From the chair

Working as we all do for the civil service it surprises me that in the 21st century we still have not quite "moved aside our brothers" to ensure we have a strong female voice in every workplace. I am proud that PCS has a female president and two of the four vice presidents are female. We want all our sisters to belong to a fantastic movement and to know they have a say in what concerns them. 

To be clear though, it is not that we want to diminish the role of our brothers but we find like attracts like. In some matters, it is important we lead the way and that our members (the majority of whom are female) see that there is a place for them in the union and see what women achieve within the movement. We need to take charge of issues that impact on us, such as those covered in this edition of PCS Women such as abortion rights* and affordable childcare. 

Women’s voices have historically gone unheard but every so often a woman in history pops up who shows us that our place is not necessarily in the 'home'. Our sisters before us have paved the way for us to have bigger and stronger representation. We will soon be preparing for Women's History Month in March - an excellent opportunity to learn about such women. Perhaps there is one who is important to you who you would like to see represented? Or you might like to write about another women’s topic. Either way, please let us know by emailing equality@pcs.org.uk.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this edition - my thanks to the contributors.

*Please note, some of the articles included in the newsletter are abortion which might be triggering for some