By Kiran Dhami, WRC Policy Officer

VS Magazine - December07/January08

The current political climate of gender neutrality means that funders are increasingly asking women's organisations to justify their women-only status.

The introduction of the Gender Equality Duty in April this year called on public bodies to actively promote gender equality and tackle discrimination. Many women’s organisations are worried that this could be misinterpreted as meaning treating everyone the same. This is contrary to the Duty’s aims, which advocate accommodating the different needs of women and men. As such, the continued existence of women-only organisations is crucial in delivering specialist services to women’s often complex needs.

The myth that we now have gender equality is having a devastating impact on women’s voluntary organisations. Many are being refused funding in favour of generic organisations, and in certain cases being expected to provide services to men. This was the main impetus for the Women's Resource Centre (WRC) to carry out research examining why women-only services are still relevant and necessary.

Service-users told us that women-only services provide a space to articulate their needs, as well as delivering better outcomes than mixed spaces. Women can discuss personal and sometimes traumatic experiences in a supportive environment that would be impossible in the company of men.

Crucially, the evidence shows that some women would not access support unless it was women-only. Therefore, many women in need of vital support services would not receive them. Without women-only services, there would be significant costs to the state as a result of increased demand and use of public services.

Funders and commissioners who retain a gender-neutral outlook are not adhering to the guidelines of the Gender Equality Duty. Unfortunately, gender-neutrality very often leads to a marginalisation of women’s needs and experiences.

We recommend that local infrastructure organisations should take up the pressing concerns of the women’s voluntary and community sector by:

• Reading the Gender Equality Duty guidance and being aware that gender neutral approaches are being implemented by public bodies, particularly at local level.
• Being ready to support women’s organisations that are being challenged to justify their women-only status and contact WRC if you hear of any cases in your borough.
• Challenging gender-neutral approaches in local networks and forums, including Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs).
• Asking if there is adequate representation of women’s organisations on your LSP.
• Monitoring funding streams to make sure different equalities groups, including women’s organisations, are being included.