When I was first asked to write this piece, I realised that thinking about women in the context of community organising is particularly pertinent to me: it was through a women’s safety project in Brixton that I first began to learn about Movement for Change and community organising. Back then, I didn’t really even know what community organising was. I had heard a few whispers – some good, some bad. Was it some sort of magic wand to get everyone you ever meet engaged in politics and ensure landslide election victories? Was it community campaigning in all but name? Was it diverting precious resources from voter ID and leaflet drops to whimsical ‘community projects’ which didn’t achieve much or actually change anything? I was certainly sceptical, but I got stuck in to see what I could find out.
Two years on, and I now know none of these things are true. It is not some magical electoral tool, nor does it claim to be. My experience was unlike any campaign I had been part of: the importance placed on taking time to build individual relationships, and to base our work around these relationships rather than being driven by a predetermined issue, made me completely rethink how politics should be done. In terms of voter ID, for me organising is a complementary approach, rather than a replacement. But I have seen – and worked with – people both inside and outside the Labour party who are passionate about their communities and want to take action, but who haven’t thought about organising as a vehicle for effecting change. And as for being airy fairy fun which doesn’t change anything? Try telling that to the students and workers at the universities across the UK which now pay the living wage, or the residents of North-east Somerset who can now see friends and relatives after forcing the bus company to change the services they offer, or credit union users in Newcastle and Southampton who now have access to more fair payday loans than ever before.
In terms of what opportunities women in particular may find in community organising, you’ll be pleased to know I’m not going to assume I can speak for all women: I find that all too often, over 50 per cent of the population is reduced to a homogenous subcategory. What I can do is reflect on my own experiences, and those of the women I’ve organised with. On a personal level, I passionately believe that women need to act together to make change. We haven’t always had the opportunity to, and today remain a minority in almost every single important decision making body in the country. Whether it’s the fact that, in over a century, we haven’t managed to reach the number of MPs it would take to fill a parliament, or that we live in a country where the largest image of a woman in the best-selling newspaper is only wearing her knickers, there’s an endless list of things women have a right to be angry about – but more importantly, to take action on. Up and down the country, with the help of Movement for Change, women are doing just that. For example, the refugee women from across London, brought together by Women for Refugee Women and co-trained by Movement for Change to found London’s first-ever women’s refugee forum. Or the group of young mums in Bonymaen, Swansea, getting organised to end the harassment they face daily from doorstep lenders, as part of the national campaign to cap the cost of credit. Or the team of activists in Brixton who, after speaking to women across the area, decided it was time to take action on the insecurity that women felt at night. They organised to change the way clubs treat harassment in their venues and to change the conditions under which the council hands out licences to bars and clubs. In Newcastle, Liz is finding that learning to organise is having a huge impact on her confidence, and – ultimately – what it means to be active in public life. Women nationwide are getting organised – are you going to be one of them?
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Kate Talbot is a community organiser with Movement for Change. Follow them on Twitter: @ktalbot21 @M4Conline
Kate is speaking at next week’s Winning With Women conference on Leading change in communities: Running a successful campaign. Sign up for your ticket here.
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At Movement for Change, we aim to achieve lasting change in local communities by bringing people together and building their power to act collectively for common purpose. We seek to reconnect politics with people’s everyday lived experience by bringing together a movement of community activists working to create change. If that sounds like something you’d like to learn more about, you can attend an M4C workshop at the Progress Winning with Women Conference here, read more about Movement for Change here, RSVP to our main conference fringe event here, and find out more about our intensive training weekend here.