeting of the new committee meeting will be on Monday 11th March. Observers are very welcome. You can register for the meeting here. We will confirm the time of the meeting and share an agenda with our members nearer to the time of the meeting.

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Open letter to GPEX regarding Sexual Harassment in the Green Party

Wed, 16 Mar 2022 21:09:26 +0000

Dear Members of GPEX, GPRC & The Leaders of the Green Party

SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE GREEN PARTY

Emergency Motion G03, Sexual Harassment/Abuse/Assault Within the Party was not debated at Conference. This has highlighted what many of us, particularly in Green Party Women, already know of the pressures that women and those perceived female face daily due to unwanted attention, inappropriate behaviour, harassment and in some cases sexual abuse and assault.

Some would like to think that this kind of behaviour does not happen in our Party, especially from people we regard as colleagues. But over the years, there have been allegations of improper conduct that Party procedures have failed to deal with swiftly or to the satisfaction of the complainants.

We are gravely concerned that the repeated failure to address allegations of sexual harassment leads to a lack of trust and is detrimental to all members.

We are pleased to learn that Chairs of GPEx and GPRC have been in discussion with the Chief Executive and that a process is being put in place to investigate the issue of sexual harassment in the Green Party. We are also pleased that Green Party Women will be involved in this work. However, we seek urgent reassurance that this will not be kicked into the long grass or become an unduly extended process, as many of our members feel has happened in the past.

Every passing day puts more women in harm’s way and we request your confirmation that the process will:

treat allegations of sexual harassment with the utmost seriousness and urgency
address failures in the past to protect our members
create a template pathway for what a woman can do if sexually harassed or assaulted in a Green Party context
immediately implement any recommendations already provided to the party

We look forward to hearing from you.

Signed:

The Committee of Green Party Women

Ani Stafford-Townsend Tina Rothery Co-Chairs

Alex Geddis & Julia Lagoutte Secretary

Nicola Watson Treasurer

Elise Benjamin Membership

Mandy Vere Non-portfolio

Meg Shepherd-Foster & Natalia Kubica – ” –

Lucy Watson – ” –

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Air Pollution: A Landmark Ruling in the Inquest of Ella Roberta Adoo

Sat, 19 Dec 2020 12:55:13 +0000

Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah and the Ella Roberta Family Foundation

Ella Roberta was a funny, busy, clever, curious, sporty and musical child. She was born in Lewisham Hospital and was a healthy, young girl until just before her 7th birthday she began to develop, what was later confirmed at her inquest, rare and life threatening asthma.
The inquest into the cause of her death at 9 years old has concluded with the ruling that dangerously high levels of air pollution in London made a “material contribution” and will be recorded as a medical cause of her death in 2013. The inquest was possible thanks to the extraordinary campaign led by Ella’s mum, Rosamund Kissi-Debrah, now a World Health Organization advocate for health and air quality.

Rosamund set up the Ella Roberta Family Foundation after the death of her beloved daughter. The aim of the foundation is to improve the lives of children affected by asthma in South East London by raising awareness of asthma, campaigning for better treatment and for clean air.
The campaign website is here: http://ellaroberta.org/

Women's Hour Power list 2020
Rossi is featured in the Women's Hour Power list. You can listen to the interviewhere

GPW April 2020 Conference on Air Pollution and Covid
Rossy and researchers from the Cambridge Toxicology department spoke about Air Pollution and Covid

Air Pollution & Raised Covid-19 Infection Risk
Rebeka Popovic and Dr. Lisa Selly
We explored potential links between the major air pollutants that are released during fossil fuel combustion and COVID-19 in England. Looking at the effects on both population and individuals, we showed that the levels of some air pollutants are linked to the risk of being infected as well as chances of dying from COVID-19. We also identified which sources were contributing most to levels of these air pollutants in England. Our results emphasise the importance of strengthening efforts to tighten air pollution regulations. https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.11..

Rebeka Popovic is a PhD student at the MRC Toxicology Unit. . Her research explores why and how air pollutants cause harm to the body, focusing on the biological changes that they create in the lungs as well as their role in promoting airway infections.
Liza’s projects are based on pollutants that currently have little or no government regulation. These include non-exhaust traffic emissions like brake dust, biodiesel exhaust and aviation emissions

The full presentations can be seen here

Some short extracts from Rossi are here:
How Many Die From Air Pollution
I Knew Air Was_Filthy
Why So Many BAME Deaths
Why So Many Bus Drivers Die From Air Pollution.

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GPW Election Candidate Statements

Tue, 01 Dec 2020 17:23:55 +0000

Co-Chairs

Rebecca Johnson

I am standing for election as Co-Chair of Green Party Women in order to increase GPEW's effectiveness in tackling misogyny, racism and the enormity of the climate emergency and related social and economic inequalities exposed by Covid, Brexit, and the rise of extremist populists.
Bringing experience as a lesbian feminist peace activist, GPEW candidate and spokesperson on security, peace+defence, I am committed to supporting women's rights and opposing all the ways that patriarchal, colonialist, military-industrial exploiters operate to divide us and abuse Nature, human rights and our planet's resources.

My priorities include:
Implementing Green New Deal policies that increase the value and resources given to jobs in health, education and the care services – which are mainly carried out by lower paid women and BAME workers. Care jobs are Green jobs, and essential for everyone's security and wellbeing.
Implementing the UN Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) into GPEW policies – safeguarding our rights, safety and participation are essential for building an unstoppable movement for global security and climate justice.
Opposing patriarchal, racist and sexual violence and exploitation; working for responsible Green policies and practices to support and empower people who are abused, minoritised and oppressed.
Rebecca Johnson

Kathryn Bristow

Recently by the Bristol Post, I was named one of the most influential LGBT+ people in Bristol for my activism with the Green Party and my work on a steering group to improve mental health services in the city. Especially in these times of isolation and seeing a rise in DV, it’s more crucial than ever that everyone can access mental health services.
One of my focuses is increasing diversity in the party. I’m the Equality & Diversity officer for both my local and regional party, as well as being on the LGBTIQA+ Greens and Greens of Colour committees. I believe the party needs to have a range of different voices at its core for it to be successful in delivering its goals of environmental, ecological and social justice.
As Green Party Women co-chair, I would look to launch multiple single issue campaigns, addressing issues that disproportionality affect women and girls, including joint intersectional campaigns with other liberation groups in the party.
Would also implement mentoring programs for women and non-binary people, so the support is there to run for council elections in the next few years, as well as internal elections, for our voices to be heard at every level.
Kathryn Bristow

Catherine Rowett

I’m a longstanding member of GPEW, and a member of GPW since (at least) March 2018—perhaps longer. From May 2019 to January 2020 I served as one of our seven elected Green Party MEPs (five of us women), a role which came to an end with Brexit. In January, I joined fellow-MEP Barbara Gibson (Lib Dem) as a founder-member of “Women and Girls in Politics”, an organisation that helps women find their feet in politics: I contribute to the (Higher) Education and Research groups there. I’ve returned to a part-time position as professor of philosophy at the University of East Anglia, to leave time for political activity. Recent projects include a public lecture on UBI at the Royal Institute of Philosophy.
I’d like to help GPW to:
• Collaborate with the NGO “Women and Girls in Politics”, ensuring that prominent women from GPEW feature among its speakers, role-models, and mentors.
• Promote ongoing research and debates about Universal Basic Income and other topical work-related policies that empower women, recognise caring roles and improve work-life balance.
• Establish good connections with the media, to promote Green women’s voices on issues rarely seen as women’s issues—to present kinder, compassionate and more inclusive solutions.
Catherine Rowett

Emma Bateman

I have relished being on the committee over the past year. It has been challenging, but it's been great to work with such a fantastic group of women. I loved seeing the revamping of Green Party Women and the revitalisation through the newsletter, conferences, yoga and book club.
Committee members shared organising our events, and I was able to focus on energy for June’s meeting. I belong to a group campaigning against nuclear power, which involves researching and presenting evidence and arguments, and I have brought these skills to Green Party Women.
For Autumn Conference I wrote a motion on the importance of collecting data on both sex and gender. Alongside this I have participated, occasionally robustly, in the processes of the party, for instance challenging the policy development committee, contributing to the conversation over revising the Rights and Responsibility PfSS chapter, and expanding the reach of our web and Facebook pages.
I am proud of what we have achieved this year, and I would be honoured to carry it on. An overview of our work is available in the AGM report on the GPW website. My three priorities are climate change, energy, and supporting sex based rights.
Emma Bateman

Secretary

Rosi Sexton and Emily Herbert

Rosi is a Green Party councillor in Solihull, where she’s group spokesperson for health and adult social care. She is the current chair of the Association of Green Councillors, and a member of Greens of Colour. She’s also an osteopath and former Mixed Martial Artist.
Emily was recently elected as social media officer for Young Green Womxn and previously worked on Carla Denyer’s election campaign. In just a month, YGW have already started to cultivate a more inclusive space (for our trans and non-binary members, as well as uplifting black voices). She is excited to bring this energy to Green Party Women.
Our three main priorities for women’s rights include:
Addressing barriers faced by women in politics.
Creating systems to support Green Party women towards elected or leadership positions.
Campaigning on issues that disproportionately affect women and girls, both nationally and internationally.
We will work alongside our other Green liberation groups to tackle intersectional issues affecting women from all backgrounds.
Emily Herbert and Rosi Sexton

Chris Holt

I'm a northerner now living in London, a Green Party member since 2014. I ran Lambeth GP's successful election campaigns 2016-18 and I also lead the Safer A23 in Streatham Campaign, which has won a commitment from TfL for a new pedestrian and cycle-friendly road lay-out. I love campaigning! I'm also a mum of two teenage boys and run my own business. Previously as a journalist and a campaigner, I worked with women fighting oppression all over the world - from former child brides challenging dowries in Bangladesh, Sandinista feminists in Nicaragua, women challenging World Bank policies Zambia, to BAME mothers fighting to save their council housing here in Lambeth. For all our differences, we women share common burdens, common risks and vulnerabilities - and we need each others' support to overcome the obstacles of a society that is still largely designed around the life experiences of men. My top three priorities: universal basic income; prosecute all sexual violence; get more Green women elected!
Chris Holt

Membership Secretary

Alex Philips and Georgie Oatley

Alex and Georgie bring an exciting range of experience and skills to the GPW committee. As a city councillor since 2009 and former Mayor of Brighton & Hove, Alex has long been a fierce campaigner for equality and women's rights, including speaking out on the Gender Pay Gap in European Parliament as MEP for the South East. Standing on a joint ticket, Georgie brings professional experience in communications and campaigning, as a trustee of a charity that provides education to people in prison and as Press Officer for the Eastern Region and formerly Digital Comms Officer for the Young Greens.
With unprecedented elections due to take place in 2021 we need to empower our membership to participate, to support candidates throughout their campaigns - and continue to uplift and support them once they have won their seats.
Standing for the role of Membership Officer as a job-share, Alex and Georgie will be a strong voice for our movement and our members.
Our top three priorities for Green Party Women are:
- Tackle barriers faced by women in politics
- Support and mentor women into roles of leadership
- Campaign on issues faced by women nationally and internationally, working inclusively with other liberation groups
Alex Philips and Georgie Oatley

Claudine Letsae

I am the current International Coordinator for the GPEW and have been active in politics for the last 9 years. I have been elected into GPEx as Equality and Diversity Coordinator in 2018. I come from South Africa and was part of the struggle for freedom from Apartheid. I never thought I would be involved in politics following moving to this country, as I was looking to have a break from politics. My re-initiation into UK and Global politics was via the Occupy Movement. My background is in Law and Health. I am keen to continue my role in the GPW linking the UK women and girls rights and the protection of the rights as defined in the Human Rights Convention and uphold the universality of the rights for all. We have made strides as a committee, in spite of the derailment that we have encountered and it would be good to be re-elected to continue our work supporting women’s empowerment, selfcare and political urgency.
Top 3 Priorities:
1. Empowering women to be active in Politics and have the urgency, to inform on their rights from all spectrum of our society.
2. Challenging the poor enforcement of protection for women and girls rights in the UK and globally. Campaigning to ensure the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is enacted globally and enforced.
3. Campaigning to ensure there is universal Debt forgiveness (Debt Jubilee / People's Quantitative Easing) as women are disproportionately impacted by the current depression in the economy resulting from Covid and Climate impact.
Claudine Letsae

Treasurer

Nicola Watson

Longstanding member of the Green Party and usually active at local or national level.
I have enjoyed serving on the GPW committee this year and supporting all the initiatives we have introduced. As Treasurer, I opened a bank account for GPW and prepared accounts for the AGM. If re-elected, I would like to concentrate on fundraising and using the funds raised to support women who are excluded from participation in political activity because of lack of money.
As a former member of GPEx and having served three terms on GPRC - most of that as Co-Chair - I am well aware of Party structures and the important role that these bodies play in supporting and enabling our activists.
I believe that it is important for women in the Party to have opportunities to network and train together. This enables us to improve our knowledge and skills in a supportive environment which gives us encouragement to pursue our political goals.
Nicola Watson

Rosie Rawle

Green Party Women has a vital role to play within and beyond our party. In the coming year, we could be delivering vital support to women standing in elections, new initiatives to tackle the barriers that women experience in politics, and campaigns that champion equality for all women. I am standing for the role of treasurer to ensure that GPW has the resources and funds to deliver this vision.
With a professional background in digital campaigns and fundraising, I believe I can deliver powerful online fundraising campaigns, crowd-funders and regular giving drives to support the growth of GPW.
Having sat on GPEx for the last two years and multiple charity boards, I also have a wealth of experience overseeing organisational finances and carrying out careful budgeting processes. If elected I would look to ensure clear and regular reporting and streamlined payment processes.
As Co-chair of the Young Greens I have worked for many years to support and train young women standing for election and build a generation of activists committed to fighting for climate and social justice. I would be excited to continue this work as part of GPW.
Rosie Rawle

Non-Portfolio positions

Faty Kane and Julia Lagoutte

Faty: I’m a campaign leader with ten years of experience advocating for women’s rights. Originally from Senegal, I spent years campaigning for girls’ rights in West Africa focusing on child marriage and education, and now campaign for better access to mental health care worldwide. Based in Greenwich and Bexley, I joined the party two years ago and am Greens of Colour Women’s Officer.
As a mother and feminist, I’m sensitive to barriers women face to participation in public life having to juggle childcare, work and social commitments.
As a strong believer in collaboration, I want to work with Green Party Women to support the design and implementation of a strong, exciting program focused on engaging Women of Colour across the party.
Julia: I’m a comms specialist with campaigning experience. I’ve always been passionate about women’s leadership and participation in politics - as well as issues like domestic violence and sex trafficking.
I have been involved in the Green Party for ten years and have volunteered for various local parties, and worked for the Green European Journal and a Green MEP.
Improving our online presence has been my focus during my year on the committee - from live-tweeting events to consistent, engaging and professional content. I have proactively engaged women inside and outside the party and increased our twitter following by 2000. I’ve helped organise events and supported Faty on the Green Women of Colour programme mentioned above.
Our priorities: increasing political participation; speaking out against domestic violence; gender equality in the workplace.
Faty Kane and Julia Lagoutte

Amelia Womack and Nannette Youssef

Amelia and Nannette bring a wealth of experience from both inside and outside our Party. Deputy Leader since 2014, Amelia has been a consistent champion of women, speaking out in national publications and campaigning for legislation on issues which disproportionately affect women. Nannette has a strong policy and communications background, both academically (with a MSc in Public Policy) and professionally (as a Green Party City councillor in Norwich and as the co- chair of the Young Greens of Colour).
Covid-19 has ripped open the cracks in society that Greens have campaigned on for decades. The virus has further widened inequalities women face - more financial instability, increased caring workload, more risk of domestic violence. The Green Party needs a strong voice standing for all women.

To be this voice, the GPW committee requires passion and understanding, but also experience and skills. Amelia and Nannette bring these skills in campaigning, policy, communications, events, and organising - skills essential for our movement.
Top 3 priorities:
Supporting women to run in elections, so 50% of our candidates in the next general election are women
Building links with other organisations to amplify our message
Tackling barriers women face in politics, particularly LGBTIQA+ women, disabled women and women of colour.
Amelia Womack and Nannette Youssef

Shahin Ashraf and Isobel Browne-Wilkinson

We both welcome the opportunity to take on this role, on behalf of GPW.
Isobel has been recently elected as Co-chair of the Young Green Liberation Group, Young Green Womxn. Through the short time Isobel has been the co-chair, she has made the community more inclusive and intersectional making sure non-binary and Trans people feel welcome. Isobel contributed to Carla Denyers 2019 campaign in Bristol, and heard young peoples voices on how to improve the city. She hopes to bring the Young greens and Green Party Women together and to make the community in the green party a safe diverse and inclusive environment.
Shahin is a Green Party Councillor for Solihull, currently holding two portfolios education and skills, and strong communities, She is the advisor as the BAME representative on the domestic abuse strategy working group Solihull, as well as on the faith advisory council. With 25years experience in the international development sector her expertise lies in development, social inclusion and social protection and has worked on a senior level with women’s rights organisations. Shahin is also working on the civil society engagement group for COP-26.
Our three main priorities:
• An inclusive and diverse space for all women, in particular women of colour.
• Addressing the presence of institutionalised space, and facilitating connections.
• Challenging barriers faced by women, and how this is affecting women’s leadership and democracy in politics.
Both of us would like to bring a feminist narrative to legislative approaches to our policy’s priorities.
Shahin Ashraf and Isobel Browne-Wilkinson

Charlie Hamilton

I believe this is the Party of optimism, integrity and collective compassion. I am sensitive to environmental issues, but honestly, no expert. Nonetheless, I'm actively learning and seeking to implement changes in my own life that could serve as an example to friends and family. Importantly, I didn't sign up to the Party for its environmental agenda - alone. I was captivated by the ten pillars of our political programme. I realise how few people appreciate the extent of our manifesto and the inclusivity of our policies. I am a communications professional with 20 years' experience. I now run a Hastings micro social enterprise specialising in women's empowerment, equality and inspiration whilst working FT in a local school. I am also a member of The Fawcett Society and The Gender Equality Network, a committed champion of women's rights, and feminist. My career spans three countries, the Arts, Education, Sport and the Third Sector, and I believe my cross-cultural, multi-sector experience could help GPW in its campaigning efforts, and articulation and dissemination of policies. I am also prepared to listen to divergent opinions and to work hard to find positive solutions to any challenges we may face as a working group.
Charlie Hamilton

Gillian Mills

I was born in 1952 into a world where women were considered inferior, gender stereotypes were rigorously enforced and there was no means of being in control of one's own fertility. This was not a world which was friendly to a woman who did not conform to gender expectations and the deficit was internalised as a sense of failure by many women. I reject the idea of the female brain which underpinned this oppression.
I have battled for women's progress throughout my life. Within the Green Party my efforts have been spent on upskilling and enabling all members _ especially those who are underrepresented in governance roles. The greatest portion of these are females who still are not progressing to the same extent as males into leading roles within the party or participating proportionately in debate.
I also try to support women around the globe who are disadvantaged by their sex or who are bearing the brunt of economic difficulties and the climate crisis because of their gender roles.. I focus on the right to contraception, education and sustainable economic security.
i think Green Party women can effect change by working with women around the world via Green networks - promoting political opportunities for all of us.
Gillian Mills

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Wed 30-12-20 GPW Book Club 20:00 – 21:30

Mon, 30 Nov 2020 20:00:18 +0000

Book Club

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Mary Wollstonecraft .
Written in 1792, this is considered a classic of feminist history and theory.
Mary Wollstonecraft is sometimes called the "mother of feminism," because her main goal was to see women gain access to segments of society largely off-limits to them. Wollstonecraft argued primarily for the right of women to be educated, because she believed that through education would come emancipation.

All supporters and friends are welcome to join. We aim for a lively chat on political issues using the book's content as a starting point. It is relaxed and informal, so bring your festive tipples and goodies.

There is no obligation to read the book beforehand (hey, it’s a social discussion group!) so please feel free to join us even if you have not done your homework.

The book can be downloaded for free as a pdf (It is not long).

The full text is here.

This one contains help notes and a glossary

There is a free audio version on youtube (though narrated by a man), or versions on audible /Amazon. Image

You can also find the first few chapters on the Green Women podcast here.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

GPW Book Club meets 8pm last Wednesday of each month.

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International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

Thu, 26 Nov 2020 02:35:30 +0000

Today is The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

“Violence against women & girls is one of the most widespread of all human rights violations, and it’s gone up under COVID.” – Caroline Lucas.

Today is also the day that Femicide Census has launched its ground-breaking 10 year report into femicide in the UK – put together by Karen Ingala-Smith from NIA and her organisation Counting Dead Women. Its key findings are:

1 woman killed every 3 days

34% of women had kids under 18

62% of women killed by partner or ex

Of these, 59% had reported previous abuse

Here is an extract from the foreword: “The Femicide Census findings give the most comprehensive analysis of men’s fatal violence in the UK and raise as many questions as they answer. The one thing that is not questionable though is that every single woman and girl in this report mattered. They were loved and they are missed, and a man chose to end their life. The Femicide Census is a call to action for change.”

Dawn Furness, co-chair of Green Party Woman has said: "It is astonishing that the UK Government did not even think it pertinent to collect statistics on the number of Women who were murdered as a result of Male Violence. We need to name the problem before we can solve it. As usual, this was left to Women's Groups to highlight and the remarkable Karen Ingala Smith (from NIA). As the founder of the Femicide Census (Counting dead women project) she gave names to the murdered women in order to bring this to the Government's attention. "

One of our committee members Julia Lagoutte has written about the report in Green World and how we can start to treat femicide as the emergency it is.

You can read the report here.

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GPW Election -We are awaiting the results

Fri, 09 Oct 2020 12:15:16 +0000

To all our members and supporters who are wondering what the outcome of the recent elections to the Green Party Women committee.

The Election Returns Officer has not as yet released the results. We will keep you updated and publish the results on the members space when we have them.

We hope members who intend to join the Green Party Conference find it an inspiring event . There are several motions being put to conference covering gender self-ID and access to fertility treatment that we think will be of interest to women , (even if we were not consulted on them !), so we urge you to look out for those and come and use your vote.

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GPW Report for the AGM 2020

Fri, 02 Oct 2020 16:47:28 +0000

The Green Party Women Committee have prepared the annual report in preparation for the AGM in October . A copy of it can be found here:
Green Party Women Committee Report for the 2020 AGM

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