International Women’s Day 2023: a powerful global event
“An occasion to highlight achievements and aims that matter to everyone. We’re pleased to support a global event whose ideals the women and men who run our charity are proud to share.”
Lisa Davis is Chief Executive at Citizens Advice Epsom & Ewell.
International Women’s Day invites expects every organisation to think how they are making the world more equal, diverse and inclusive.
This year the United Nations has made its theme “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”. It reveals how far there is to go in digital work equality. The IWD website is coordinating events to ‘challenge gender stereotypes, call out discrimination, draw attention to bias, and seek out inclusion’.
Surrey support
UK-wide there is support from health, education, media and business organisations. BBC News has a clear overview. Just a few of the groups active in our county are: Surrey County Cricket Club, University of Surrey, Business Women of Surrey, Epsom & Ewell Hub and some Surrey Libraries.
At CAEE we know it’s vital to be aware of the particular concerns of all clients. In recent years our clients have split around 60 percent women to 40 men. Looking in more detail however we notice women are more likely to ask for help on certain topics (chart below). In 2022 for instance:
- Relationships and family – between 3 and 4 clients each week were women
- Charity support and food banks – just under 3 clients a week were women
- Gender violence and domestic abuse – thankfully the numbers were very low at fewer than 2 women each month
- Education – fewer than 2 women each month.
This information is just a snapshot of a single year and represents only our clients. Also the numbers are low. But it is interesting, especially on International Women’s Day. And the 60:40 average split means hundreds more women than men each year ask for help with issues such as benefits, housing, debt and employment.