From Caring to Collective Action: What Do Women Need?

A question I've been thinking about lately:

What helps women move from “I care about this issue” to “I can actually do something about it in my community”?

I've been exploring this question through my work with Solena, a global initiative exploring how women can come together to take collective action on gender equality issues in their own communities.

One of the ideas we're exploring is Solena Circle — small groups of women who come together around an issue that matters in their community, support one another, learn together, and explore what they can change collectively.

But before we build this further, we want to listen.

We know that caring about an issue is not always enough to act on it. Time, confidence, resources, safety, and simply knowing where to begin can all make a difference.

So we're curious: what does that look like where you live?

What gender equality issues matter most in your community?

What makes it difficult for women to take action?

What kind of support would actually make it easier?

And what is your first reaction to the idea of women coming together in small, locally rooted Circles to work on these issues?

We're collecting perspectives from women and people working on gender equality and community change around the world, and we'd really value yours.

If you have a few minutes, we'd love to hear your thoughts through our short exploratory survey:

https://solenacollective.org/news/exploratorysurvey

And if the idea of Solena resonates with you and you'd like to learn more or explore getting involved in the pilot or wider network, we'd also love to hear from you.

What do you think women need in order to turn concern into collective action?