The Why women? campaign called upon the government to put gender back on the agenda by acknowledging the systematic disadvantage women face because of their sex and publicly recognising and adequately funding the essential services the women’s sector provides to address this. 

The Campaign

Why women? Campaign was a project funded by City Parochial Foundation, Big Lottery Fund, Lloyds TSB Foundation and the Association of London Government.

The aims of the campaign were to call upon the government to put gender back on the agenda by:

• Acknowledging the systematic disadvantage women face because of their sex
• Publicly recognizing and adequately funding the essential services the women’s sector provides to address this.

1) Change lives

Women’s organisations provide comprehensive services for some of the most vulnerable women whose needs are not being met by government agencies or other charities. Without women‘s organisations, these women would not have the support and opportunities to change their lives

2) Stop violence against women

Violence against women is happening in epidemic proportions in the UK. A woman is raped every half an hour and a woman is killed by her partner or ex-partner every three days. Women’s organisations challenge the root causes of violence, and support the huge number of women survivors.

3) Promote equality and human rights

Women’s organisatoins have fought hard for the rights women (and men) take for granted today. But there is still a 16.4% full time gender pay gap between men and women. 1in 4 women experience domestic violence over their lifetimes; and oly 22% of MPs in the UK are women. Few of the advances in women’s equality would have happened without the tireless campaigning undertaken by women’s organisations.

4) Provide solutions that work

Women’s organisations are specialists in their fields and empower women through peer support and reaching the ‘hard to reach’ communities of women that would otherwise fall through the gaps in provision. Without women’s organisations, there would be a loss of expertise in how to meet women’s needs.

5) Provide women only spaces

Women’s organisations provide safe, women only spaces, where women feel they can talk openly, be comfortable and be understood. Many women, when given the choice, will choose women-only services to get support. Without women’s organisations, there would be nowhere for women to go to access services run for women, by women.

6) Provide value for money

Women ‘s organisations provide high quality holistic and cost effective services. Women’s organisations save the public money by ensuring problems do not escalate or happen in the first place. Without women’s organisations, the economic and social costs to society and individuals would be much higher.

We produced a report on Why Women? in 2006. We decided to follow up on this project 12 years later and created an updated report showing the currnet climate for women and women's organisations.

Why Women 2006                    Why Women 2018