International Women’s Day 2022 (March 8) proved an opportunity to celebrate women – raising awareness, recognising achievements and applauding differences and diversity for equality.

Oxford Health are uniting with a week-long programme of events hosted by the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team and the Women’s Staff Support Group – to encourage, support and represent women across the Trust, activities include a wellbeing session, meditation and an inner critic workshop.

An all staff event also marked the occasion with senior leaders and Women’s Staff Support Group members sharing personal and inspiring stories on how they #BreakTheBias.

In their touching  stories, women addressed careers, domestic violence and education – empowering peers to remember their strength, achieve their goals and most importantly to be themselves, and  to #BreakTheBias and challenge gender inequality. A minute’s silence during the event gave time to reflect, remembering women who have sadly lost their lives to or suffered gender-based violence.

Rose Hombo, Divisional Head of Nursing in Buckinghamshire, told approximately 140 attendees: “You have to believe in yourself, you have to believe as a woman you have got the same position as any other person at the table. Once you believe and encourage others to do the same, then collectively we will push the barriers and #BreakTheBias.”

Kerry Rogers, Director of Corporate Affairs & Company Secretary commented, “There are many inspiring women and girls; it is a privilege to work with so many women today, achieving what we do, in great part because of those women before us.”

Launched in 2021, the Women’s Support Group is part of a new wider development of equality networks and staff support groups set up by the trust’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team to create a ‘community of support’ that will actively influence and advance a culture of inclusive equality in all aspects of the workings of the organisation. The Women’s group is a safe space for all women to come together and support one another in all-areas of being a woman at the trust and the wider community.

Women’s Support Group Lead and Head of Charity and Involvement, Julie Pink said: “At Oxford Health, staff are passionate to #BreaktheBias. Tracey and I were delighted to be asked to lead the Women’s Support Group when it launched last year. The Women’s Support Group is there to be a place for women to talk, share experiences and to have peer engagement in safe space.”

Head of Operations, Isis Psychology and also Women’s Support Group Lead Tracy McAteer added: “Sharing our own stories can help – we all have different life stories that have made us who are we and have got us to the place we are at now.

“We the work we are doing with the Equality Diversity and Inclusion team and the support groups is amazing – we try to address the intersectionality that you might be a women but you might also have a disability or be part of another group in society too.”