International Women’s Day: Welsh social enterprises accelerating Action for all women and girls
This International Women’s Day, we’re joining with like-minded social enterprises across Wales to celebrate incredible women.
Social enterprises are creating opportunities for women and girls, prioritising wellbeing, finding and sharing opportunities, and empowering women through myriad ways.
Women face systemic barriers that impact their wellbeing, professional and personal lives, and threaten equality. From unpaid labour expectations to financial insecurity and gender-based violence, these challenges often limit women’s opportunities to thrive.
For many marginalised women, challenges are further compounded by racial or socioeconomic barriers which restrict access to opportunities.
These challenges are real.
It can feel like an uphill battle – but across Wales and the UK, social enterprises are creating community-driven solutions that support women and the wider community.
By recognising the unique challenges women face, social enterprises help women to learn new skills, find job opportunities, and benefit from community support.
Sometimes for the first time, women have a voice, and the opportunities they deserve to reach their potential and live their dreams.
What are we doing?
As part of our ESG goals, focussing on long-term and impactful environmental and social objectives, Run 4 Wales aims to encourage and empower more women into running.
After carrying out research into women’s running with Cardiff University, we found that there were several barriers stopping women from getting to the start line of a race. 51% said work commitments affected their ability to train, and family commitments, as well as injury or illness, also ranked highly. It meant that for 42% of women, while they registered to take part in an event, they hadn’t actually managed to participate in it.
The findings sparked us to launch our #WhyWeRun campaign back in 2019, when the Cardiff Half saw a female majority register for the event for the first time.
Since then, female registrations have continued to remain high, with more younger women signing up to take part than ever before.
However, we still recognise that more can be done to support female runners. Some of the ways we do this is by offering free spaces into events through our 100 Club initiative, allowing women to use it as a vehicle for them to improve their health and wellbeing and inspire others into the sport. We also support run clubs – including those for females – with financial assistance from the Run 4 Wales Charitable Foundation.
One of the inspiring women we’ve worked closely with over the past couple of years is Lauren Green from Empowered Women Fitness.
She said: “I started running two years ago and it really has changed my life for the better.
“The first race I signed up to was the Cardiff half marathon and I’ve raced it every year since. I love this event so much as it has something for everyone. The day before I always take part in the family fun run with my daughter which encourages her to keep fit and empowers her to be the best version of herself.
“Last year me and my empowered women team got to attend some amazing events with Run 4 Wales, these events have enabled me to network with some truly inspiring people and have taught myself and my team so many valuable lessons.
“The most empowering thing I’ve ever done is run a marathon, it’s no surprise that my first ever marathon was the Newport marathon, this is a day I will never forget because this is where I started my marathon journey.
“In between running the Cardiff half every October, and marathon training myself, my team and my little girl love taking part in the 10K series. These events are so much more than just races, these events bring people together, they inspire others, and they really have empowered myself, my team and my family.”
The Torfaen Sports Development #Ifyougoigo campaign is also a group which was supported through the 100 Club in 2024 and will be doing so again this year. The campaign aims to get more women active, removing practical barriers and working to change how women feel and think about exercise and sport. It allows them to meet other likeminded women, learn new skills and gain support to become active and live a healthy lifestyle.
Megan Parker, Sports Development Officer at Torfaen County Borough Council, said: “The programme has become very popular, with 300 women applying last year, it shows the importance of getting women involved in exercise and sport.
“We try out best to support women to remain active after the programme and we are always looking for new opportunities to get women involved and to set new goals for the women to achieve. We have many women who are doing Couch to 5k or who are running alongside the gym, but with the opportunity of joining the 100 club, the women will now take part in the ABP Newport 10k.
“Thank you to Run 4 Wales for giving the women the opportunity to participate in the event as this is a great milestone to aim for and it is a great way to keep them inspired and to achieve amazing things together.”
We’ve also been working very closely with Cardiff’s Mwslima Run Club through the R4W Charitable Foundation.
Lena Elghamry, the club’s co-founder, said: “Mwslima Run Club was born out of necessity, not just desire, and has grown into a thriving organisation that unites Muslim women across Wales. It fosters sisterhood, offers guidance, and empowers women to confidently explore Wales’ beautiful natural and public spaces.
“With support from Run 4 Wales, over 40 of our members have taken part in the Brecon Carreg CDF 10K and Cardiff Half Marathon—many starting with little to no running experience and now becoming regular runners. Their dedication serves as an inspiration for young Welsh Muslim women, showing that they belong in these public spaces. We’re excited to continue growing, especially with the incredible support of Run 4 Wales.”
This International Women’s Day, Run 4 Wales is joining like-minded social enterprises to celebrate the opportunities they create and the incredible women who are prioritising their wellbeing, uplifting others, and thriving through social enterprise.
Here’s how these innovative social enterprises are working with communities to address the issues that impact women most.
Groundwork North Wales Creating POSITIVE IMPACTS TOGETHER for our PEOPLE, PLACES & PLANET.
The Community Impact Initiative Supporting community members to improve their health and wellbeing, and learn new skills through the regeneration of houses in our local communities.
Cwmpas is a development agency working for positive change, in Wales and across the UK. We are a co-operative, and our focus is on building a fairer, greener economy and a more equal society, where people and planet come first.
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