> About UsAbout Us
Empowering women to reach their full potential
About Us
In 1996, three pioneering women founded a not-for-profit organisation to address a critical gap in support for women, who were significantly underrepresented in employment, enterprise, and leadership. Their vision was to provide high-quality, tailored services that would empower women particularly those facing social and economic disadvantage to achieve their full potential.
Three decades on, that vision has grown into a far-reaching mission to advance women’s social and economic development at both national and international levels. Today, our work spans women’s health, social entrepreneurship entrepreneurial learning, consultancy, and career development.
The Women’s Organisation is a multi-award winning organisation and in 2022 was recognised among the top 1% of UK social enterprises in the SE100 Index the country’s leading source of market intelligence on social enterprise.
To learn more about how we’ve evolved over time, visit our Our History page.
Inspiring women everywhere
We want all women to aspire and achieve.
As a UK-wide organisation, we are the largest developer and deliverer of training and support tailored specifically for women, with an expanding international reach. Our work is grounded not only in delivery but also in evidence, insight, and research that informs policy and practice.
In line with our charitable objectives, we undertake and commission research to better understand the barriers women face in employment, education, health, and enterprise. We use this evidence to shape our programmes, influence policy, decision-makers, and raise awareness of equality and diversity issues for the public benefit.
Through national delivery, strategic partnerships, and international collaboration, we combine research, education, and practical support to build women’s economic potential, improve wellbeing, and address the social and economic inequalities that affect their lives.
A highly diverse approach
Today, the ways in which we generate impact are increasingly diverse, reflecting both the complexity of the challenges women and communities face and the breadth of our expertise.
As a UK-wide organisation with international reach, our work is delivered through a set of complementary pillars:
- Health and wellbeing initiatives
- Enterprise, employment and training
- Accountable body status, public procurement support, and consortium development and management
- Consultancy services – including research, evaluation, social value, organisational and business development, and capacity building
- Policy development and influencing
We bring particular expertise in social enterprise development and support, helping individuals and organisations to start, grow, and sustain businesses that deliver both social and economic value. This includes support across capital and revenue models, business planning, income diversification, and building resilient, sustainable organisations.
Alongside this, we operate as a social enterprise, generating income through a range of services and trading activities, including managed business space, virtual office provision, conferencing, and consultancy. This income is fully reinvested into our charitable mission, enabling us to extend our reach and deepen our impact.
Whether we are working directly with women across the UK and internationally, or collaborating through teaching, partnerships and global projects, everything we do is grounded in our values.
We exist to level the playing field opening doors, amplifying women’s voices, and enabling them to achieve their full economic potential. This commitment underpins all of our activity, from frontline delivery to systems-level change.
Our charitable purpose
Our work is driven by a clear set of charitable objectives that guide both our delivery and our long-term impact:
- Advancing health and wellbeing, through holistic support that enables women to thrive.
- Relieving unemployment, by supporting women into work, self-employment and enterprise.
- Advancing education and enterprise, building skills, confidence and economic potential.
- Providing targeted support for women facing poverty or disadvantage, improving life chances and economic security.
- Promoting equality and diversity, through awareness-raising, education and influencing change.
Pat first engaged with The Women’s Organisation as a service user, experiencing first-hand the impact of its support. Motivated by her own journey and a strong commitment to ensuring more women can access opportunities for economic independence, she later joined the Board of Directors, bringing a valuable lived-experience perspective to the organisation’s development. An award-winning entrepreneur, Pat is the founder and director of the Centre for Personal Development, which she has led for over two decades. Through her work, she provides specialist counselling and psychotherapy, delivers training for aspiring counsellors, and supports women and children to build communication skills, confidence, and self-esteem. Pat brings deep expertise in health and wellbeing as a qualified psychotherapist, with a strong focus on trauma-informed practice. She has extensive experience working with vulnerable communities, particularly women living in poverty and facing multiple forms of disadvantage. She brings a deep appreciation of empowerment and advocacy as essential tools for change and progress. Her work is rooted in supporting individuals to overcome barriers, amplify their voices, and create sustainable improvements in their lives and communities. At The Women’s Organisation, Pat contributes her combined insight as both a former service user and a practitioner, helping to shape services that are responsive, inclusive, and impactful.
Sue is a senior leader in the domestic abuse support sector, recognised for her commitment to advancing equality, social justice, and public health. She brings a values-driven and inclusive approach to addressing the systemic barriers that affect women and marginalised communities. As Finance Director at Liverpool Domestic Abuse Services, Sue plays a key role in ensuring that sustainable, high-quality support services are accessible to those experiencing domestic violence and abuse. Her work reflects a strong understanding of the links between social and economic exclusion and public health, and she is dedicated to strengthening local services to better respond to community needs. Alongside her executive role, Sue serves as a trustee of Writing on the Wall, an internationally renowned organisation that uses creativity and storytelling to empower individuals and communities. Through this work, she supports innovative approaches to advocacy, inclusion, and community engagement. Sue has extensive experience in the management of publicly funded services, including overseeing the effective stewardship of public and charitable funds. At The Women’s Organisation, she overseen the development of robust financial systems that ensured the integrity and sustainability of both the charity and its social enterprises. Across her work, Sue is a committed advocate for equity, using her leadership to support more inclusive systems and improved outcomes for those most at risk.
Mona is a Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA) with over 30 years of senior-level experience across the private sector. She joined The Women’s Organisation as Chair of Audit and Finance and brings extensive financial, strategic, and governance expertise to the charity. Mona currently serves as Finance Director at Westport Estate, where she is responsible for financial strategy and operations within a major tourism destination. She has also held senior roles, including Senior Finance Lead at WestRock Printing, a global organisation operating across four continents. Her career spans a range of industries, including tourism and hospitality, pharmaceutical printing, and digital identity verification. She previously served as Finance Director for a London Stock Exchange-listed company, with responsibility for investor relations and acquisitions. Earlier in her career, she was Principal of Mona Navin Mealey Associates. Mona’s expertise includes strategic business planning, financial control and compliance (including SOX), group financial reporting, taxation, and acquisitions integration. She is highly skilled in commercial decision-making, negotiation, and building effective business relationships at all levels. At The Women’s Organisation, she provides vital leadership and oversight on audit and financial governance.
Professor Maggie O’Carroll is Chief Executive of The Women’s Organisation and a recognised leader in driving innovation, policy influence, and inclusive economic development. With a career spanning academia, enterprise support, and social innovation, she brings a distinctive blend of strategic leadership and evidence-based practice to advancing women’s social and economic participation and productivity. Maggie has led the organisation’s evolution into a nationally and internationally recognised centre of excellence, delivering innovative programmes that support women in health, technology, business development, employment, and leadership. Her work is underpinned by a strong commitment to embedding equality, advancing social value, and improving outcomes in women’s health as a critical driver of economic inclusion and workforce productivity. A passionate advocate for systems change, Maggie works at the intersection of policy, practice, and research shaping agendas that address structural inequalities and unlock the full potential of women in the economy. She has played a key role in influencing regional and national strategies, ensuring that women’s entrepreneurship, health, and wellbeing are recognised as central to sustainable economic growth. As a Professor, Maggie continues to contribute to thought leadership and knowledge exchange, strengthening the evidence base around women’s enterprise, social innovation, and inclusive growth. Her leadership is defined by a focus on innovation, collaboration, and measurable impact at scale.
Helen Milne is a senior executive leader with over 30 years’ experience across the public, private and social economy sectors. She brings extensive expertise in strategic financial management, social value, and the design and delivery of large-scale public programmes that drive inclusive economic growth. She is also actively engaged in the development and adoption of AI-enabled social value technologies, supporting more effective impact measurement, data-driven decision-making, and scalable solutions across the sector. As Deputy Chief Executive of The Women’s Organisation, Helen provides overarching financial and operational leadership, ensuring organisational sustainability while scaling high-impact, mission-driven interventions. She has led the development and delivery of innovative social impact and economic development programmes, supporting enterprise growth, workforce participation, and improved outcomes for women and underserved communities at regional, national and international levels. Helen plays an influential role in shaping the wider social enterprise and third sector landscape. Through her collaborative approach, she contributes to policy development, strengthens delivery frameworks, and works to address systemic challenges facing the sector. In 2018, Helen was recognised as one of the UK’s most influential social enterprise leaders and was named among the WISE100 Women in Social Enterprise, reflecting her significant contribution to advancing social innovation and inclusive economic development.
In 1996, three pioneering women founded a not-for-profit organisation to address a critical gap in support for women, who were significantly underrepresented in employment, enterprise, and leadership. Their vision was to provide high-quality, tailored services that would empower women particularly those facing social and economic disadvantage to achieve their full potential. Three decades on, that vision has grown into a far-reaching mission to advance women’s social and economic development at both national and international levels. Today, our work spans women’s health, social entrepreneurship entrepreneurial learning, consultancy, career development. The Women’s Organisation is a multi-award winning organisation and in 2022 was recognised among the top 1% of UK social enterprises in the SE100 Index the country’s leading source of market intelligence on social enterprise. To learn more about how we’ve evolved over time, visit our Our History page.
