Today marks 100 years since women got the vote.
How far have we come since then? How have things changed? What’s it like being a woman in Wales today? What are the challenges? And what can we still only dream of?
Despite the great progress made against poverty in the last few decades, millions of women and girls are still trapped in lives of hardship and fear.
Here in Wales, women are also missing out:
- 80 % of all part-time jobs are held by women and 75% of those jobs are in typically low paid occupations (retail, administration etc)
- At current rates of progress, it will take 100 years to close the gender pay gap
- 24.9% of all workers in Wales earn less than the living wage (£8.75 an hour) and 63% of those are women
So there’s work to be done. And time after time we’ve seen how women who can get an education, earn a fair living and enjoy independent lives can leave poverty behind – and bring their families and communities with them.
So to mark this International Women’s Day we want to hear from you! Please help us create a video that will highlight that things that need to change for women in Wales by sending us a short film of yourself answering the following questions:
1)What are the challenges you face as a woman in Wales today?
2) What is the one thing that would make Wales better for women today? (e.g childcare, decent pay, better transport, better local services etc)
3) Looking back, what piece of advice would you give your 10-year-old self? (e.g don’t be scared, you CAN do this! You’ll get there…)
4) Looking ahead, if you could choose one word or sentence to inspire the next generation of Welsh women, what would it be? (Equality, Justice, power)
Make it personal! We want to hear from YOU!
You can film it on your phone using the selfie mode, or ask a friend to film you. Don’t worry, it doesn’t need to be perfect! We can edit it and bring it all together.
If English isn’t your first language, please feel free to record this in your mother tongue and send me a translation of what you’re saying in the email.
Thank you so much! We’ll be sure to share the final film with you on International Women’s Day (8th March 2018).
Please send your film to Casia: cwiliam1@oxfam.org.uk or send them to Oxfam Cymru via Facebook (Oxfam Cymru) or Twitter @OxfamCymru