Oldham, Manchester – Humanity Project

Supporting women in Oldham to move from lived experience to collective action

Support and Action Women’s Network (SAWN) works with women in Oldham, a borough of around 240,000 people in Greater Manchester, characterised by high levels of deprivation alongside strong community networks.

Women—particularly from racially minoritised and low‑income backgrounds—often experience the sharpest impacts of poverty, health inequality and exclusion from decision‑making.

SAWN provides trusted, women‑only spaces where participants can build confidence, share lived experience and support one another.

Building on this long‑standing grassroots work, SAWN is now developing People’s Assemblies as a way to move from individual support towards collective voice and influence.

Current activity focuses on relationship‑building, listening and leadership development, preparing women to take part in structured, deliberative spaces that reflect their priorities and experiences. This work is laying the foundations for stronger, women‑led participation in local decision‑making in Oldham.

About SAWN

Support and Action Women’s Network (SAWN) works with women across Oldham, particularly women from racially minoritised, migrant and low‑income backgrounds who experience multiple forms of inequality. The community includes women of different ages and life stages, many of whom face barriers linked to poverty, health inequality, caring responsibilities and exclusion from formal decision‑making spaces. SAWN has built trust over time by providing consistent, women‑only spaces rooted in lived experience.

The community is working towards greater confidence, collective voice and influence, so women can shape decisions affecting their families, neighbourhoods and services. SAWN’s approach focuses on moving from individual support towards shared understanding and collective action, recognising that women’s experiences are often fragmented across systems that rarely listen in joined‑up ways.

People’s Assemblies are being developed as a key part of this journey. Assemblies offer structured, facilitated spaces where 20–40 women at a time can come together to share lived experience, identify shared priorities and develop collective narratives about what needs to change. They sit alongside SAWN’s ongoing programme of groups and support sessions, providing moments of deeper reflection and democratic practice.

Over the past 12–18 months, SAWN has been laying the foundations for assembly‑based work through listening sessions, relationship‑building and leadership development, engaging scores of women across multiple programmes. A core group of around 6–10 women is emerging to help shape facilitation, outreach and follow‑up. This phase represents an important step in translating trusted grassroots support into sustained, women‑led democratic participation in Oldham.