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Women are one of the groups who have been more severely impacted during the pandemic. This is also backed up by government data and outlined in their Policy Paper - Covid-19 Mental Health and Wellbeing Recovery Action Plan2.

The London School of Economics stated3 that the UK government “consistently failed” to consider gender impacts on women during its Covid-19 response

Gender inequality for women surged during the height of the pandemic, where women undertook more unpaid work, like caring responsibilities and having home-schooling children, where warnings were issued that women faced being shunted back to the 1950s in terms of society and inequality.

The Growing Club wellbeing officer Sarah Ludford. Photo by Ginny Koppenhol Photography.

The Growing Club CIC’s own research corresponds with official studies, in that women’s wellbeing, emotional impact and increased financial burden has disproportionately increased imbalance and set back the minimal progress of ‘levelling the playing field’ in respect of gender inequality.

Prioritising women’s wellbeing in the community during and post-pandemic is a priority for The Growing Club CIC and the Peer Listening Project is the next phase in supporting local women and beyond. Benefits include:

*improved listening skills

*improved relationships

The Peer Listening Project will run via Zoom on a Monday for two hours, for five weeks.

*a chance to regularly speak and be heard

*improved mental health and wellbeing

*reduced anxiety and loneliness

*become comfortable listening to others

*connect with others

*improved sense of self-worth

Sarah Ludford, Chief Wellbeing Officer for The Growing Club, said: "I'm really excited about this course. It's so fundamental to human beings to experience being listened to and also for people to contribute back by listening to others.

"It's important to have a listening space where the focus is on you, where you are able to speak in a safe and non-judgmental environment, finding solutions to issues more easily and gaining clarity in many ways. Being properly listened to is a powerful experience."

The Peer Listening Project will run via Zoom on a Monday for two hours, for five weeks. The project begins with an introduction session on June 9 and starts on June 16 for five consecutive weeks.

The course is a part-funded course by Rosa‘s Covid-19 Response Fund, so costs are able to be kept to the minimum. The course is £25, but funded places are available for those in hardship or unwaged.

Please contact Sarah Ludford for further details at [email protected]

Covid recovery wellbeing initiative from Lancaster women’s organisation