Campaign: Women for Poland, Poland for Women

The Women’s Congress is a Polish social movement founded by influential women to campaign for gender equality in government and the public sector.

In Poland only 20% of the members of Parliament and 7% of the Senate are women. Research shows that women often earn less than men and are under-represented in the boards of many important institutions.

H&K Poland, working pro bono, established a press office to look for story angles, disseminate press bulletins, set up interviews, organise press events and coordinate communications with the media. This helped to attract over 100 top women influencers and set up a Congress Policy Council, which drafted the program for the Polish Women’s Congress in Warsaw. The agency also organised regional meetings and a two-day event to stimulate debate about gender equality. The event in the capital – endorsed by the top authorities, politicians, and leading intellectuals – called for gender parity to be guaranteed by law. It was attended by over 3,000 participants from different political and social backgrounds.

After the event, the Women’s Congress movement launched a campaign of civic support for a bill to increase gender equality in electoral lists. H&K organised three press events which involved politicians, celebrities and other renowned persons who collected citizens’ signatures inside shopping malls and on the streets of Warsaw. Over 150,000 citizens endorsed the bill which was eventually presented for debate before Parliament and proceeded to a second reading in a parliamentary committee.

The pro bono campaign, worth £32,000, generated almost 2,600 press hits within six months. The idea of election gender parity was endorsed by Poland’s late president and prime minister, top politicians, the Catholic Church and leading intellectuals.