FiLiA Report on women’s concerns across the UK – Making Policy Work for Women
The FiLiA Legacy Project – Campaigns and Policy works to ensure women’s voices are heard in the policy sphere and women’s concerns are acted on by policy makers and to support women to organise and mobilise to create social and political change which contributes to the liberation of women and girls.
As part of this project, FiLiA commissioned extensive research in 2024 to understand the work, concerns, priorities, challenges and opportunities of women and women-led organisations based in and around FiLiA’s six legacy cities: Brighton, Glasgow, Cardiff, Portsmouth, Bradford and Manchester.
The research comprised extensive direct consultation with grassroots women’s groups, including Black and minoritised women-led groups; a review of hundreds of written sources detailing the lives of women; and an in-depth look into how well unions represent and work for women.
This report, Making Policy Work for Women, summarises the findings of this research, identifying the issues which are most pressing for women, including male violence, poverty and the cost of living, health, racism and the right to organise and be politically active. It is clear from the research that policies are failing to reflect women’s lives, needs and experiences.
The report provides recommendations for policy makers to include women in the development of policies and laws that dictate our lives and consider a more feminist perspective in policy making to improve the lives of women.
Making Policy Work for Women was launched at our Parliamentary reception on 19th November 2025.
Read more about our Campaigns and Policy team here.