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GET INVOLVED
Become a member of Tower Hamlets Women's Network
Membership of the Network is open to women who are local residents and women who are members or staff of local women’s groups and Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) organisations.
Throughout the year there will be quarterly Network meetings, newsletters, events, workshops and opportunities for learning and development. The aim is to build a strong and supportive network as a resource for all local women and provide inspiration for creating a more equal society for the benefit of the whole community.
If you would like to join the Tower Hamlets Women’s Network, attend meetings and receive regular newsletters please fill in the form below.
OUR quarterly gatherings
2023
Saturday 24th June
10.30 AM to 12.30 PM
hybrid: via Zoom and at account3
TH Women's Network June 2023: Women in Focus
LB Tower Hamlets and the Mayor in particular want to improve services and provisions for women and girls in the borough. Yes, we deserve better: better information, better access, better opportunities, better choices.
Our input as a collective and or as an individual woman is very important and we invite you all to size this moment, by participating in our lively conversation and contributing to this vision with your presence and your voices.
Wednesday 24th May
10.30 AM to 1.00 PM
in person at account3 office
Women’s Safety in Public Space Part 2
This is a following up on our gathering and discussion on Women Safety in Public Space in Tower Hamlets, and we are thrilled to let you know that we are being heard, hence this joint event with the borough.
The LBTH Safer Community Team and the Strategic Planning Team are busy listening to women’s concerns via their Women Safety Virtual Walks that have been taking place since April until May. They are covering seven neighbourhoods: Weavers Spitalfields Banglatown, Bow East Bow West and Bromley North, St Katherines & Wapping, Shadwell and Whitechapel, Bethnal Green East & West and Stepney, Canary Wharf, Island Gardens and Blackwall & Cubitt Town, Poplar, Limehouse and Lansbury, Mile End, St Dunstan’s and Bromley South.
We are inviting you to hear about their findings and will also encourage you to give recommendation as to how we can be safer in our streets.
2022
Saturday 17th December
10.30 AM to 12.30 PM
hybrid: via Zoom and at account3
Women, Poverty and Equality in Tower Hamlets: Mind the Gap
According to recent statistics from the government, 5.13 million women in the UK aged 16-64 were economically inactive in October-December 2021, 24.7% of women in this age group. This compared to 3.64 million men aged 16-64 who were inactive (17.7%). In addition to the statistics, women have also seen an increase in redundancies, unemployment, and people claiming unemployment benefits since the start of the pandemic. Mothers, and women from minority ethnic groups, have been particularly affected by the pandemic. This means that women are most likely to experience poverty than men. Many are now unable to afford the essentials they need to live a dignified life, such as adequate clothing, sufficient food for their themselves and/or for their children, or heating for their homes. What can we do about it? How can we reduce the gap and get women living in Tower Hamlets into well paid secure jobs?
The conversation will be facilitated by Inderjit Sohata, from the Women Resource Centre. Inderjit is passionate about making a difference for marginalised communities which comes from her own life experiences and entrepreneurial roots. Inderjit has lived experiences of social injustices and inequalities as a woman from the Black and minoritised community. She has over 25 years of experience of leading work across the Black and minoritised community and voluntary sector to embed and strengthen community cohesion. Inderjit has extensive experience of empowering women from minoritised groups, instrumental in setting up a women’s centre in the Midlands.
Saturday 24th September
10.30 AM to 12.30 PM
hybrid: via Zoom and at account3
The rising cost of living and its impact on Women in Tower Hamlets
While the cost-of-living crisis is affecting effecting everyone in the UK, women, and specifically ethnically diverse women, families with children and disabled people are disproportionately impacted because poverty rates are significantly higher in this group, making it harder to meet the rising cost of living. The same group of people that struggled throughout the pandemic are once again seeing a major strain on their budgets.
This gathering will aim to address, discuss, and share our concerns, as women living in Tower Hamlets, and see what strategies need to be in place to address these issues in this challenging time. The conversation will be facilitated by Dionne Nelson, Deputy Director at the Women Resource Centre, a defender and advocate of human rights and equality, particularly for women and girls who are discriminated against on the intersecting grounds of sex, race and class.
Wednesday 6th July
10.30 AM to 12.30 PM
hybrid: via Zoom and at account3
Women’s Health Inequalities: Addressing Unmet Needs
Women and men alike have the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. Despite great progress in that regard, there is still a great gap between the sexes in accessing equal resources. Sex inequalities and inequalities in the social and economic determinants of health are at the core of health inequities for women and girls and must be addressed.
The July gathering will aim to initiate conversation on our health as women (from puberty to aging well and what comes in between) and identify our barriers and priorities for women’s health from puberty to menopause.
Wednesday 16th March
Saturday 19th March
10.30 AM to 12.30 PM
hybrid: via Zoom and at account3
International Women’s Day
The world continues to face a range of interconnected emergencies, from the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, to the climate crisis, from rising inequalities to humanitarian disasters and rising prices and deepening financial instability. Sex equality is central to the challenge, with women and girls bearing the brunt of global crises, equality is an essential part of the solution with the power to transform economies, countries, and communities to achieve sustainable development.
With the council elections coming up in May 2022, the March Gathering event will bring local women together to discuss what demands would like to put to local politicians. Make your vote count by getting involved in the conversation.
2021
Wednesday 15th December
Saturday 18th December
10.30 AM to 12.30 PM
Women's Safety in Public Space
We will be joined by 3 outstanding women: Femi Otitoju, our host and facilitator for the day; Vivien Hayes MBE, Chief Executive of the Women Resource Centre, who will open up the conversation about Women's Safety in public spaces. Negotiating public spaces to reach our destinations can be an everyday struggle for us women. In the UK, we have witnessed a considerable increase in crimes against women, compelling us to avoid or minimize our use of public spaces. We would like to hear your views on what can be done to make London safer; Dr. Anita Sharma, Research Fellow at Royal Holloway, University of London, who is part of the Consortium on Practices of Wellbeing and Resilience in Black Asian and Minority Ethnic Families and Communities in the UK (Co-POWeR). She will present and invite you to talk about the combined impacts of COVID-19 and racial discrimination on groups who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
Wednesday 15th September
Saturday 18th September
10.30 AM to 12.30 PM
Nothing About Us, Without Us
It is the theme for this year Tower Hamlets Women's Network. The platform is a collective voice for uplifting and supporting women living in Tower Hamlets. Hence a platform for Change.
We will focus on bringing women's equality into the conversation in everything that is concerning us in Tower Hamlets.
To do this, we've joined forces with the very best in the business:
the inspiring Femi Otitoju and Donna Carter from Challenge Consultancy. Both have over 30 years' experience in Women's Equality and lots of wisdom to share with us.