Women's National Commission

Background

The Women’s National Commission (WNC) was originally established by Harold Wilson in 1969 to advise government on the views of women in the UK.

It is classified as an independent, lower tier advisory non departmental public body, and is sponsored by the Government Equalities Office.  It is ultimately accountable to the Ministers for Women and Equality: the Rt. Hon. Harriet Harman QC MP and Barbara Follett MP.

Gender Equality is an important strategic goal of the Government’s agenda. The WNC plays a central role in the drive to being a voice for women and women’s organisations in the UK and helps facilitate the exchange of views between women and government.  It currently represents over 400 women’s organisations throughout England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It remains an important mechanism to enable Government to connect directly with Women’s organisations on its own terms. 

For more information on the work of the WNC and its partners, please visit their site at: Women's National Commission

The 2007 light touch review

In early 2007, Ministers decided to conduct a light touch review of the WNC. This was undertaken by an independent review Chair, Rita Donaghy.  Ministers have accepted and approved the recommendations of the review in full and this has recently been published in 2008, and can be found at: Download full report

Public Appointments

Following the light touch review, the Government Equalities Office, conducted a public appointments exercise, in line with guidance from the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA), to recruit a permanent Chair for the Women’s National Commission. This has now been concluded with the appointment of Baroness Joyce Gould. Details of her appointment can be found at: Press Release

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