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Read the storyAn empowering event
On Friday 7 March, The Diocese hosted an empowering event in Lincoln Cathedral Chapter House in celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD), which landed on Saturday 15 March this year.
The day was a chance to get together and celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. It was a our call to action for accelerating gender parity.
The Cathedral Chapter House was decorated with IWD bunting and delicious cakes were decorated with IWD flags provided. Combined with the stunning architecture, it was a fitting atmosphere for an afternoon dedicated to honoring the achievements and contributions of women from all walks of life.
Our keynote speakers
We were introduced to a trio of keynote speakers.
Rachel Mclafferty, Strategic Programme Manager for the Diocese of Lincoln, discussed Irise International’s efforts to tackle menstrual justice, period poverty, and stigma worldwide.
She highlighted the Period Friendly Schools initiative in Uganda, which helps girls stay in school by working with teachers, families, and community leaders.
Rachel also mentioned the Toilet Toolkit, a resource to improve school toilet policies for period equity. In the UK, period poverty affects 1 in 5 people, causing over a third of teenage girls to miss school regularly.
Our next speaker was Revd Sonia Barron, who spoke about being born in Jamaica and how we she moved to England in 1964. She discussed her career including teaching, working as the Archbishops’ Adviser for racial justice, serving as a parish priest, and currently being the Diocesan Director of Ordinands in Lincoln.
She recounted how she has teached in various settings, including Uganda, which had been transformative. Her favourite achievements included raising her sons, advocating for racial justice, training for priestly ministry, and contributing to girls’ education in Uganda.
She said that in Uganda, cultural barriers and poverty hinder girls’ education. To overcome these, we need to educate children about equality, raise awareness, and support girls through mentoring and advocacy. By investing in their education, we can create a brighter future for everyone.
Our final speaker was Jackie Waters-Dewhurt, who spoke about her experiences as a CEO that champions the progression of women. She highlighted just how important it is to ensure girls and women have access to environments where they can flourish.
Jackie spoke about the recruitment and retention of women in the Lincolnshire Academy Trust. She went on to speak about having personal authenticity in leadership so that people can are encouraged to be themselves.
There was also an inspiring call to break the barriers of womens professional progression and reach for societal equality.
All of their stories were a testament to the resilience and determination of women but also how much has to be done to continue making this a reality for women across the world, as well as in our own communities across Greater Lincolnshire.
The self-portrait workshop
There was even a self-portrait workshop hosted by the talented Hannah Peacock (Instagram: Paintingsbypeacock). She is a community arts facilitator, theatre maker, visual artist and performer based in Lincolnshire.
Hannah is passionate about introducing the performing and visual arts, making them accessible to all.
Tears of Gold Exhibition
As part of the event, Hannah ran a simple self portrait workshop influenced by the Cathedral’s Tears of Gold exhibition, which a series of paintings that show hope in the face of persecution.
A group of Christian women from northern Nigeria created self-portraits to process the trauma they’ve experienced because of violent attacks. The paintings contain tears of gold: a sign of how tragedy can be transformed into hope through the love of God.
More information about the tears of Gold exhibition can be found here.
Those enjoying the workshop could paint alongside the keynote speakers as part of the International women’s day event.
They were invited to note down 3 words or statements they felt reflected their identity. They then took inspiration from this and created their own self portrait surrounding identity.
A worthy celebration
We were absolutely delighted to be joined by so many people who joined together to celebrate, learn from, and inspire one another. Thank you to all those who supported us on the day or celebrated the day in other ways!
