Leader’s Blog: International Women’s Day

Published Friday 6 March 2026

#GiveToGain

International Women’s Day is a great opportunity every year, to pause and take stock, and think about the position of women in our communities, across the district, the achievements we have seen, the progress we have made so far, but also looking into the future about the challenges and opportunities we have ahead of us.

Our council is led by women at the highest tier, with recently appointed Chief Executive, Adrianna Partridge, and women in senior management roles across the council. I am proud to lead a cabinet and council that reflects our community with almost half of our district represented by women.

This year’s theme #GiveToGain is an interesting one. The women I work with at every level, are passionate about communities across the Vale, and are motivated to make positive change for residents, improving lives, creating healthy and vibrant places to live and work.

In a more general sense women are often seen as givers, to their families and in the workplace, but also to their communities more broadly. They do it almost instinctively, and while these extra responsibilities bring extra work, they also bring with them the benefits of giving and collectively give so much to the places in which we live.

Part of the reason I became a councillor was that I saw so many women in our communities giving something extra, helping in schools and preschools, toddler groups, volunteering for community and sporting clubs. I was one of them, but there were many more, and I still see them today, and thinking about my community here in Faringdon, I am so proud to know women who active contributors to my town.

Recently I met with Ana. I have not known her for long but was inspired by her story. One of our Ukrainian guests, she is a widow with five children. She is highly qualified, with degrees in law and economics, and a master’s in public health which she achieved soon after arriving here four years ago. She is frustrated that she has not yet found a job, but spends her time volunteering, working with the local medical practice and has so much energy; she is organising an event later in the year celebrating Ukrainian culture and history and I am looking forward to attending it and learning more about her homeland.

Katie owns a popular business in Faringdon town centre. Tribe Net Zero Waste allows shoppers to refill their own jars, boxes and bottles with products or all types, cutting down on packaging and food waste.  She employs other women in the town and collaborates with others, and the shop has turned to a community hub, with people customers dropping in for a friendly chat. As a businesswoman, Katie has grown her enterprise from being a market trader, and sees the benefit of encouraging other businesses around her, and is working now with the town, district and councils to help promote the town and businesses within it, bringing vibrancy back to the high street.

I have known…. for years. Every Monday for as long as I can remember a group of lovely ladies meet to have a chat, share a cup of tea, and knit. The Faringdon Knit & Natter group gather in the local church hall and have knitted for all sorts of causes over the years, sensory blankets for neonatal units in local hospitals and more recently blankets, hats and gloves for homeless shelters in Oxford and Swindon. They give so much through their craft, but give to each other too, and anyone like me who joins them occasionally, through their mutual support and friendship.

Jodi is passionate about physical and mental health. Her commitment to community health and wellbeing has seen her set up and support a several initiatives across the town, from the Ladies Running Group, to ‘Meet up on Mondays’, for people who might be feeling lonely and just need the catch up with others. Having had a career in public health, she has now found a role within the Vale of White Horse District Council, in its health and wellbeing team, and is happy to work within an organisation that shares her values and passions.

Jodi’s story brings us back neatly to the role of the council, but it is just one of many that I could have chosen from the many I know here in Faringdon, the community I represent alongside my member colleague, Cllr Lucy Edwards. Multiply that across the district’s other towns and villages and you begin to realise the impact women have on our communities. Alongside their everyday lives, by giving that little bit extra, they gain, but even more so, we all gain, by benefitting from the generosity, creativity and leadership that women give to their communities.

Cllr Bethia Thomas, Leader of Vale of White Horse District Council