We are disappointed that we were not shown IWD Bristol’s Open Letter or given the opportunity to respond before it was posted online on Monday 24 February .
When we received a call about this matter on Friday (21 February), we said we’d like to have a fuller conversation including with the Palestinian women you represent, but the call was ended without our being offered this opportunity.
We are a small organisation of women who hold transparency as a core value; we don’t shy away from constructive challenge. We hold ourselves accountable and remain open to dialogue.
We know that in situations of war and genocide is it women and girls that pay the biggest price, that women and girls’ bodies that are violated and brutalised, and we know this is the case in all places of conflict.
Our ethical fund-raising policy commits to refusing funds from money made through war or the abuse of women and girls.
When we entered into sponsorship arrangements with Accenture we believed we were acting within our values, on the basis of Accenture’s gender and wider inclusivity work. They are a woman-led global firm and recognised as diversity leaders.
We asked about their relationship with Palantir and were advised that Accenture is supporting the NHS in its delivery of the Federated Data Platform, work that also involved Palantir. It aims to deliver better joined-up care for patients, help tackle waiting lists and reduce hospital discharge delays.
Despite these investigations, we acknowledge the live issues at play, and Accenture will no longer be our key sponsor for the event and we will not be accepting funds from them.
In considering the workshops we provide, we are guided in part by our legal obligations to only undertake political activity in support of our charitable purpose – which is to amplify Bristol women’s voices with decision makers in Bristol.
We invite Bristol-based women to speak about their involvement with women’s right’s movements in different parts of the world, and we explore how women in Bristol can connect and support.
We are mindful of the ethics of asking women to speak about current experiences of trauma, particularly in an unpaid capacity, especially as we are not a support agency and are not trained to manage trauma. Holding a session without these skills would be unethical.
In line with our purpose, we will be holding a panel discussion on how Bristol-based women can build connections and alliances of support with each other and with women across the world. This is a small change to our Global Feminism Panel, following a diary clash with one of the speakers, which has enabled us the opportunity to look at this panel in a different way.
We are keen to build allyship with the diversity of feminist communities across Bristol, recognising that we won’t always agree; as intersectional feminists we strive to share power in a collaborative and inclusive way, as we continue on our mission to build a movement that unites all women and others to end patriarchal and all other oppression.
Considering our dropping Accenture to further increase the accessibility of our event, we kindly ask that you can remove the letter from your website and social media. We would also ask any organisation or individual that is part of our programme to come to us directly, with any questions and concerns, so that we have the opportunity to hear you and respond.
Bristol Women’s Voice
