Guide to setting up a feminist group in your

school or college

About UK Feminista
UK Feminista supports individuals and groups to campaign for equality between women and men. We do this by:

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  providing campaigning resources and training
  
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  acting as a bridge between activists at a grassroots level and women's/feminist organisations
  
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  facilitating links between activists
  
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  profiling and celebrating feminist activism in the UK
  
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  promoting public awareness about gender inequality and the need for feminism
  

group?

P 5 Meetings

P 6 Working together as a group

P 7 Communications

P 7 Keep people coming

back

what?

info@ukfeminista.org.uk

www.ukfeminista.org.uk

Welcome!
S
“All around me I could see people being treated differently just because of their gender, but no one seemed to be doing anything. So I decided to take matters into my own hands – I decided to set up a feminist society.”

Saoirse, Fortismere School
o, you want to set up a feminist group in your school or college? Or maybe you want to make your existing group bigger and better? Either way, you’ve come to the right place. This UK Feminista guide is designed to help you set up and run a strong feminist group, one that really makes a difference in your school or college and beyond.
Happy feministing!

Why set up a feminist group?

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  Camden School for Girls’ FemSoc model their own ‘This is
  
  what a Feminist looks like’ t-shirts
  Make change happen Ending gender inequality will require fundamental transformation in society. So it won’t simply happen because of a small group of policy makers in government – everyone needs to be actively involved in that process of change. That means you, your friends, your school or college, and your community too!
  

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  Tackle issues in your school You are ideally placed to challenge sexism in your school or college and local community. Schools and colleges exist for their students, so you have power to demand big changes.
  

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  Be the visible face of feminism at your school Your group can be a first port of call for individuals in your school or college who are interested in feminism. What’s more, by being a voice for feminism, your group can challenge the myth that gender inequality is a thing of the past.
  

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  Friendship and morale Tackling sexism and making change happen can take time and there will be set-backs along the way. Campaigning together as a group means you can encourage and support each other.
  

Recruiting members

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  Ask your friends! Start close to home- ask if any of your friends would be interested in joining a feminist group
  
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  Choose a name for your group!
  
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  Talk to a teacher about you plans to set up a group and ask if they will support you. Having a teacher onside will make it much easier for your group to function as they will able to help with tasks such as booking rooms for meetings and events.
  
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  Email generationf@ukfeminista.org.uk to let us know that you have set up a group and we can put you on our map of local groups.
  

You can also ask UK Feminista to give a talk in your school or college to get your classmates thinking about why feminism is still relevant. Having a talk is a great way to get people talking about feminism and find out who else is interested in taking action in your school. Book your workshop by emailing generationf@ukfeminista.org.uk.

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  Make posters and stick them around your school or college. Make sure the posters display the details of your meeting in a clear and eye-catching way.
  
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  Give a shout out in a class or assembly. This is a quick summary of what the meeting is about, when and where it will be held, and most importantly, why people should come.
  
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  “The process was quite simple – I asked the religious studies department if I could use a room to hold the meetings and they welcomed us to use it. I put posters around the school inviting sixth formers to come, came armed with tea bags and biscuits and off we went.”
  
  Saoirse, Fortismere School
  
  
  Saoirse, Fortismere school
  Promote it in the school paper or newsletter, explaining the reasons why you are starting a group and why people should come.
  
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  Share the event online by creating a blog or Facebook group with information on what your feminist group is about and details of the first meeting, and invite people in your school to join.
  
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  Run a stall at a school fair or college fresher’s fair and speak to as many people as you can about why you are setting up a group, what you'll be doing, and how they can join.
  

Meetings
Bringing about fundamental social change takes a bit of planning, and meetings are a crucial opportunity to do just that! Here are some issues to consider when planning and running your meetings:

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  What? Regular meetings are crucial for planning actions, events or campaigns in your school or college. You might also want to vary your meetings to keep them exciting, by showing a film or getting a speaker in to talk about a specific campaign.
  
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  When? Try to meet as regularly as possible but be realistic about what you can manage. Pick a regular day and time and then stick to it to avoid confusion amongst members about when you’re meeting
  
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  Where? Ask a teacher or tutor how you can book a room that you can use for each meeting. Using the same room regularly will help prevent confusion!
  

The first meeting of your group is your opportunity to inspire people to become active members and also lay the groundwork for how the group will be structured. It’s essential then to do some advance planning for it. Here are some things to plan in advance of the meeting:

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  Aims: Aims of the meeting may include getting people to join, deciding how the group will be structured and where/when you will meet, and getting to know each other.
  
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  Agenda: Put together an agenda (a list of items that will be covered in the meeting) to make sure you achieve your aims and don’t spend ages on one or two topics. If the meeting drags on or doesn’t get very much done this will be off-putting for newcomers
  
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  Tools & activities: Make sure the meeting is active and participative. For example, start off by everyone introducing themselves and how they became interested in feminism. You could also show a short film, invite an external speaker, and/or take a campaign action such as signing a petition postcard. Useful materials for facilitating group discussions and ideas include flip-chat paper & pens, and post-it notes.
  
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  Follow-up: be clear about the next steps following the meeting. Have a sign-up sheet to collect peoples’ email addresses and ensure someone has taken a note of key decisions and actions – so these can be circulated after the meeting.
  

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  Open and accessible: actively welcome newcomers, and start meetings by everyone introducing themselves
  
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  Democratic: engage everyone in decision making, and review the process for doing this regularly
  
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  Organised: Distribute minutes or action notes after the meeting so everyone is clear about what was agreed and those who were unable to make the meeting can stay up to date
  
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  Enjoyable: Meetings should be empowering and rewarding – with everyone coming away feeling they have achieved something and excited about the next meet-up or action. Try to make meetings as participative and energised as possible. For example, use ‘go rounds’ (each person in the group taking it in turn to share some information or a suggestion), group work, and brainstorming. Also, make sure you take time to celebrate your successes!
  

Working together as a group

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  A Meetings Organiser: someone who communicates with staff to ensure meeting rooms are booked.
  
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  A Communications Organiser: Someone who takes on responsibility for sending out emails to the group with details of the next meeting.
  

If people in the group don’t want to take on formal roles, you could simply decide to allocate tasks as and when they arrive. If you chose to do this, you might want to follow this process for delegating roles when you’re planning an event, action or campaign:

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  Brainstorm all the roles
  
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  Explain what each role involves – including how long each will take
  
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  Offer advice for people who haven’t done some of the listed roles before
  
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  Share out the roles
  
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  Ensure tasks are spread fairly amongst the group so it is not always the same people who end up doing the most work
  

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  Outline the agenda for the meeting. This may be set in advance via email, or you can plan it at the meeting by asking people what needs to be discussed.
  
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  Introducing agenda items one by one, keeping an eye on the time to ensure everything is discussed.
  
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  Facilitate discussion by ensuring everyone has a chance to give their opinion on any decisions they have to be made. Asking people to raise a finger if they have something to say, and asking people to speak in turn, is a good way of helping this process. It can help to prevent people from interrupting each other or dominating the conversation.
  
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  Support the group to make important decisions collectively. You may want to use “consensus decision making” processes if your group is making a big decision so everyone’s point of view is taken into account and the whole group feels ownership of the resulting decision. For a guide to using consensus decision making visit the seeds for change website: www.seedsforchange.org.uk.
  

Group communications

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  Be welcoming: Ensure all your events and meetings are welcoming to newcomers. For example, start all meetings by introducing yourselves and how the meetings work, ensure existing group members actively mingle with newcomers, and avoid ‘in jokes’ or jargon during meetings. Offering snacks can also keep up morale!
  
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  Keep active: action is the lifeblood of your group. Make sure the group and its members regularly take action at your school or college.
  
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  Have fun! Try to make your meetings and campaign actions as creative and enjoyable as possible.
  

We have a group! Now what?

Students take part in the

Who Needs Feminism? campaign

Camden School for Girls’ FemSoc campaign is featured

in their local paper before they win their campaign against

lads mags on display in Tesco

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  Have information about your next group meeting available so that people who are inspired to get involved will know exactly what to do.
  
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  Take the email address of anyone who is interested in getting involved in your group so you can remind them about the details of your next meeting.
  

www.ukfeminista.org.uk