Inspirational leaders come together for events to mark International Women's Day in Wigan

A week-long programme of events, led by Wigan Council, will include online panel discussions and a celebration lunch.

Women who have recently come to the borough from Afghanistan will share their stories at the lunch on Tuesday, which is International Women’s Day, and there will be performances from poet Louise Fazackerley and WigLe Dance.

The council’s lead member for equalities, Coun Paula Wakefield, said: “Some people do believe that women now have equality but there is still a lot to be achieved, both in other countries, where laws actively discriminate against women, and here in Wigan borough, where you can still find daily examples of gender bias.

“This year, the international theme is Breaking the Bias, which asks us all to consider what a world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination might be like.”

The programme will start on Monday with Sue France, chairman of women in business networking event FubHub, hosting a digital discussion with other businesswomen.

More online discussions will follow on Wednesday, when assistant director at Wigan Council, Julie Middlehurst, will lead a discussion on the safety of women, and on Friday, March 11 actor and presenter Vic Cook will host a question and answer session on the barriers that women from different communities can face when striving to achieve their goals.

Coun Wakefield added: “It can often feel like the problems of the world are so overwhelming that it can be hard to know where to begin addressing them

“The idea behind International Women’s Day is that we need to start small.

“We’re all responsible for our own actions every day, so if we can start to break the bias in our own small communities, and if all of us do this across the world, the impact could be enough to create change.”

There are a limited number of places available at the celebration lunch on Tuesday, which will take place at The Edge in Wigan from noon to 2.30pm. Book here

The online events will be streamed from Wigan Council’s Facebook page at 6pm. To submit questions, email [email protected]. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions during the events.

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