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About Us

Empowering women to reach their full potential

Who we are

We are The Women’s Organisation. By supporting women, we help them to achieve their personal, social and economic potential.

About Us


Since 1996, we have been training, supporting and inspiring women. Across communities, business and government policy, we represent women’s interests and are committed to creating a more equal world.

Inspiring women everywhere

We want all women to aspire and achieve. We are the largest developer and deliverer of training and support aimed at women in the UK, but our impact reaches beyond our location in the Liverpool City Region and North West England. Through different collaborations, we are able to work with women and communities from diverse backgrounds right across the world, helping them to tackle and solve the unique challenges they face.

A highly diverse approach

We have supported over 60,000 women and helped to create more than 4,000 businesses, but the ways that we are generating impact are increasingly diverse. Currently, our work spans five complementary pillars:

  • Employment, enterprise and well-being support
  • Business incubation
  • Programme management
  • Consultancy
  • Research and influence

Whether we are working directly with women in the Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester, or helping to build relationships through international partnerships, everything we do is underpinned by our values.

We are here to level the playing field, help women to open doors and have their voices heard. And that includes yours.

*Our services are subject to funding and eligibility criteria. If you would like to find out about the services we currently offer in your area, please get in touch with our team.

Our Leadership

 

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Pat Shea-Halson
Chair of Trading Arm

Pat was first involved with The Women’s Organisation as a client, completing a business skill course in Supervisory Management in conjunction with Liverpool John Moores University. Having benefitted from the service herself and feeling passionate about ensuring more women have the opportunity to access economic support, Pat joined the board of directors to help steer organisational development. As an award-winning entrepreneur, Pat has run the Centre for Personal Development for over ten years, providing specialist trauma-counselling, training for would-be counsellors and helping women and children to build their communication skills, confidence and self-esteem.

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Sue Oshikanlu
Chair

Sue is committed to reducing the barriers faced by individuals and communities by ensuring local services are in place across Liverpool to tackle social and economic exclusion. As Finance Manager for local charity HEAT, Sue provides advocacy and support to disadvantaged groups, including women who are suffering domestic violence and abuse. She has extensive experience in the running of publicly funded services, including undertaking the management and accounting for public and charitable funds. At The Women’s Organisation, Sue has developed and implemented a range of highly effective systems to ensure the charity and social enterprises’ financial integrity.

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Mona Navin Mealey
Chair of Audit and Finance

Mona is a qualified account with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, and has over 25 years’ experience in the private sector. She is currently Senior Finance Lead at Westrock Printing, a global company operating across 4 continents. She previously held the role of Chief Accountant for Westport House and Country Park Group, and was Principal for Mona Navin Mealey Associates. Mona has also held the position of Finance Directors position for the GB group, a computer software and data services provider. At The Women’s Organisation, Mona offers audit and finance expertise for the charity.

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Prof. Maggie O'Carroll
CEO of The Women’s Organisation

Maggie co-founded The Women’s Organisation in 1996, to help improve the economic position of women through research, policy influencing and the implementation of an innovative portfolio of business and economic development services to help more women to start and grow their own enterprises. Maggie has led the overall strategic development of the organisation, growing it to become the largest Women’s Economic Development Agency in the UK. The Women’s Organisation operates internationally providing business innovation, development, and growth services to a range of public, private and civil society organisations. She is actively involved in shaping women’s economic development and wider economic development policy on a local, national, and international basis. Maggie is a visiting Professor at the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship at the University of Strathclyde, a visiting scholar at The Hayden Green Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and is a fellow of the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Her research and commercialisation projects are primarily focused on social value and impact and female entrepreneurship start up and growth. She holds several non-executive board and advisory positions and is currently Executive Director of Enterprise Evolution, Education, Enterprise and Consultancy, a European headquartered social business specialising in social impact and value, enterprise education, and women’s business - www.enterpriseevolution.eu Maggie's work has been recognised across the UK, with multiple business accolades including ‘Entrepreneurs Champion of the Year’ and 'Social Leader of the Year'.

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Helen Millne
Deputy CEO of The Women’s Organisation

Helen has over 25 years’ experience working at a senior management and executive level across the public, private and social economy sectors. At The Women’s Organisation, Helen provides financial and operational leadership, and develops a range of social impact, economic development and business growth programmes. She sits on the National Growth Programme Board, the Performance and Dispute Resolution National Sub-Committee and the Equality & Diversity National Sub-Committee, working collaboratively to influence strategy and to address issues faced by third sector organisations. In 2018, Helen was named as one of the UK’s most influential social enterprise leaders.