Woman of the North Summit: Gallery

On Wednesday May 7, 2025, Health Equity North in partnership with the Northern Health Science Alliance and Leigh Day, held a Woman of the North Summit in Durham, attended by almost 200 people from across the North.

The Summit saw the launch of the ‘Woman of the North Charter’ which has been backed by northern Mayors Kim McGuinness (Mayor of the North East) and Tracy Brabin (Mayor of West Yorkshire), who both spoke at the event.

Health Equity North Executive Director Hannah Davies said: “The Woman of the North summit was a powerful and impactful day, we were blown away by the strength of feeling in the room and the ambition and drive to work together to improve the lives of all women across the North of England.

“Hearing the commitments from both of our female northern mayors to our charter and a range of measures from tackling child poverty and violence against women and girls was fantastic, as was their determination to keep on pushing and working with Westminster on behalf of the region. Delegates also took part in sessions around gendered issues and inequalities experienced by women, delivered by leading experts and report authors, and were able to be part of mobilising strategies to help close widening gaps and address specific issues that marginalised women face.

“The facts from the Woman of The North report are sobering – women in our regions are being short-changed and let down. What the summit showed is that there is an appetite to make a difference, and a passion to change things for the better in challenging circumstances.

“Health Equity North are already following up on a huge range of actions following the summit, and continue to our commitment to do what we can to  improve the lives of women in the North and beyond.”

You can view a gallery of pictures from the event below.

View the full gallery here