This one-day conference, held by the Women's Resource Centre in collaboration with WAITS, Roshni, and the Muslim Women’s Network UK was the third annual Women’s Sector Leadership Conference. It took place on the 25^th of June 2025 in Birmingham and was attended by 126 delegates.

The theme of this year was movement building and the speeches and workshops focused on collaboration, finding common ground, and working across difference to create radical and effective social change for women and girls. The theme is a reaction to how over the last few decades, the sector has fallen into financial dependency on a state intent on austerity measures and funding cuts. How do we continue to fight for an equal and just society when our survival is on the line? The women's sector needs to reconnect with a wider women's movement to face the mounting threats from harmful right-wing and reactionary forces. Recent years have been marked by division and competition but this existential challenge also presents an opportunity to be bolder, braver, and more united in the fight for an equal and just society.

The 2025 Women’s Sector Leadership Conference celebrated the roots of the women’s movement while organised for the future, fostered partnerships, collaboration, and radical ideas. Through inspirational speeches, solution-focused workshops, and networking opportunities, we built a collective vision for change. The event also featured the Audre Lorde Prize for leadership and concluded with an evening drinks reception. It was a day to be inspired, motivated, and connected to a broader historical movement. 

---

“The overall conference was very well organised, with powerful speakers, panels and workshops. The conference provided a wonderful, friendly and warm atmosphere where people could mingle, network or simply soak the atmosphere. The food was amazing.”

---

Conference opening

The WRC Conference opened with a powerful address from Vivienne Hayes OBE, CEO of Women’s Resource Centre (WRC), who introduced this year’s theme: Reclaiming Our Power: Organising for Change. She urged attendees to embrace the pursuit of liberation as a collective responsibility, reminding everyone, “Nobody else is going to do it—we have to do it”. She called on the women present to continue their journey as “warrior women”, invoking a sense of unity, courage, and commitment. The audience responded with enthusiasm, creating a mood of solidarity and determination.

Keynote speech by Baljit Banga

Vivienne introduced keynote speaker Baljit Banga, CEO of Hibiscus Initiatives, praising her long-standing leadership and incisive analysis at the intersections of race, gender, and class. Though unable to attend in person, Baljit delivered her keynote via video, offering a radical critique of the sector’s trajectory and a call to reclaim its transformative roots.

She addressed three theme: transformative change, the sector’s compromises, and its origins. She began with a powerful call to action, warning against aligning feminist work with far-right and neoliberal ideologies, particularly the framing of social justice goals within militarised state priorities. She argued that this trend falsely equates peace with structures that reproduce violence, especially for migrant women and communities affected by conflict.

Baljit called for a return to decolonial, intersectional principles. She urged the sector to elevate Black, minoritised, and migrant women’s leadership, and to reject state narratives that erode women’s rights. Reclaiming radicalism, she argued, requires recognising how intersecting systems of oppression impact women differently.

Reflecting on the sector’s history, she spotlighted “by and for” services like the Usher Project and Newham Asian Women’s Project, which offered not only safety but community, resistance, and independence outside the state’s neoliberal framework. In contrast, she critiqued the New Labour-era reforms that introduced market logic into the sector – prioritising competition, metrics, and compliance over care, equality, and justice.

As organisations aligned more closely with government policy, Baljit observed a loss of radical edge and the side-lining of grassroots leadership, particularly by and for women of colour. She closed by urging the sector to resist co-optation, reclaim its political autonomy, and recommit to building feminist spaces rooted in justice, solidarity, and lived experience.

Panel: The Political and Social Impact of the Women’s Sector

The morning panel featured Marcia Lewinson (WAITS), Dr. Surwat Sohail (Roshni Birmingham), and Faeeza Vaid (Muslim Women’s Network UK), who reflected on the impact of the women’s sector and the challenges it still faces. They celebrated key wins, 

including greater representation in education, public services, and politics, while acknowledging the long-standing advocacy of WRC and figures like Doreen Lawrence.

A central theme was the leadership of Black and minoritised women, and the need to work across race and class lines. While landmark achievements—such as the founding of Women’s Aid—were recognised, the panel was clear that the movement has not always been inclusive. This struck a chord with the audience, who welcomed the call for greater intersectionality. The discussion also addressed the role of faith in feminism. Muslim panellists challenged the idea that faith and activism are incompatible, emphasising how their beliefs strengthen their work and calling for greater inclusion of spiritual perspectives.

The panellists acknowledged the difficulty of sustaining radical work in the current political climate, citing the genocide in Gaza as an example where expressing solidarity can risk funding. They urged the sector to remain bold, particularly in the face of a global backlash against gender justice.

In a wide-ranging Q&A, audience members raised urgent questions around asylum, systemic racism in funding, and the Labour Party’s policy commitments. The panel stressed the importance of “by and for” services, leadership shifts, and funders embracing justice-led approaches. They closed with a powerful call for hope, collaboration, and collective accountability—urging the sector to challenge tokenism, centre lived experience, and invest in deep, long-term systemic change.

“I thought the conference was absolutely brilliant. I attend a number of women's sector conferences, and this one was head and shoulders above the others; in terms of diversity of attendee to diversity of workshops, workshop leaders and panel members.”

Practice in Women’s Organisations

Dr. Sue Robson led a session on reviving feminist emancipatory practice in women’s organisations. Drawing on the work of Tina’s Haven and others, the workshop explored trauma-informed approaches rooted in feminist values. Participants discussed the failures of neoliberal service models, and instead embraced relational, creative, and spiritual tools—such as art and nature—as means of healing. There was a strong focus on rejecting performative professionalism and reimagining what feminist practice can be when it centres love, truth, and reflective care. The group reflected on redefining success not as linear outcomes but as the capacity to return to safe, caring spaces. Participants left inspired to build more emotionally honest, justice-driven organisations. 

Building Alliances on Key Issues

Sarbjit Ganger and Lucie Stephens facilitated a workshop on building alliances. The group examined the deeper purpose of partnerships, focusing on shared values, survivor-centred practices, and mutual trust. Participants reflected on common challenges, including exclusion of smaller organisations, inequitable funding structures, and time constraints. They discussed solutions such as co-producing strategy, including funders in training, and centring people over organisational identities. The session concluded with a shared call to action: to re-centre feminist values and commit to long-term, intentional collaboration. 

Overcoming Divisions in the Movement/ Working Across Differences

Delivered by Yasmin Rehman and Rahni K Binjie, the workshop opened with a reminder that feminism has evolved through collaboration across differences, and that feminist movements have always existed globally; in the Global South, through suffragist and independence struggles. Facilitators invited delegates to reflect on allyship, compassionate leadership, and how to move forward amid division. While challenges such as funding and internal tensions were acknowledged, the focus remained on building trust, embracing intersectionality, and uniting around shared goals. Delegates committed to respectful dialogue, creative collaboration, and sustaining the women’s movement—even when full agreement isn’t possible. Sisterhood, not sameness, was the guiding principle.

Dealing with the Right-wing Weaponisation of Women's Issues

In the workshop led by Ellie Cartwright and Kiran Dhami, participants explored how the far-right weaponises women’s issues, particularly violence against women, to advance racist agendas. The group examined real-world case studies and public statements, identifying how far-right actors exploit tragedy to push xenophobic narratives. The session offered practical guidance on how to respond effectively and ethically, and reaffirmed the importance of solidarity, collective messaging, and historical context in resisting such tactics. Participants called for stronger cross-cultural alliances, and for the feminist movement to resist fear-based, racially charged narratives.

Reclaiming our Power Through Creativity

Padma Rao, CEO of Sangini, hosted a creative workshop on reclaiming power through artistic expression. The session emphasised the healing power of creativity, particularly for women recovering from trauma and instability. Participants reflected on themes of solidarity and connection, critiqued the scarcity and competitiveness within the sector, and spoke about the dangers of subdividing women into categories that reinforce separation. They created and shared zines that reflected their personal journeys, affirmations, and visions for collective transformation.

ICENA social enterprise journey

Lee Eggleston and Naomi Butters facilitated a workshop on the ICENA social enterprise model, which uses training and consultancy to fund vital sexual violence services. Participants from both grassroots and established organisations discussed how to build sustainable, women-led enterprises that generate income while staying true to feminist values. The session also included insights on social investment, with support from CAF Bank.

Authentic storytelling in campaigns against VAWG

Claudia Gonzalez (WAITS) led the morning session, followed by Shaila Pervez from Roshni Birmingham in the afternoon. They explored how survivor-led storytelling can build power, challenge systems, and foster collective healing. Participants reflected on the difference between tokenistic and authentic narratives—those shared on the survivor’s own terms, including not just trauma but also joy, anger, and resistance. Through creative, reflective exercises, women considered how their lived experience can be a force for advocacy and change. Facilitators stressed the need for ongoing consent, emotional safety, and the rejection of stereotypes. When linked to community organising tools like listening campaigns and co-production, storytelling becomes a method for action, not just awareness. The sessions closed with a clear message: survivors need not just support, but visibility, agency, and respect to tell their stories in their own voice. 

Afternoon Session

The afternoon concluded with a reflective and uplifting speech from writer T. Balogun, who shared lessons from her books and spoke on the importance of everyday wisdom in navigating challenges. Her words brought a light yet meaningful close to the day’s learning.

Jess Phillips, MP for Birmingham, followed with a compelling call for feminist organisations to engage more strategically with policymaking. She highlighted alarming statistics on violence and stressed the need for trauma-informed, feminist-led campaigns. She also underscored the importance of global feminist solidarity.

The final panel launched the Alternative Women’s Economy network. Chaired by Claire Dove, the Crown Representative for the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sector, and with AWE members Lillian Musiitwa, Rizwanna Baleem, Ruth Mbera, Jeni Osbourne and Vicky Marsh the panel shared personal stories of domestic abuse and financial hardship, illustrating the urgent need for economic and legal reform. They proposed a bold vision for empowering women across economic, social, and political spheres.

Closing Reflections

The WRC Conference was a powerful day of shared wisdom, critique, and action. From challenging state complicity in violence to reimagining feminist professionalism, every session reflected a deep commitment to justice, solidarity, and systemic change. Throughout the day, a clear message resonated: we know what must change – and we are ready to make that change happen.

---

“Wonderful, informative, and great time of networking. I loved the flow of the session and both the workshops I attended were delivered extremely well. I left feeling full of Information, contacts and energy. My first time attending, very well put together, food was delicious and those small thoughtful touches. The stalls were great too, with chances to learn more about various organisations. I came on my own but never felt alone. Everyone was welcoming, embraced each other, a Sisterhood.

Thank you.”

To watch all the videos from the conference, CLICK HERE

The Women’s Resource Centre Feminist Conference was inspiring, thought-provoking, and deeply empowering. It created a safe and inclusive space for honest conversations around gender justice, intersectionality, and advocacy. The sessions were insightful, featuring powerful voices and diverse perspectives that reflected the lived experiences of women across different backgrounds. I especially appreciated the emphasis on collective action and self-care as tools for sustainable change. The conference not only reinforced the importance of feminist leadership but also ignited a renewed sense of purpose in me. Overall, it was a transformative experience that fostered connection, courage, and a call to keep pushing forward.