The National Women's Group aims:
• To create an environment that is gender aware, fully inclusive and encourages women to discuss female gender issues
• To support PFEW to recruit female members as elected representatives
• To create opportunities for female representatives within PFEW to meet, creating a network to support a better understanding of unique female issues, retention and career progression
• To remove barriers that affect female representatives within PFEW and affect female members who seek PFEW support and raise these issues with appropriate post holders
• To be a resource and critical friend to PFEW on female issues
• To assist PFEW in a mentoring scheme for female officers
• To promote a good working relationship between other PFEW support groups and staff network groups
• To assist the equality lead with formulation of policy

The priorities the women’s network will be concentrating on this year are:

Misogyny

• Sexual harassment
• Violence again women and girls

Female health and family matters

• Maternity
• Flexible working
• Menopause
• Menstruation

Representation/leadership in the Federation

• For the first time in its 106-year history, the Federation has eight female branch chairs, alongside Tiff Lynch, only the second woman elected National Chair. This milestone marks more than progress—it signals cultural change in a profession long shaped by tradition and hierarchy. These women bring operational expertise and lived perspectives, reshaping leadership and representation. In the following interviews, they speak openly about their journeys, their hopes for the future, and the challenges they continue to face. Their voices reflect a Federation becoming more inclusive, resilient, and representative of both its members and the communities it serves.
• Mentoring/pathways to executive roles within local branches