Fabian Women

Tuesday, 5th February, 6pm-8.30, Committee Room 5, Houses of Parliament

We believe affordable and universal childcare should be a key policy for the country.

We are holding a roundtable discussion with stakeholders from key sectors. Speakers will include Ed Balls MP, Stephen Twigg MP, Sharon Hodgson MP, Seema Malhotra MP, Zita Gurmai, MEP and President of PES Women, Polly Toynbee, Guardian, Professor Andy Green, Institute of Education, Dr Anne McMunn, Economic and Social Research Council/UCL, Mike Abbott, Co-op, Purnima Tanuku OBE, National Day Nurseries Association, Jonathan Douglas, National Literacy Trust, Anne Longfield, 4Children, Sharon Greene, Unison, Shama Tatler, Ivana Bartoletti and Sarah Hutchinson, Fabian Women’s Network.

A publication of the event will be presented to the Labour Party Policy Review. If you would like to attend please RSVP to s.j.hutchinson@googlemail.com.

A keynote speech by Diane Abbott MP, Shadow Minister for Public Health

Tuesday 22 January, 6-8pm
Unison Conference Centre
130 Euston Road NW1 2AY

A number of recent events have revealed a darker side of British culture, in which the sexualisation of women and young girls is entrenched, and yet women who fall victims to problems within this culture are often seemingly cast-aside, silenced and delegitimised.

We will be discussing with Diane Abbott MP, Shadow Minister for Public Health, how Labour can challenge this culture, and create a safer society for women.

Joining the conversation on how we can challenge this culture will be:

Cath Elliott (Unison)
Deborah Mattinson (Chair of trustees, Platform 51),
Ivana Bartoletti (Fabian Women’s Network)
Emma Burnell (blogger)

Your enthusiasm and contribution to this important event will be greatly appreciated. Please feel free to distribute this email amongst your networks.

For information and RSVP, please email:

patelsofia1@gmail.com

12th January, 12.30 – conference registration starting from 9:45. At the Institute of Education near Russell Square tube station in central London. The full address is 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL

Much recent debate on the left has focused on the failures of the welfare state, and a need for a more ‘relational’ society. But what does this mean for women’s rights? How can the tension between women’s collective and individual rights be resolved to ensure the ‘Next State’ is a feminist one?

Fabian Women’s Network will be examining these questions at the Fabian Society New Year Conference. We will be asking how we protect and promote women’s interests thought the state, and what should be the limits of this involvement?

Speakers: Deborah Mattinson (BritainThinks), Matthew Pennycook (Resolution Foundation), Ceri Goddard (Fawcett Society), Dr Rupa Huq (Kingston University) and Yvonne Roberts (The Guardian).

If you haven’t bought your conference ticket yet, these are available online – hurry as they’re selling out: http://www.fabians.org.uk/events/fabian-annual-conference-2013-next-state/

Beatrice Webb Fundraising Dinner

26 February 2013, 6.30pm

The Fabian Women’s Network is committed to putting feminism at the heart of Labour politics. Whether through our political mentoring scheme, Fabiana magazine, our policy events or our networking drinks, we prioritise bringing women together to share ideas, opportunities and advice.

We need your help to develop our work.

To support our work we are holding a special Beatrice Webb Fundraising Dinner on Tuesday 26th February 2013, at the impressive Troia restaurant by the London Eye

Our special guests will be Rachel Reeves, Yvette Cooper and Seema Malhotra, with DJing and cocktails provided by Tom Watson and a long list of other special guests. It promises to be a wonderful evening of entertainment and networking.  During the evening we will be holding an auction hosted by Sadiq Khan, with exciting prizes including a lasagne prepared by Ed Balls. There will also be a raffle.

Please arrive for drinks at 6:30pm as dinner will begin at 7pm.

Cost: £40 donation (£25 students and unwaged) including a glass of champagne and 3 course dinner.  Alternatively, book a table for six for £220.

The dinner is almost sold out. Please email fabianwomen@fabians.org.uk for availability.

You can also pay by cheque (with the reference FWN dinner on the back, payable to Fabian Society, 11 Dartmouth Street, London SW1H 9BN) or by transfer (please contact phil.mutero@fabian-society.org.uk for details).

Thanks. We look forward to adding your name to our list and seeing you there.

The Fabian Women’s Network Public Speaking Club
18 December, 7-9pm, the Grimmond Room, Portcullis House (House of Commons)

The Fabian Women’s Network would like to invite you to the latest meeting of its women’s Public Speaking Club.
Hosted by Meg Munn MP, the meeting will provide an opportunity for women to practice their speaking and debating skills in a supportive setting. At the meeting, we will be debating whether or not the EU should make legislation to force companies to have 40% of their boards made up of women. The debate will be in accordance with the structure of a parliamentary debate. Attendees are welcome to prepare and deliver their own speeches, or can simply make short interventions in the debate.

To confirm your attendance at this debate, please contact Vicki Butler at v.a.e.butler@gmail.com by Friday 07 December. The motion for debate will be circulated to attendees in advance along with the formal debating rules.

Fabian Women’s Network/Croydon Labour Women’s Forum
Campaign Day in Croydon North
Saturday 24 November at 11am, Selhurst Station

Join our canvassing team and help Steve Reed become Croydon North’s next Labour MP.

The session will be followed by lunch in Croydon. So don’t miss a fantastic day of campaigning and networking!

Whether you’ve been campaigning for years, or never done it before, everyone will get a very warm welcome.

Please RSVP to fabianwomen@fabian-society.org.uk
Ivana Bartoletti – 07931 959521
Lee Webster – 07811 787352

One nation Labour: putting feminism at the heart of Labour’s agenda – Tuesday 27th November.

Fabian Women’s Network meeting with Jon Cruddas MP to discuss the policy review.

FWN will be meeting with Jon Cruddas MP, who is overseeing the Labour Party’s policy review. The event will be held 6-7pm on the 27th November, in committee room 17 in Parliament. Shifting Grounds will be our media partner for the event.

The discussion at the meeting will be used as the basis for a Fabian Women’s Network submission to the policy review.

After the meeting (7.15) we will be heading to St Stephen’s Tavern where we have reserved some tables. Please come and join us for a drink even if you are unable to make the meeting.

Places at the event are very limited due to room restrictions, so if you are interested in attending, please email Sarah Hutchinson – s.j.hutchinson@googlemail.com.

• Corby trip – on Saturday 3rd November FWN will going to Corby to help with the by-election campaign. All welcome to join us!

• Fabian women’s drinks – the first of what will be regular informal networking/socialising drinks is on Friday 9th November 6-8pm at the Roebuck, Great Dover Street. Hope to see you there.

• Policy review event with Jon Cruddas MP, – 27 November – a great opportunity to find out about Labour’s policy review process and feed in your ideas. We’ll be sending out a policy discussion paper this week, but see below for details on how to sign up for the event.

• Croydon North by-election – campaign day 24th November

• Building the care for universal childcare – 5th February 2013 with Sharon Hodgson MP, shadow minister for Children and Families

Corby by-election campaign day

FWN is joining Labour’s candidate for the Corby by-election, Andy Sawford, on Saturday 3rd November. For those of you who are in London, we will be catching the 11am train from Kings Cross St Pancras. We will be taking the 4.17 train back from Corby, but of course feel free to leave at a different time.

Corby is only one hour away and it would be fantastic if you could join us on the campaign trail. We have a strong change of taking the seat from the Tories and it’s crucial that we fight hard to ensure we do, to give the people of Corby a voice in Parliament that will stand up for them against the government’s disastrous policies. If you could let us know if you’re planning to come it would be helpful so we can look out for you, and let the campaign team know how many to expect.

Fabian Women’s drinks

9th November, 6-8pm The Roebuck, Great Dover Street

FWN members Sarah Hutchinson and Carolina Gasparoli will be organising regular informal drinks to give members the chance to meet new and old friends, and provide the opportunity to network with the incredible women in the organisation. We’ll be inviting women from other women’s/feminist groups to give you the opportunity to meet a wide range of women and find out about what’s happening around London.

The first drinks will be held between 6 and 8pm on Friday 9th November, and we will arrange a regular day after the first event. We will be meeting at The Roebuck, 50 Great Dover Street, SE1 4YG http://www.theroebuck.net/ The nearest tube station is Borough.

If you’re planning to attend, please RSVP. We’re aware that not all members are based in London – while it is difficult for us to arrange something elsewhere ourselves, we would be very happy to support any members of the network who wanted to arrange something similar, or a local group, where they lived. Just get in touch if you’d like to discuss this.

Croydon North by-election – campaign day 24th November

Following the sad death of Malcolm Wicks MP, a by-election is being held in Croydon North. FWN will be arranging a campaign trip to the constituency on 24th November. We’ll send more details once the election has been announced, but for now, save the date!

Fabian Women’s Network meeting with Jon Cruddas MP to discuss the policy review

FWN will be meeting with Jon Cruddas MP, who is overseeing the Labour Party’s policy review. The event will be held 6-7pm on the 27th November, in committee room 17 in Parliament.

The discussion at the meeting will be used as the basis for a Fabian Women’s Network submission to the policy review. We will shortly send around a discussion document to guide the discussion, highlighting five key areas, and it would be great if attendees could consider what contributions they would like to make in advance, so we can hear from as many women as possible during the event. We would also be very happy to receive written suggestions from members to feed into our submission.

Places at the event are very limited due to room restrictions, so if you are interested in attending, please let us know.

Building the care for universal childcare: save the date

On 5th February, FWN will be hosting an event on childcare, bringing together a host of organisations working on or in childcare, as well as parliamentarians and FWN members. Sharon Hodgson MP, shadow minister of State for Children and Families, who is taking a leading role on childcare for the policy review, will be speaking. Other speakers will be confirmed nearer the time.

The event will be held in Parliament. Spaces are limited, so please email us if you would like to attend.

16 October, 7-9pm, the Grimond Room, Portcullis House (House of Commons)

The Fabian Women’s Network would like to invite you to the next meeting of its women’s Public Speaking Club.

Hosted by Debbie Abrahams MP, the meeting will provide an opportunity for women to practice their speaking and debating skills in a supportive setting. At the meeting, we will hold a debate on health policy according to the structure of a parliamentary debate. Attendees are welcome to prepare and deliver their own speeches, or can simply make short interventions in the debate.

To register interest in this debate, please contact Vicki Butler at v.a.e.butler@gmail.com by Tuesday 9 October. The motion for debate will be circulated to attendees in advance.

All welcome! Please do email us for further information

The first event should say:

Women in Public Life Awards
Join us for the launch of the 2012/13 Women in Public Life Awards, to celebrate women making their mark in the party and furthering women’s participation in politics, the media and business, as well as standing up for the rights of women in Afghanistan and across the world.
Date: Sunday 30th September
Time: 19:15-21:15
Featuring: Yvette Cooper, Shadow Home Secretary and Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
Alison McGovern MP, International Development Select Committee Member
Melanie Ward, Head of Advocacy, ActionAid UK
Polly Toynbee, Journalist and Writer
RSVP: Florence.RDV@actionaid.org

How can Labour solve the Childcare crisis?
Date: Monday 1 October
Time: 12:30-14:00
Venue: Exchange 2&3 Manchester Central (inside secure zone)
Featuring: Stephen Twigg MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Education; Seema Malhotra MP (chair); Sam Smethers, Chief Executive, Grandparents Plus; Purnima Tanuku OBE, Chief Executive of National Day Nurseries Association.
Fabian Women’s Network in association with Family Planning Institute, The Family Room and Co-operative Party.
No need to book, just turn up!

Two speed Europe: are women being left behind?
Date: Tuesday 2 October
Time: 19:45-21:15
Featuring: Emma Reynolds MP, Shadow Minister for Europe; Ivana Bartoletti, editor, Fabiana; Linda McAvan MEP; Dr Roberta Guerrina, University of Surrey; Felicity Slater (chair).
Fabian Women’s Network in association with the Fabian Society and Labour Movement for Europe.
Venue: Lord Mayor’s Parlour, Manchester Town Hall (outside secure zone)
No need to book, just turn up!

The Fabian Women’s Network held an event ‘Time to release the UK’s potential energy’ to explore what the UK has to benefit by boosting women’s presence in science and innovation, as well as the ways of achieving this. The discussion included prominent speakers Chi Onwurah (MP) Shadow Minister for Innovation, Dr Laura Nelson (writer, campaigner, social entrepreneur), Professor Athene Donald (University of Cambridge) and Paul Jackson (Chief Executive, Engineering UK).

The panellists presented their views on the barriers to women in science and offered some immediate solutions to the problem. They also highlighted the inequality at the various education levels, from low numbers of women taking science related A-levels and university degrees, to obstacles and disproportional representation of women later on in the workforce, academia as well as the industrial sector. The panel agreed that this is not the case of one problem which could be fixed; instead they stressed the need to address the spectrum of obstacles. This includes barriers such as cultural and social stigma regarding the women in science, wider gender stereotypes, inadequate recruitment, the glassceiling effect and inequality agenda as well as the lack of urgency in the political sphere to stimulate growth by encouraging women in science.

Several actions were highlighted by each of the panellists as the way forward, including a more active use of rolemodels, more aggressive and targeted recruitment of women, breaking down stereotypes through awareness raising and activism (such as Breakthrough), awareness raising through national campaigns such as The Big Bang Fair and a wider, livelier debate with regards to the unexplored potential.

The statistics presented at the event illustrated the alarming shortage of women in the scientific, industrial and engineering sector which stands for a substantial economic contribution to the UK growth. Coincidentally, the statistics also revealed the underrepresentation of women in science at almost all education levels, but also with regards to the state of some of the biggest economies in the world. India, for instance, has several times higher number of women in science and engineering than is the case in the UK.

The latter part of the events included a lively and engaging discussion between the panellists and the audience, who all believed that the declining role of women in science and engineering calls for an urgent action as a vital part of an all-inclusive UK growth strategy. Moreover, the panel agreed that this should be done as part of a joined up strategy between the industrial and educational sector, while supported by an urgency driven political and progressive stimulation of the debate which the Fabian Women’s Network will continue to support and encourage.

The event was chaired by Ivana Bartoletti, Editor of Fabiana. The event also marked and celebrated the successful publication of the third issue of Fabiana.

Writer: Dr Maja Brkic, FWN mentee