Supermodel Naomi Campbell’s charity fashion show will be taking place again as part of London Fashion week on September 17th. The Fashion for Relief show will raise money for the White Ribbon Alliance - an international coalition of charities and organisations which help protect mothers and their newborn babies around the globe. Ms Campbell explained she wanted to use the London Fashion Week catwalk to help out the “important work” of the White Ribbon Alliance. “So many women, children, families, communities around the world are affected by maternal mortality. Fashion is universal, personal and touches everyone in some way,” she added. Patron of the White Ribbon Alliance, the prime minister’s wife Sarah Brown, is working with the fashion expert to promote the show and designers such as Alexander McQueen, Jaeger and Vivienne Westwood have signed up to take part. Ms Brown said the White Ribbon Alliance is fighting against maternal mortality, something she described as “shameful and needless”. According to the charity, every minute around the world 380 women become pregnant, 190 of whom have unplanned or unwanted pregnancies and 40 have unsafe abortions.

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12 September 2008
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A new report published highlights what needs to be done to get more underrepresented groups of women to play an active role in civic and civil life. Women from all walks of life remain underrepresented in decision making roles and this is particularly true of women from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds. Only 29.3% of local authority councillors in England are women and of them, only 3% are BAME women. Currently, less than 20% of MPs are female. There are only two minority ethnic women MPs and there has never been an Asian woman MP. Closing the Gap is a report on the findings of The Women Take Part project announced in 2007, by Government Equalities Office and the Department for Communities and Local Government. Women Take Part aimed to identify the key ingredients to supporting women from underrepresented groups to become active in public life and deliver change - what works and why; and the key elements likely to have a long term and sustainable impact.

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4 September 2008
© Cabinet Office (National)

The Government recognises that increasing the representation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) women starting up social enterprises will potentially enable many groups of ethnic minority women, such as Pakistani and Bangladeshi women who are under represented in the workplace and in society, to become more economically independent and participate more fully in communities. There are at least 55,000 social enterprises in the UK which contribute £8.4 billion pounds to the UK economy, but evidence suggests that BAME women are underrepresented as social enterprise owners. A report published today, Social Enterprise: Making it Work for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Women identifies new ways to progress forward in encouraging and supporting BAME women into starting social enterprises.

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22 August 2008

Social enterprise, a form of business with primarily social or environmental objectives, can be a useful tool to alleviate poverty amongst the most marginalised in society and has a role to play in regenerating neighbourhoods and increasing community cohesion. The Government recognises that increasing the representation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) women starting up social enterprises will potentially enable many groups of ethnic minority women, such as Pakistani and Bangladeshi women who are under represented in the workplace and in society, to become more economically independent and participate more fully in communities. There are at least 55,000 social enterprises in the UK which contribute £8.4 billion pounds to the UK economy, but evidence suggests that BAME women are underrepresented as social enterprise owners.

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20 August 2008
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A woman who helped bring broadband to a Grantham area village when no one else would has won an award which recognises those who have used technology to make a positive impact on the world around them. Helen Anderson, who was one of the founders of the South Witham Broadband social enterprise in 2004, triumphed in the Individual Hero category at the Government-backed UK Catalyst Awards. She was recognised by judges for her work to provide a broadband service for South Witham and the surrounding area after national companies refused to. The enterprise now provides a wireless broadband service locally and ADSL broadband services throughout Britian, specialising in “long lines” other providers turn away. Helen said: “I am delighted to have won this award, which is a recognition not of myself but the achievements of South Witham Broadband over the last four years. “We’re proud to offer a price competitive, unique service, which relates to customers as individuals, something the big providers would find impossible to match.
What’s more, through our membership of the Community Broadband Network, we are able to provide mentoring and advice to enterprises similar to ours throughout the UK. This enables more and more people to get connected and take charge of their own broadband future.”

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13 August 2008
© Grantham Journal

Domestic violence charity Refuge has launched a campaign aimed at raising awareness of the situation. It is hoped that those who see the Refuge advertisements will be able to recognise the early signs of domestic abuse and attempt to stop it. According to Refuge, domestic violence is “the biggest social issue affecting women in the country” because two women are being killed a week as a result of relations with their former or current partner. The Early Signs campaign has been in the press since yesterday and will appear on posters from later in the month. Research from Refuge shows 87 percent of women received no information about domestic abuse while at school. And although 95 percent of those questioned said physical violence was domestic abuse, three-quarters of respondents did not know of the more subtle psychological effects. Women’s Aid and Refuge run the National Domestic Violence Helpline together on 0808 2000 247.

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6 August 2008
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New TUC research published today (Monday) reveals that female migrant workers may be more likely than any other group to be paid less than the national minimum wage (NMW). Reports of the abuse of migrant workers have become increasingly common and the research - commissioned by the TUC’s Commission on Vulnerable Employment and carried out by the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS) at the University of Oxford - aimed to investigate the available information to uncover the reality of working life for migrant workers. COMPAS reviewed the pay, working hours, type of work and accommodation of recent migrant workers who have been living and working in the UK for less than 10 years, in the West Midlands and in the East of England/East Midlands (both areas where there has been high levels of recent migration). National information about migrant workers, such as the Government’s Labour Force Survey (LFS), was also included in the report.

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7 August 2008
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The Waterways Trust and British Waterways are appealing for women who worked on the waterways during the Second World War to come forward to receive formal recognition of their efforts more than 60 years after the conflict ended. During the war, women volunteered to work on the canals. Wearing a badge with the initials IW to indicate that they were working on the waterways on essential war work, this group of women became known as the Idle Women. These young girls, mostly from middle class backgrounds with no experience of manual labour worked hard and effectively, transforming themselves into first rate boaters, earning the respect of traditional boating families. Tony Hales, British Waterways’ chairman, said: “The achievements of this group of women during the war, while small in number, have never been formally recognised. We would now like to rectify this and hope that former Idle Women, or their relatives, will come forward to share their stories and experiences.” The majority of the Idle Women worked on the Grand Union Canal. The Waterways Trust and British Waterways are now having a plaque created to provide permanent and lasting public recognition of the contribution made by this special group of people during World War II. The plaque will be mounted at the National Waterways Museum Stoke Bruerne. Former Idle Women, or their families, should contact Justine Lee at The Waterways Trust on 07917 804550 or email justine.lee@thewaterwaystrust.org.uk

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7 August 2008
© Waterways Trust

New survey reveals working families feel their kids get a head start. Seven out of ten working parents think having a job helps set a positive role model for their kids and gives them a good start in life, according to a poll undertaken by Jobcentre Plus with the readership of That’s Life! magazine. The figures, which come as the school summer holidays get into full swing, also show that eight out of 10 mums surveyed think the main benefits of being in work are having more money to pay the bills and do things as a family.

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31 July 2008

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Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) women from across London will take part in the first in a series of Government events today, which aim to encourage them to become councillors in local government - ultimately making councils more representative of the communities they serve and enable more informed decision making. Harriet Harman, Minister for Women and Equality, recently launched the Taskforce - a working group of 14 current and former councillors from across Britain, each from different ethnic backgrounds and political parties. The Taskforce is chaired by Baroness Uddin - the first Muslim woman in the House of Lords and a prominent figure in the Black and Asian community. It aims to take practical steps to help women from ethnic minority groups enter public life. The Taskforce members are fully committed to supporting and advising women interested in becoming a local councillor. The pilot event, being held in the Borough of Tower Hamlets, East London, is the first in a series of regional events across the country, which aim to raise awareness of the role and benefits of being a local councillor, encourage more Black, Asian and minority ethnic women to consider stepping forward, and providing advice on how to find out more about becoming a local councillor. Launching the event, Barbara Follett, Deputy Minister for Women and Equality said, “We need our local councils to better reflect society. This is not only because BAME women are vastly underrepresented as local councillors - there are only around 168 across England, when there should be about 1000 - but also because we’ll have more informed local decision making if all members of the community are involved.”

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23 July 2008
© Cabinet Office