The National Council of Women has been championing women's causes since 1895 but the organisation remains relatively unknown. Following the launch of a new writing competition for women and girls under 30, Vicki Henderson visited its Darlington-based headquarters to find out more

TUCKED away in the back office of a small building on the edge of Darlington town centre, the headquarters of the National Council for Women is as low-key as the organisation itself.

While the WI, with its Jam and Jerusalem image, heckling of Tony Blair and Calendar Girls fame, might spring to mind if asked to think of a women’s group, the National Council of Women of Great Britain (NCWGB), to give it its full title, does not hold such a strong position in the public imagination.

But despite its low profile, the NCWGB has been a prominent voice for women’s issues for almost 120 years, influencing and advising on policy in Parliament and with representation at the UN.

Founded in 1895, the council was involved in the fight for women’s suffrage, the abortion debate and reform of the divorce law.

Although some of its campaigns today may not seem obvious as women’s issues, such as fighting library closures and working towards food security, at its core the NCWGB works to remove discrimination against women and increase female participation in public life.

Keen to raise its profile and inspire a new generation of young women and girls, the NCWGB has launched an essay writing competition that it hopes will capture the imagination of future members.

The question – If you could influence Government to take some action to improve the lives of women and girls, what would it be? – aims to encourage young women to have their say on the issues facing their gender.

Judges include Rebecca Stephens, the first British woman to climb Mount Everest, and Juliet Lyon, the director of the Prison Reform Trust, with the best proposals being put forward to the Government.

The council’s president, Elsie Leadley, and vice-president, Wendy North, who both live in Darlington, hope the competition will bring the organisation more publicity and help it to represent younger women on a wider stage.

Mrs North, a lecturer at Durham University, describes the NCWGB as an educational charity, working to give women the tools to argue their case for gender equality and working with government behind the scenes, rather than campaigning publicly on issues.

She says: “We don’t raise funds to give to other people.

We do the research and we try to get it out there and make the Government and other agencies aware of certain situations and women’s issues. It’s not an instant organisation.

It’s there to educate women in public affairs so that when they speak, they speak from an informed position. That takes time to filter down and become policy of the NCWGB and be presented to Parliament.

“The objective of the NCWGB, ever since it was founded in 1895, is that women should take their place alongside men in public life. We work for equality between men and women and for the good of all.

“We’ve got quite a wide remit.”

That remit means the council works with organisations as diverse as the Prison Reform Trust, the Trefoil Guild, which is connected to Girl Guiding, the National Farmers’ Union, the Royal College of Nursing and Midwifery, and Freedom, which works to prevent forced marriage.

Among its recent campaigns are the protection of women and girls from rape in areas of conflict, the opt-in protection of children from online pornography and work on war widows’ pensions.

In total, the NCWGB has 40 affiliate groups, which feed down their input on women’s issues to join the views and ideas of members in local branches and regional groups, up to the national council and its international partners.

NCWGB president Elsie Leadley joined the organisation in the 1980s. She says young women today have very different views and concerns than when she was at school, summed up by the responses at a recent seminar held at Darlington College.

“It was really intergenerational, a mixture of ages which helps us as well as helping the students,” she says. “We learn what they are thinking these days because it’s completely different to what we wanted when we were at school.

“There is much less of a feeling of a glass ceiling for young women today. They have a plan and they want to go forward. There is a cando attitude about this generation that I don’t think was true of my generation.”

Mrs Leadley acknowledges the challenge facing the council to bring in new members and keep it relevant to younger people. The organisation has high hopes for the essay writing competition, open to women and girls aged between 13 and 30, as a way of introducing a new generation to NCWGB.

“A lot of students and teenagers, and even women in their twenties, wouldn’t know about us,” she says.

“We are hoping it will entice young women to take a look at us and get involved.”

Å For full competition rules and information, visit ncwgb.org. The council is on Twitter @NCWGB.