Women's Newsletter - July 2005

To join our e-network and receive women's campaign email updates, please fill in the form at the start of the Women's Officer Handbook 2004/2005 and post it to Minda Burgos-Lukes, NUS, PO BOX 52611, London N7 6XX or email minda.burgos-lukes@nus.org.uk

July 2005

Contents of this newsletter:

1. Calling all women's officers - your women's officer stories needed!
2. A Have we got your union's women's campaign contact details for 2005/6?
3. NUS Women's Committee for 2005/6
4. Enter We need examples of your provision for a women's officer position from your union constitutions!
6. Pro-choice news - A million mothers may face job victimisation
7. Women graduates step off fast track for civil service
8. Charter help for women scientists
9. News from external organisations
   (a) International Women's Conference - 23-25 March 2006, Women at the Global Justice Heart of the Make Poverty History Campaign - Supported by NUS Women's Campaign
   (b) Women's Aid's 'Tell a Friend campaign'
   (c) Sisters use their voice – Operation Black Vote
   (d) New gender-related publications from Oxfam

1. Calling all women's officers - your women's officer stories needed!

We are updating the 'being a women's officer handbook' for the 2005/6 academic year. There is going to be a new section this year called 'being a women's officer by the women's officers', through which women's officers from 2004/5 can share their experiences with others and give advice to women taking on the role for the first time.

If you would like to be one of the women's officers featured, please reply to this email giving your comments under the following headings (just a sentence or two for each) together with your name and union, and term of office. (If you feel that some headings are not applicable to you, feel free to say so.) Thank you for your help!

• What campaigns did you run as a women's officer? (e.g. part of national campaign on the gender pay gap, violence against women or perhaps something specific to your institution such as campaigning for better childcare provision for students)

• How did you keep in contact with women in your university or college? (e.g. email alerts, posters, noticeboard, web page, information in prospectus, women's group meetings)

• What services did you offer for women? (e.g. women's group, pregnancy testing room, safe space for women, referral service to women's organisations, case work service)

• What has been the best thing about being a women's officer?

• If you could give one piece of advice to a woman starting off as a women's officer, what would it be?

2. Have we got your union's women's campaign contact details for 2005/6?

Please email women@nus.org.uk and let us know the name and email address of your union's women's officer/women's campaign contact for 2005/6 so we can add them to our email network. If you are no longer the women's campaign contact for a students' union, please let us know so we can remove you from our list.

3. NUS Women's Committee for 2005/6

NUS Women's Committee for 2005/6 is:

NUS National Women's Officer (Chair of Committee): Jo Salmon
NUS Scotland Women's Officer: Jenny Duncan
NUS Wales Women’s Officer: Bethan Thomas
NUS-USI Women's Officer: Michelle Crawford

Caucus reps on Women's Committee

Black Women’s Reps: Rachel Earlington
Bisexual Women’s Reps: Sharon Stacey and Sophie Conway Allen (job share)
Lesbian Rep: Clare Bielby
Women with Disabilities Rep: Jodie Tumelty
Women with Caring Responsibilities Rep: Sandra Watt
FE Rep: Margo MacMillan

Open Place reps on Women's Committee (in order of election) Amy Thomson
Jo Fried and Elizabeth Sellers (job share)
Debbie Hollingsworth
Hatty Slovak
Coral Harding and Louise Gold (job share)

National Council Rep: Laura Woods

Female NEC members can attend committee meetings as observers, meaning that they can input ideas to the discussions but they cannot vote.

If you wish to contact a women's committee, please do so via NUS Women's Unit.

See:
www.nusonline.co.uk/women
www.officeronline.co.uk/women

4. We need examples of your provision for a women's officer position from your union constitutions!

In the new 'being a women's officer handbook' for 2005/6 we are including examples from students' union constitutions for the provision for a women's officer position. Please send us your examples to help other unions that wish to set up women's officer positions.

5. Pro-choice news - Abortion time limit cut rejected by the British Medical Association

Doctors at the British Medical Association conference have voted against reducing the upper limit for abortion from 24 to 20 weeks.

For more information:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/health/4636991.stm
http://society.guardian.co.uk/health/story/0,7890,1518773,00.html

6. Pro-choice news - A million mothers may face job victimization

New research from the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) says that one million women workers could find themselves 'sacked, bullied or demoted over the next five years just for becoming pregnant.'

more information:
www.eoc.org.uk

7. Women graduates step off fast track for civil service

The number of women graduates applying to join Whitehall's fast-track schemes last year was the lowest for seven years and has fallen ten percentage points in three years, raising concerns that women are being put off by the domination of men in top jobs.

For more information:
www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1661515,00.html

8. Charter help for women scientists

A charter for women in science, engineering and technology has been launched to help tackle gender inequalities in UK universities. The six-point charter, launched by the Athena Project and the Scientific Women's Academic Network (Swan), aims to stem the loss of women scientists.

The charter's principles are:

1. To address gender inequalities requires commitment and action from everyone, at all levels of the organisation
2. To tackle the unequal representation of women in science requires changing cultures and attitudes across the organisation
3. The high loss rate of women in science is an urgent concern, which the organisation will address
4. The use of short-term contracts has particularly negative consequences for the retention and progression of women in science, which the university recognises
5. The transition from PhD into a sustainable academic career in science can be particularly difficult for women and requires active consideration by the organisation
6. The absence of diversity at management and policy-making levels has broad implications which the organisation will examine

For more information:
www.royalsoc.ac.uk/athenaswan/about.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4116056.stm

9. News from external organisations

Please note that whilst NUS Women's Campaign has been careful to check the suitability of these organisations as contact points for student officers, it cannot be held responsible for the work or advice of any external organisation.

(a) International Women's Conference - 23-25 March 2006, Women at the Global Justice Heart of the Make Poverty History Campaign
Supported by NUS Women's Campaign

SHEROES HERITAGE LEARNING INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION (SHLIC)

DATE: 23rd -25th March 2006
VENUE: London Borough Of Greenwich
THEME: Women In The Global Justice Struggle To Make Poverty History

SPEAKERS include:
Angela Davis, Naomi Klein, Jean Lambert MEP, Berverly Manley MP From Jamaica, Harriet Harman MP, Samia Nkrumah, Asma Al assad, first Lady of Syria, Vilma Espin, Vandana Shiva, Teresa Hayter, Baroness Tessa, Blackstone VC university of Greenwich

This is a three-day series of activities with the main events being an International Women's conference, an exhibition and Edutainment Show. This seeks to bring women activists from all over the world to share their skills, experiences and knowledge in solidarity with other women.

The conference aims to help mobilise and raise awareness about how poverty is created, its local and global impacts and how best it can be eradicated to enhance gender equality.

For further information please visit: www.shlic.org.uk or phone 0208 317 0451/07985259503

(b) Women's Aid's 'Tell a Friend campaign'

Women's Aid, the national domestic violence charity, has joined forces with Company magazine to launch the 'Tell a Friend' campaign, to raise awareness of domestic violence among young women and encourage those experiencing domestic violence to speak to a friend or family member that they can trust.

For more information:
www.womensaid.org.uk

(c) Sisters use their voice - Operation Black Vote

Operation Black Vote (OBV) launched their nationwide roadshow at Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (EGA) Comprehensive, Risinghill Street, London, N1 9QG on Monday 18th July

The project titled “Understanding Power” is a unique endeavour by OBV to empower students and increase their political awareness by discussing the dynamics of power within music, identity, fashion, media and other areas of urban cultural life. With urban youth culture at the heart of inner city areas, OBV has set out to use those elements to politically engage young people.

For more information:
www.blink.org.uk

Operation Black Vote
18a Victoria Park Square
LONDON E2 9PB

Tel: 0208 983 5430
Fax: 0208 983 5492
E-mail: Francine@obv.org.uk
Web: www.obv.org.uk

(d) New gender-related publications from Oxfam

What men and women want: a practical guide to gender and participation

Are you working to improve things for women and men in your community? Or carrying out a participatory appraisal of an area's needs and requirements? Or undertaking a community-based consultation? Then this major new publication from Oxfam's UK Poverty Programme is the guide that you need.

Based on an actual gendered participatory appraisal in Wales, it offers a thorough explanation of why looking at men and women's different life experiences is an essential part of any participatory work. Order this guide for £4.95 from the Oxfam website:

www.oxfamgb.org/ukpp/resources/whatmenandwomenwant.htm

See both sides - a guide to gender analysis for quality service delivery

Are you working in an organisation that provides services to local people? This hands-on practical guide will help you plan and deliver services which will have a real impact on the everyday - different - lives of men and women.

See both sides will show you how to examine the assumptions on which your service is based, collect and examine data by sex, and enable you to develop a service that both improves the lives of the men and women you work with, and enriches the experience of your staff. Order your copy for £4.95 at:

www.oxfamgb.org/ukpp/resources/seebothsides.htm

*We hope you find these NUS Women's Campaign newsletters useful and interesting, but if you feel that you would no longer like to receive any emails from us please reply to this address [women@nus.org.uk] asking to be removed from our email network.*

*Please note the new NUS switchboard number and postal address below*

NUS Women's Unit
NEC Contact: Jo Salmon (National Women's Officer)
Staff Contact: Lizzie McCarthy (Women's Research and Information Co-ordinator)

email: women@nus.org.uk
switchboard: 0871 221 8 221
fax: 020 72635713
minicom text: 020 75616577
website for students: www.nusonline.co.uk/women
website for student officers: www.officeronline.co.uk
address: NUS Women's Unit, PO BOX 52611, London N7 6XX

View past Women's Campaign Newsletters at:
www.officeronline.co.uk/campaignsupport/women/newsletters

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