International Women's Day

photo : standing from left : the Lord Mayor of York, Sylvia ( Oxfam volunteer ), the Sheriff's Lady & Caroline. kneeling : Oxfam's Sarah & Erin. International Women’s Day York Oxfam Campaigners celebrated International Women’s Day at the York Fair Trade Market on the 8th March. They were joined by the Lord Mayor of York, Councillor Irene Waudby, & Sheriff’s Lady, Karen Hyman. Although a time to mark the central role that women play in development, International Women’s Day was also an opportunity to highlight gender inequality, which blocks women’s access to resources & power. Oxfam’s “ For All Campaign ” The Lord Mayor of York was keen to support Oxfam’s “ For All ” campaign, calling for six million health & education workers globally. The campaign addresses the lack of access to education for 80 million children, the great majority girls, & will halt the scandal of the 1,400 women dying needlessly in childbirth every day. York Oxfam Campaigner, Sarah Luther, commented ; “ We’ve had a really fun day here at York’s Fair Trade Market & it was great to receive the support of the City’s first citizen, a successful female politician. We’ve been able to highlight that action needs to be taken for poor women to gain access to education & healthcare. ” International Women’s Day and Fair Trade York Fair Trade Forum were delighted that Oxfam chose to mark International Women’s Day at the Fair Trade Market. Many Fair Trade products are produced by groups of women working cooperatively. One example is Skvis, a cooperative in India, that has empowered & trained over 2000 women to run their business. The proceeds are shared out amongst all the producers. As well as offering a vital contribution to household incomes, the business also contributes to social projects that help the community as a whole. Skvis produce beautiful silk scarves. In York they are stocked by Fairer World in Gillygate.