Women’s strength in our community
One thing we often notice about the women who attend our sessions at Globe Community Project is the level of responsibility they carry.
Many are holding families together, supporting others emotionally, and meeting expectations shaped by culture, community and circumstance. Alongside this, they may also be managing caring responsibilities, health challenges, financial stress or loneliness.
That is a form of strength we don’t always talk about.
March is Women’s History Month. It’s a time to celebrate the achievements of women past and present, and to recognise the progress that has been made towards equality.
But at Globe Community Project, this month also gives us a chance to reflect on the women we see every week in our sessions across East London.
The women who attend our spaces may not describe themselves as leaders or pioneers. Many are managing caring responsibilities, work pressures, health challenges, financial stress, or loneliness. Some are new to the area. Some have lived here for decades. Some are confident and outspoken. Others are quieter and still finding their voice.
In our sessions, we see what happens when women are given space to pause. To sit down. To talk. To listen. To not have to fix everything for everyone else.
Sometimes strength looks like resilience, continuing despite difficulty. Sometimes it looks like vulnerability, being honest about how hard things feel. Sometimes it looks like asking for support instead of carrying everything alone.
We have seen women build new friendships after years of isolation. We have seen confidence grow slowly over time. We have seen participants move from sitting quietly at the edge of the room to sharing their thoughts with the group. These changes may seem small, but they matter deeply.
“I used to feel very shy and I never wanted to speak in a group but now I feel good about speaking here. I feel confident about myself.”
“I have been feeling down these past few months, I felt so much better after the session last week. I even went to Tesco on the way home, I have been putting that off for ages.”
This is what progress can look like. Not always dramatic. Not always visible from the outside. But real, personal, and life-changing for the person experiencing it.
Women’s History Month often focuses on big milestones and visible success. Those stories are important. But so are the everyday acts of courage happening in community spaces like ours.
Choosing to attend a session when you feel anxious.
Speaking up about your wellbeing.
Making time for rest.
Supporting another woman in the room.
These are not small things.
At a time when progress for women cannot be taken for granted, these everyday acts of care and connection matter even more. Across the world and closer to home, many of the gains made by women are under pressure.
In East London, the closure of long-standing women’s organisations like Account3 at the end of 2025 is a reminder that spaces created to support women can disappear without sustained support. Many women also face additional barriers linked to health, disability, migration, caring responsibilities or financial hardship.
That is why community spaces matter. Without care, investment and collective effort, opportunities for women to connect, rest and flourish become harder to find.
At GCP, we believe that when women feel safe and supported, the impact extends beyond the session. It affects families, friendships and the wider community. When one woman feels more connected, more confident, or less alone, that change ripples outward.
This month, we celebrate the women who volunteer their time, who share their experiences, and who trust us enough to walk through the door. We celebrate the women who are rebuilding, recovering, growing and simply doing their best.
Women’s strength does not always look dramatic. Often, it looks steady. Consistent. Quietly determined.
And we are proud to stand alongside the women in our community, not just this month, but all year round.