About NAWO

History

The National Alliance of Women's Organisations (NAWO, founded 1989) is an umbrella organisation for over 100 organisations and individuals based in England. All members are concerned to ensure women gain access to their human rights, and to make equality between women and men a reality. Its diverse membership includes: single issue to specialist organisations, faith groups, health centres, arts-based organisations and others offering services and campaigning across a range of women's concerns.

Aims and Objectives

NAWO works in partnership with other women's organisations:
To ensure that women's voices are heard and attended to nationally, in Europe and internationally
To ensure that gender is mainstreamed throughout all government policies and in their implementation

Cornerstones of NAWO's work:
The Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). For more information, please click here.
The Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA). For more information, please click here.

NAWO Commitments:
The implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA)
The improvement of government provision for women
The assessment of all policies and their impact on women and men

Our Team

Swadeka Ahsun (Muslim Women's Group)

Barbara Cleary (UNIFEMUK)

Barbara has a business background in Human Resources Management primarily in the public sector. She is a now a self employed HR Consultant. Prior to this she was Director of HR and Diversity in a London local authority. Barbara is committed to furthering women’s rights and raising awareness of the issues women face both nationally and internationally. Barbara is a founder member and now chair of UNIFEM London. She has been involved in many initiatives designed to raise awareness of UNIFEM and its objectives, and funds to support its work and projects in developing countries. She understands the importance of working with other organisations and in particular with NAWO and looks forward to developing a synergy between these organisations to further women’s aims.

Lynda Dearlove, Treasurer (Sisters of Mercy/Women @ the Well)

Eva Eberhardt (European London Group)

Eva Eberhardt has been a feminist activist throughout the United Kingdom (UK) and European Union (EU) for over 30 years. In the 1980s she worked with the Rights of Women legal collective. During that same time her dedication to Red Rag magazine brought readers a strong feminist voice. Later, Eva was instrumental in the creation of the European Network of Women, a grass-root feminist organisation which lobbied the EU (then EEC) for the improvement of women’s equal opportunity policies in Europe. Eva then committed herself, as a member of the first leadership council, to the creation of the European Women’s Lobby (EWL) and, its sister organization, NAWO.

In the 1990s, Eva focused much of her work on social policy and the elimination of violence against women. Specifically she worked as a social policy and gender expert for the Equal Opportunities Unit of the European Commission Employment DG and newly emerging NGOs in Central & Eastern Europe. Later, with the EU`s Daphne Programme, she assisted victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, abused children, and trafficked women.

Turning again to public policy, in 2000 Eva partnered with women from new EU member states on the EU's Enlargement, Gender and Governance research project. Following the completion of this project Eva has retired from her professional pursuits and now spends considerable time volunteering throughout the UK and EU.

Annette Lawson, Chair (The Judith Trust)

Annette’s OBE was awarded for ‘services to diversity’. She has held a variety of leadership roles in women's campaigning organizations. Examples include her work as a Commissioner of the Women’s National Commission of the UK, and as the Vice-President of the European Women's Lobby. Through these positions she has worked tirelessly to enhance the status of women everywhere. Annette is currently Chair of NAWO, the National Alliance of Women’s Organisations, and throughout the past twelve months she has led NAWO’s assessment of women’s empowerment since the 1995 United Nation’s (UN) 4^th World Conference held in Beijing. In October 2009 Annette represented NAWO at the ECE regional NGO forum in Geneva. In March 201o, Annette participated in the follow up conference, Beijing+15 Global Review, held in New York which provided an external audit of the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). During CSW, she moderated both the NAWO sponsored event, Age Shall Not Wither Us, and the Beijing to Brussels: an Unfinished Journey workshop facilitated by the European Women’s Lobby.Annette’s OBE was awarded for ‘services to diversity’. She has held a variety of leadership roles in women's campaigning organizations. Examples include her work as a Commissioner of the Women’s National Commission of the UK, and as the Vice-President of the European Women's Lobby. Through these positions she has worked tirelessly to enhance the status of women everywhere.

June Jacobs (ICJW past-president)

Momotaz Rahim (Hertfordshire Asian Women's Association)

Monica Threlfall

Monica Threlfall is a member of NAWO's Board of Management. In the 1970s and 80s she was active in the Spanish women's movement in a group that became very influential over the Spanish Socialist Party that governed during the 80s and 90s, introducing many reforms and a re-balancing of power between men and women in Spain. Spain has long been a world leader in the proportion of women in its parliament and also maintains a 50-50 male-female balance in government.

Professionally, Monica is Reader in European Politics at London Metropolitan University. Her research has covered: the European Union's and the Council of Europe's social, equality and employment policies and enforcement mechanisms; the impact of women's movements; the claims for a balanced presence of women in public office and elective assemblies; the Spanish democratisation process; and more recently, electoral reform in Britain. She is one of an international team of grant-holders for a large, European Commission-funded, project called Gendered Citizenship in a Multicultural Europe, for which fieldwork was conducted in 11 countries.