Historic election result for Rwandan women

Progress for Women Is Progress for All

The evening opened with a dynamic and emphatic talk from Baroness Uddin - Labour politician, community activist, and the first Muslim woman in the House of Lords. A tireless campaigner in promoting women's equal participation, Baroness Uddin talked about her own experience as a child of conflict, arriving in Britain at the age of thirteen. The Baroness spoke about her concern at the recent reduction in the number of women working in the political system as well as the fact that there are still not enough women at the decision-making table. She spoke of the importance of women working together to make it through the barriers maintained by the ever pervasive ‘old boys network’ and expressed her refusal to accept that any democracy can claim legitimacy without sufficient participation by women.

The second speaker was Alan Stevens, Managing Director of Vector Consultants Europe, a global business consultancy that spends 25% of its time on social improvement projects. He spoke passionately about his experience in Eastern Europe where he has seen first hand not only the devastating effects of war on the lives of women, but also the tragedy of human trafficking and prostitution networks that are often supported by international business people. Alan has worked tirelessly to make a real difference in local communities as well as for the organisations who have employed his company. In the Middle East this has included involvement in programmes to encourage better educational opportunities for women. Alan also spoke about some of the complexities of donor giving. He has seen examples where funding from major donor agencies has been wasted because implementation of project plans has not been followed through effectively. He emphasised the importance of working very closely with all groups in the local community.

The final speaker for the evening was Margaret Butler, Quality & Efficiency Director for the National Australia Bank Group in Europe who spoke about the NAB corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme. Employees are encouraged to take 2 days off each year for volunteer work in their local community. This may involve fundraising efforts but is often also work in support of local initiatives in less advantaged areas, for example to improve financial awareness. Margaret described the Group’s participation in International Women’s Day when thousands of hours of volunteering was undertaken by employees across the world. This included a campaign to donate bras for women in developing countries, and in some countries support for UNIFEM projects. Margaret believes that the CSR agenda helps to create an enduring and responsible culture in which women are encouraged to succeed and she also talked about the Group’s mentoring programme for female employees looking to reach the senior ranks of the company.

Members - old, new and prospective – all enjoyed the inspiring and motivational words of our guest speakers. Through ticket sales and donations the event raised a fantastic £840 for the UNIFEM Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women. All our thanks go to Anne Greenstock and the guest speakers, to Janet Cooper for hosting the event, and of course, to the enthusiastic and generous attendees.

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