What happened at the launch of Meet the Parents?

Added on 21/05/2009

If you couldn't make the students' union launch of Meet the Parents back in February, you might be interested in having a look at some of the resources that were used at the event. Below you can download presentations, handouts and discussion summaries from the day. These include information about the report itself, as well as more detailed information about student parent finance, international students and teaching and learning practices.

Workshops and Presentations

Meet the Parents: NUS Research Findings and Recommendations (PowerPoint) - Geraldine Smith and Sarah Wayman, NUS

International Student Parent Experiences (PDF)- Dr Sheena Garder, University of Birmingham

Tax credits and academic credits: getting finances right to allow for success at university (PowerPoint) - Paul Norman and Lorna Chambers, Manchester Metropolitan Students' Union

Supporting Student Parents: Sharing Experiences and Exploring Good Practice (PowerPoint) - M.J. Morgan, Lifelong Learning Centre, University of Leeds

Summary of discussions between workshop participants about ‘best practice’ (PDF)

Stay in touch to find out more

If you are interested in finding out more about student parents and would like to be added to our mailing list, please email studentparents@nus.org.uk with the subject title 'Add to mailing list'.

Meet the Parents

Added on 01/05/2009

NUS has launched a major report into life as a student parent.

Meet the Parents, a first hand account of life as a student parent, was launched at the House of Commons today.

The report reveals that, despite the benefits education can offer to those with children, there is still a lack of information and funding available. Constant struggle

Find out more and download the report.

Are Women Bearing the Burden of the Recession?

Added on 09/04/2009

The economic downturn is starting to bite, and many students are becoming concerned about job prospects both during their studies and following their course. But do the effects of the recession have a disproportionate effect on women?

The Fawcett Society has released a new report that examines this very issue, and offers some recommendations for Government about the steps it should be taking to protect women and reduce existing inequalities. Well worth a read!

NUS Women’s Campaign Conference 2009

Added on 17/03/2009

The NUS Women’s Campaign Conference took place in Coventry from 3 – 5 March 2009. Women from students’ unions across the UK attended the conference to shape and form the campaign for the year ahead, debating on motions, attending workshops and electing the Women’s Campaign Committee and Steering Committee for the year 2009-10.

All policy passed and elected committee members will be active as of 1 July 2009.

Olivia Bailey was newly elected as the National Women’s Officer for the Women’s Campaign at the conference.

Find out more here.

NUS Women’s Campaign Conference 2009

Added on 17/03/2009

Olivia Bailey was newly elected as the National Women’s Officer for the Women’s Campaign at the conference. Olivia has been a member of NUS Women’s Campaign Committee for the last three years, she was President of her College Common Room at Oxford, and the Women’s Officer of National Young Labour. As an Active Feminist, she has led the campaign to save the Women’s Officer at Oxford University she led the campaign to save the Women’s Officer, and won with 73% of the vote. She was also Equal Opportunities officer of the Student Union, where she led a year long campaign to give the liberation campaigns complete autonomy. Olivia is also an active trade unionist, and an LGBTQ activist. Following her election, Olivia said:

"I am hugely excited to have been elected as your women's officer for the year ahead. It is a great privilege to be given the chance to fight for all women students across the country."

"I ran in this election because of what sexism has done to me and my friends. As women's officer I will fight for every woman student that has experienced sexism, and I will stand in solidarity with women everywhere."

"I think that our movement must be truly reflective of every woman student. Black women, trans women, disabled women, LB women, the student parent, the mature student, the part-time student, the FE student, the student that doesn’t call herself a feminist – but who still gets hassled on her way home from a night out. The women’s campaign must be a united voice for all these women."

"I ran on a platform of reclaiming feminism for all women - reclaiming our bodies, our lives, our voices and our world. There is so much that I'm determined to achieve over the next year, but here are some of my priorities:

• Women's Officers in every Union I won't just fight to defend women's officers when they are under threat, but I'll fight to secure new ones and I'll set up a 'liberation fund' to give financial support to women’s campaigns on the ground.
• Better communication within our movement It is really important that we all talk to each other, share best practice, and debate our different ideas about feminism. I'll set up a new website and messageboard so that everyone can see what the women's campaign is up to, and can share their ideas; I'll set up a mail list of women activists across the country. Every time something sexist happens in the press, the mail list will hear about it - and will be given a draft letter of complaint to send in. The mail list will also serve as a way of ensuring that women across the country are kept up to date with the different feminist campaigns that are in action across the country; and, I'll hold policy meeting and socials in every region which are open for all women students to attend.
• Encouraging women to run for positions in their Student Unions I'll set up a mentoring scheme for women who want to run for office; I'll produce campaign literature to actively encourage women to run; and, I'll join other national campaigns for more women in politics.
• An end to objectification and sleaze in our Unions I will be the first on campus to support women when their student union promotes sexist material or porn; and, I’ll produce a campaign pack to empower women in unions to win the arguments.
• A Pro-Choice campaign Work with abortion rights and others to be a strong voice for women's right to choose; and, I’ll keep up the pressure for abortion rights for women in Northern Ireland, and will lead a hard hitting protest.
• Supporting Rape Crisis Centres and survivors of rape and sexual abuse I want to link up every women’s group with a rape crisis centre so that they can provide advertising and support; and, I’ll produce campaign materials to encourage women to report sexual abuse and I'll fight to ensure police officers are fully trained.?
• A real voice for Student Parents A hard hitting campaign for student parents, using the fantastic research completed this year.
• Equal Pay for ALL women I will fight with trade unions to stand up for women in the workplace, and to defeat pay inequality.
• Fighting for a STOP to domestic violence I’ll launch an awareness campaign about the survivors of domestic violence and hold a nationwide candlelit vigil.
• Reclaim the night marches I’ll help deliver big reclaim the night marches in EVERY region.
• An international feminism Our feminism should not be limited by borders and we must stand in solidarity with women organising across the world.

Motions debated and passed at Women’s Campaign Conference, which will now form the policy for the women’s campaign 2009-2010 and help to identify our priorities for the year ahead, included:

Welfare and Rights:

• Students with caring responsibilities
• Abortion Rights and reproductive freedoms
• Women’s mental health

Women and Society:

• Euro elections – Women voter engagement
• Opposing the objectification of women
• Our bodies belong to us
• Climate change – A woman’s issue

Education and Work:

• An active campaign for equal pay - Women in trade unions
• Women and fixed term jobs
• Women and the HE funding review
• This is to thank single mothers for their invaluable contribution to society

Representative and an Active Campaign:

• Defend and extend women’s representation
• An inclusive and anti-racist women’s campaign
• Activist training days
• T is not for tokenism

The conference was opened with a speaker from Actionaid, Jenny Ricks, who spoke about their current campaigns on women’s rights, most notably their recent ‘Put Your Foot Down’ Campaign, which focuses how widespread violence against women and girls increases their risk of the HIV infection. A girl born in South Africa has a higher risk of being raped than of leaning to read. With 5 million South Africans living with HIV the risk of infection for women is extremely high. Find out more about Actionaid and this campaign.

Delegates were also able to attend a variety of workshops and learn more about women’s campaigns, both within NUS and externally, and how they can campaign on issues that effect women both globally and internationally. These workshops included:

• Why Object to Objectification? A workshop led by Object, offering information on how to get involved in the local and national campaign against the objectification of women.
• Students Campaigning for a Woman’s Right to Choose, which was led by Abortion Rights . This workshop explored winning the arguments and how to organise students when campaigning for women’s reproductive rights.
• Because I am a Girl, which was led by Plan UK and focussed on their campaign of the same title, which offered information on campaigning on young women and girls gaining equal access to education across the world.
• LGBT and Feminism – This was led by NUS LGBT Campaign Committee members and explored the roots of homophobia and sexism.
• Trans People and Women’s Spaces – This was led by our Trans Women’s Rep on NUS Women’s Campaign Committee. This was a discussion-based workshop, that focussed on how and why we should make women-only spaces inclusive of trans women.

For more information on the organisations or campaigns that led these workshops, please click on their titles for links to their websites.

The elections for Women’s Committee 2009-2010 results were as follows:
NUS National Women’s Officer: Olivia Bailey
Women’s Campaign 2nd Place Rep: Estelle Hart
Open Place Reps:
Eleanor James
Hollie Jones
Katherine O’Brien
Jennifer Okojie/Ntalie Hepenstall (Job Share)
Diana Wong
FE Women’s Rep: Eleanor Brown
Black Women’s Rep: Oyinlola Akinde/Christina Yan Zhang (Job Share)
Trans Women’s Rep: Ruth Pearce
Women with Caring Responsibilities Rep: Joanna Fried
Disabled Women’s Rep: Rebecca Sawbridge/Sarah Goodwill (Job Share)
Bisexual Women’s Rep: Katie Sutton
Lesbian Women’s Rep: Dalia Fleming/Evangeline Holland Ramsey (Job Share)

If you would like to receive further info and updates about NUS Women’s Campaign and other women’s campaigns we support, please send an email to women@nus.org.uk stating your name, students’ union and preferred email address to send this to. Please note we will only use your email address for the NUS Women’s Campaign E-Newsletter and any further information relating to the Women’s Campaign.