FDA celebrates Women’s History Month 2025 with panel event

To celebrate Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day 2025 the FDA hosted a panel event looking at the history of women in the civil service and within the trade union movement.

The event was hosted by FDA President Margaret Haig, and panelists included FDA Vice President Leila Kelly; Chair of Ethnic Minorities into Leadership Pru Orridge MBE; former FDA President Vicky Johnson; and 2024 winner of the FDA’s Wendy Jones Award for her work on gender equality Cyara Buchuck-Wilsenach.

Throughout the discussion, each of the panelists highlighted themes of allyship, mentorship, and the power that small, tangible actions can have towards advancing gender equality within the workplace.

Cyara Buchuck-Wilsenach, who this year is taking up post as an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) rep for the FDA’s Fast Stream Section, said: “It’s so important to have a really strong network of female colleagues or people who maybe have had similar experiences to you, where you can reflect on what’s going on, reflect on wider systemic issues that there are and then think about systemic ways of tackling them, whether that is through workshops, training, taking motions forward as part of the wider trade union movement or looking to change policy within a workplace.”

Buchuck-Wilsenach encouraged attendees to consider if there is “one small, tangible action that you could do in the wider workplace and, thinking about that over 50% of trade union members being women, is there a small action you can do within your section of the FDA to make it more visible and more inclusive?”

FDA member and chair of Ethnic Minorities in Leadership Pru Orridge, who was awarded an MBE for services to diversity, discussed the particular challenges women of colour face in the workplace and the importance of allyship in overcoming such barriers, saying: “A point that I think can’t be made strongly enough is the role that allies have played in my career and the power they have to lift up those who are underrepresented or disadvantaged… The importance of having someone who champions and supports you, I think many of us can relate to how transformative that can be in our careers.”

Orridge continued:

“I think it’s all about challenging stereotypes, biases, social norms, and amplifying women’s voices so we ensure women’s perspectives are represented in decision making and leadership roles.

“For me Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day are opportunities to reflect, celebrate and push for meaningful change. So, while it is important to honor the achievements of women, it should also serve as a reminder of the work still needed to create true equity and inclusion.”

Former FDA President Vicky Johnson reflected on her experiences as a woman working in the civil service, and as an active participant within the trade union movement, describing the friends and mentors she has met as having had a major role in her own success.

Discussing the tangible actions individuals can take to continue the progress, Johnson said: “It saddens me in some ways that we’re still having the same conversations, but I think if we stop having them we’ll never get anywhere. A union is only as strong as its membership and so the first and most important thing we can do is talk about union membership to anybody and everybody. Ask them if they’re a member of a union and if they’re not, encourage them to join.”

FDA Vice President Leila Kelly reflected on the history of women within the trade union movement, as well as changes that have occurred within the civil service over the past century. Kelly highlighted the fact that this year marks 100 years since women were first allowed to take the exam that would give them access to what would become the Senior Civil Service, and said:

“When I started my working life in 1997, only about 20% of the Senior Civil Service were women, which was far below the number of women working in the civil service, and now it’s about 48%, which is broadly in line with the population as a whole. In my department, the Treasury Solicitor’s, our Permanent Secretary is a woman and all three Directors General are women. In the FDA we currently have a woman President and two women Vice Presidents, and I think that’s fantastic. But I don’t think we should rest on our laurels.”

Kelly pointed to the fact that despite significant progress in gender equality having been made within the civil service and across society more generally, issues such as the gender pay gap, pensions gap and access to childcare persist, saying: “Marriage is no longer the end of your career, but having children might be, or it will certainly have an impact on your career.

“We’ve made great leaps and bounds as women, we’re in a much better place than we were when I started my working career, but we’re not there yet. There are big societal changes that we have to take into account like access to childcare and changing the way pensions work.”

Haig concluded the discussion by encouraging attendees to take advantage of development opportunities offered by the FDA, such as Women into Leadership conferences, which are held every year around the country, as well as FDA Learn sessions designed to support women and underrepresented groups to progress in their careers. FDA members can also get involved with the union’s equality work as delegates or visitors to the TUC Equality Conferences, including the annual Women’s Conference which took place earlier this month.