Loreto WoW Group
What is the Loreto WoW group?
• The WoW (Women of the World) feminist group was originally set up at Loreto in 2016 to discuss ways in which we can promote gender equality.
• We have representatives and deputies in each form in Years 7-11 with student leaders in Year 12. The group is overseen by two members of staff.
• WoW Loreto was inspired by the WoW Festival which started in 2010 at the Southbank Centre in London. It was set up to celebrate girls’ and women’s achievements, help realise their potential and unblock/challenge inequalities. It has become a global movement.
• We are also inspired by the example of Mary Ward who challenged assumptions of what girls could achieve and who said “Women in time will do great things.”
• The group meets weekly to discuss current issues affecting girls and women, share ideas to challenge gender assumptions and raise awareness amongst their peers about feminist issues. We also celebrate all the ways girls and women can be successful.
• A major focus of activities takes place around International Women’s Day on March 8th and International Day of the Girl in October when we celebrate the achievement of girls and women with assemblies, posters and activities. We have run very successful campaigns to raise awareness of Period Poverty, fundraising for domestic violence survivors and to collect items for Women’s Refuges.
Why do we need a WoW group at Loreto?
• Despite progress over the last several decades, girls and women remain the majority of the world’s unhealthy, unfed, and unpaid. At present, they make up 70% of the world’s poor and earn only 10% of its income, despite producing over half its food.
• Nearly 5 million girls are married under the age of 15 every year.
• Two-thirds of the 774 million illiterate people in the world are female because they have been denied an education.
• In the UK, women currently earn, on average, 18% less than men for doing the same type of job.
• The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report shows that it will take 100 years to close the gender gap across these areas – health, education, politics and the workplace if we move at the same pace as we have for the past 5 years.
We believe we can make a positive impact on the world!
Here's two of our fantastic reps to tell you what being part of WoW means to them:
Being a WoW Rep means being confident as a young woman and being able to know your place in the world. WoW helps us to learn about the injustices affecting women in the world. It also helps us to develop the strength to help other women, whether it be in assemblies to our school and teachers, on social media or in the real world.
We are very proud to be WoW reps and we're proud to be young women in today's society, fighting after, alongside and before many other inspirational women, as we hope to become. Amanda & Bronwyn (Yr8)
And here's our WoW leaders' thoughts (Yr13):
Being a WoW leader is an empowering and fulfilling role. It’s about more than just guiding; it’s about inspiring confidence in others and oneself. Nethumi
This year the four of us have found ourselves in the roles of educators. We have quite suddenly been faced with responsibilities that we didn't have before, like organising topics for weekly meetings, creating meeting PowerPoints, helping create a school-wide assembly and contributing as part of a team. Being part of WoW has, in many ways, been an uphill trek, but one that has taught us how to support our teammates, find our voices and use these skills to have a positive impact in the school. Chiara
Being a WoW leader at Loreto is incredibly rewarding because it not only offers the opportunity to positively influence our peers but also provides a platform for us to develop confidence, teamwork and leadership skills through weekly meetings, organizing quizzes, and presenting empowering assemblies to the entire school, advocating for the significance of female empowerment and fostering a supportive community ethos. Zoufia
To me, being a WoW leader is a way to express my devotion to women's rights and the rights of all people. I believe being a WoW leader is about expressing the importance of equality and how it affects those around us. Working with the other WoW leaders and the WoW Reps in our weekly meetings, discussing new ways to fight for women's rights and hearing their ideas has been uplifting and a privilege this year! Mikaila
The Herts Advertiser Articles (Period Poverty and Women’s Refuges):
United Nations IBVM Newsletter (page 5):