A statement from Cllr Gina Needs, Cabinet Member for Community Safety & Cohesion at Enfield Council, on International Women’s Day (IWD).

Cllr Gina Needs said: “International Women’s Day falls on 8 March annually and is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

“The day has occurred in history for over one hundred years with the first gathering held in 1911. Purple, green and white are the colours of International Women’s Day.

“Purple signifies justice and dignity. Green symbolizes hope. White represents purity. The colours originated from the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) in the UK in 1908.

“The campaign theme for International Women’s Day 2023 is #EmbraceEquity

“Equity means treating everyone the same despite our differences. Embrace Equity means acting with fairness.

“The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender equity. Significant activity is witnessed worldwide as groups come together to celebrate women’s achievements or rally for women’s equality, raise awareness about women’s equality.

“Enfield’s ‘Fairer Enfield’ policy reiterates our aim to provide support to women in vulnerable situations and communities, tackling the inequality experienced by so many across the borough.

“On this 8 March give thanks to a special woman, or women, in your life and together we can #EmbraceEquity and to further mark this event Enfield Council will be flying the International Women’s Day flag at the Civic Centre.”

Detective Superintendent Caroline Haines, Borough Commander for (Enfield and Haringey), Manisha Patel, Housing Repairs Manager at Enfield Council and Terry Osborne, Director of Law and Governance at Enfield Council, have shared their thoughts, experiences at work and their careers ahead on IWD. You can watch the video on our YouTube channel here

We can all truly embrace equity.

It’s not just something we say.

It’s not just something we write about.

It’s something we need to think about, know, value and embrace.

It’s what we believe in, unconditionally. Equity means creating an inclusive world.

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