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Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Women

The Ministers for Women and Equality published their priorities for women in July and specified a range of action which the government is taking. [click to command paper here]. This included a key priority:

Empowering black, Asian and minority ethnic women to build cohesion within their communities and as a bridge between communities.

In October 2007 the Ministers published new material and data to explain why more black, Asian and minority ethnic women are needed to become active in public and political life.

New Ethnic Minority Women in the UK Fact Sheet

Women in Power Milestones Chronology

Map showing distribution of BAME local councillors

Gender Duty Fact Sheet

What has the Government done for equality

Black History Month Event 2007

"Making Democracy More Representative, Making Our Communities Stronger”

In October, the Ministers for Women and Equality hosted the Government’s largest annual gathering in the Houses of Parliament for regional Black, Asian and ethnic minority women. This put centre stage the need for more women from different communities and experiences to become councillors.

Harriet Harman and Barbara Follett celebrated the achievements and contributions of ethnic minority women in the UK, with a focus on public life.

In her key note speech, Harriet Harman called for more ethnic minority women to take up decision-making positions. Ethnic minority women currently make up less than one per cent of councillors, despite the fact they make up 4.6 per cent of the population. Click here to see Harriet Harman's speech.

Also speaking at the event were Baroness Uddin, the first Muslim woman in the House of Lords, and Cllr Mary Foulkes of Southwark Council.

Photos from the event will be available to download from here.

Useful link to Communities and Local Government website ‘councillor’s commission’ here.

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Black History Month 2006

Black History Month 2005

Black History Month 2004

Black History Month 2003

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Ethnic Minority Women and Social Enterprise

On 30 October, we launched new pilot training material to promote social enterprise as a business model option for ethnic minority women.

Social enterprises help provide much needed services to their local communities and these services are vital in helping people help themselves, in helping the community come together, helping the community grow and prosper and helping regions regenerate.

There are at least 55,000 social enterprises in the UK with a combined turnover of £27 billion pounds each year. They contribute £8.4 billion pounds each year to the UK economy accounting for almost 1% GDP. They employ almost half a million people and provide opportunities to volunteer for a further 300 000.

To view the Social Enterprise pilot training material:

Setting up a Social Enterprise

Facts & Figures

Case Studies

Sources of Help & Advice

We want your feedback on this package of materials!

Evaluation Form – please complete the form and email it to admin@prowess.org.uk or post to the address at the bottom of the form

Engaging with Muslim Women

The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has taken action to address these issues. In November 2007, her department established a Muslim Women’s Advisory Group. This group of women, who are in positions of leadership or are working with communities, will act as role models. The specific purposes of the group will be to:

Act as ambassadors for Muslim women at grass roots and represent their views and concerns to Government;
Provide leadership to communities and act as positive role models for Muslim women in society;
Empower Muslim women to engage more with the media on a wide range of issues. This will enable more positive media coverage and help dispel myths around the role of Muslim women in society.

A publication Engaging with Muslim Women was launched by Ruth Kelly, the then Minister for Women, on 20 September 2006. The publication is a feedback report, from a consultation event held at 10 Downing Street in May 2006 with Muslim women from across the UK. The consultation was led by the Prime Minister and examines issues such as Muslim women's economic and social activity, the impact on good community relations and how this affected those attending, their families and communities.

The report and accompanying press release can be downloaded below:

Download report (PDF)

Download Press release (MS Word)

At the launch of the document a number of organisations and community groups spoke about the work they are doing to support women, including ethnic minority women in their local communities. A list of some of those organizations and the women who spoke which you may find useful is available here.

Minority Ethnic Archive

Integrating Equality Archive

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