From April 2017 to September 2018 the Women’s Resource Centre received funding from the City Bridge Trust to support the women and girls sector to engage with other London key stakeholders in The Way Ahead, the programme of change for London’s voluntary and community sector.

WRC’s remit was to assist The Way Ahead's System Change Group to make sure the views of women and girls were heard and understood in civil society to ensure their needs are met and that they have a direct input into how civil society support is managed and provided. 

Women’s Resource Centre is committed through its policy engagement role to ensure the ‘Women’s Way Ahead’ played an integral role in the development of pan-London support of civil society, by keeping the women's sector's perspectives, needs and contributions on the agenda. 

Key achievements

As part of The Way Ahead project, WRC produced and delivered a number of reports/briefings, events and roundtables, and consultations.

Reports and briefings

• Hearing Women’s Voices: Why Women 2018
• Vital Vehicles in the Journey to Achieve Women’s Equality
• Brexit: The Impact on Women’s Organisations – summary report on roundtable
• The Way Ahead: Civil Society at the Heart of London. What does this mean for Women’s Way Ahead?
• What’s feminism got to do with it? A summary report of event in two parts on feminism’s role in civil society and tackling VAWG

Events

• Brexit: The Impact on Women’s Organisations
• What’s feminism got to do with civil society?
• Why Women Launch

Consultations

• Response to the Civil Society Strategy – A Women’s Eye View (submitted to the Greater London Authority – Communities and Intelligence Unit and the Social Innovation Partnership)
• The Mayor’s Vision for a Diverse and Inclusive City – A Women’s Eye View (submitted to the Greater London Authority – Community and Social Policies Unit, September 2017)
• Working with Women’s VCS for Better Health for Londoners (response to the GLA’s Health Inequalities Strategy, November 2017)
• Draft New London Plan (submission to the Greater London Authority, March 2018)

In addition to the above, WRC:

• was a contributing member of the Equalities Impact Assessment Group and the Equalities sub-group.
• attended and contributed to multiple Our Way Ahead meetings.
• contributed to the establishment of the equalities framework which was adopted by the Hub for London Advisory group and the Systems Change Group
• contributed to ensuring equalities are an integral part of the wider TWA change plan
• visited 12 networks and organisations to engage with TWA