Ruth Healey is the President of the women’s charity, Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI).
She has been the President of SIGBI since 2023, but her journey as a Soroptimist started in 1970, when her mother volunteered Ruth to help out with her local club.
Ruth is passionate about making positive change for women and girls and is incredibly proud of what the charity has achieved over the last 100 years.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your background.
I’m Ruth, and I’m the President of SIGBI. However, if we rewind the clock a little to the days before I joined the charity in this position, I was born in Cardiff, and I studied Accountancy at The University of Sheffield, before becoming a qualified Chartered Management Accountant.
My background in finance means I’ve spent 30 years working in the business world as a Finance Director – for many businesses with turnovers ranging from £500k to £50m.
It’s also worth mentioning that I was involved with SIGBI a long time before becoming President.
I officially joined SI Surrey Hills – one of SIGBI’s regional clubs – as a volunteer in 2003, and before standing for my current position, I held many roles across the charity, including Club President, Regional President, and Finance Director.
From a young age, I’ve been passionate about volunteering to make a positive difference in people’s lives, and I’m unbelievably proud of what SIGBI has achieved over the last 100 years.
When I’m not volunteering, I enjoy walking my dog, Blossom, doing jigsaws, and sailing all over the world.
I was once the navigator on a 36-foot yacht, sailing 1,200 miles from Florida to Bermuda. I had a huge sense of achievement that we’d found this small island in the middle of the Atlantic.
Can you also tell us a little bit about the SIGBI charity – its history and its aims?
SIGBI is part of Soroptimist International, a charitable organisation founded in 1921 and born out of the service movement.
Our tagline is ‘standing up for women and girls’ and this perfectly captures the motivation behind everything we stand for and every action we take.
We’re a membership organisation which focuses on empowering women and girls to achieve their full potential and works to eliminate barriers and discriminations that hinder women’s progress.
We do this through our 248 clubs throughout the UK, Malta, Asia and the Caribbean – over 200 of which are in the UK – and to date, we have a total of 5,150 members. On top of this, the wider Soroptimist International has 66,000 members in 122 countries – so our combined efforts are truly global.
Our organisation has consultancy status at the United Nations – with our members participating in UN meetings, submitting statements, and collaborating on global projects which advance gender equality.
Our members are known as ‘Soroptimists’ – a term that was coined from the Latin ‘soror’ meaning sister, and ‘optima’ meaning best. Soroptimist is perhaps best interpreted as ‘the best for women’.
With a heritage that stretches back more than a century, our members want to give something back to their communities, to make their voices heard on issues that affect women, and to support women and girls who are vulnerable, disadvantaged or don’t have a voice.
We’re united by a desire to advance the lives of women and girls, and the work we carry out covers all the areas outlined within our fundamental principles:
- Advancement of Education
- Advancement of Health and Saving Lives
- Relief and/or Prevention of Poverty
- Good Citizenship and Community Development
- Women’s Equality and Diversity
- Human Rights
- Violence Against Women and Girls
- Women’s Safety
Ruth, what motivated you to join SI Surrey Hills in 2003, and how did your earlier experiences shape your journey within the Soroptimist International organisation?
While I’ve been the President of SIGBI since 2023, and a member of SI Surrey Hills since 2003, my journey as a Soroptimist started in 1970 when my mother volunteered me to help out with her local club.
I’ve been involved with the charity from a very young age, and it’s something I hold very dear to my heart.
My grandmother, mother, two aunts and two cousins have also all been Soroptimists, spanning almost the entire centenary, so it’s truly a family affair. I always knew I was going to follow in their footsteps.
As a third-generation Soroptimist, how has your family’s legacy influenced your leadership style and vision for SIGBI?
I was fortunate to have been born into a family of strong, progressively-minded women who were all passionate about giving something back and helping those less fortunate than themselves.
The organisation has gone through many changes in its history, and having seen that through my family’s membership, I truly know that change and evolution must continue. It is only through this that we make sure SIGBI continues to be strong and relevant in today’s world.
Having held various roles such as Club President, Regional President and Finance Director, which position has had the most significant impact on your perspective as the President of SIGBI?
It’s impossible to choose just one, as they’ve all been equally important.
They’ve all contributed to me having a holistic view of how the charity operates and the work its clubs carry out. Each role has provided invaluable experiences that have helped to shape my perspective and leadership approach as President.
With your extensive background in accountancy and business, how have you utilised your professional skills to drive positive change and innovation within SIGBI?
The professional knowledge and experience I’ve amassed over three decades in the finance world is something which I’m proud to bring to SIGBI. I’ve been able to harness my skills to bring positive change and innovation to the organisation.
For instance, we’re going through a process of modernisation at the moment which, as everyone knows, is not easy. Change is challenging, even frightening, for some, but my past experiences in business have helped me shape a strategy that puts members front and centre.
The pandemic has changed so much in life over the last four years and SIGBI is no exception – how we communicate, how we share the news, and how we get together is so different now, both from where we started to even a few years ago.
We are still learning what that means for the organisation but one thing is certain, the enhanced technology available today enables us to connect with those further afield more frequently. It also allows us the opportunity to review and assess the different, and possibly, better ways of carrying out our work.
You have a passion for making positive changes for women and girls. Can you share a specific initiative or project that you are particularly proud of during your tenure as President?
All of our projects are equally important – each one is special and impactful in its own right. Plus, the variety of our work – the diversity of our work – is so important to us as Soroptimists.
We’re not just Violence Against Women and Girls, it’s a big part, but we’re also championing plastic free initiatives (one such example is Plastic Free Whitstable) and providing toiletry packs for hospitals, providing mastectomy cushions, facilitating STEM competitions for girls in schools, supporting local refugees, facilitating local conferences, bringing local agencies together, microfinancing, and bringing individuals together united in these causes.
However, it’s worth mentioning some of the initiatives we carry out every year. One of these is the ‘SIGBI Day of Action,’ which sees all our clubs take action around a given theme. This year, the theme was ‘poverty’ – some clubs collected and donated items to local food banks across the UK as part of this.
We also have ‘The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence’ – an annual international campaign that starts on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and runs until December 10, Human Rights Day.
Our 16 Days of Activism actively supports the UN Women Orange the World campaign. You may be familiar with our work across the country – members dressed in orange, shop windows decorated in orange and public buildings from Aberdeen to Guernsey lit up in orange.
This period serves as a powerful call to action to end violence against women and girls, in all its forms, around the world. The campaign aims to raise awareness, mobilise diverse groups, and foster a united front to combat gender-based violence in all its forms.
This year, we’re running a campaign on the theme of ‘Prevention.’ It will focus on educating and raising awareness through social media, sharing vital facts, prevention strategies, and resources to encourage those joining the campaign to increase their understanding and knowledge of the work which is happening to prevent gender-based violence.
Each day will highlight specific prevention themes, from recognising signs of domestic violence to addressing socioeconomic factors.
Awareness-raising is a crucial aspect of our campaign, as it empowers communities with the knowledge needed to prevent violence before it starts.
To put the work we do into perspective, working together this year, we’ve supported over 85,000 women and girls and raised over £600,000 to support our projects. It’s a huge collective achievement and one we can all be proud of.
It was recently in the news that violence against women and girls has been declared a “national emergency.” What are your thoughts on how the Government should be looking to tackle this prevalent issue?
Yes, earlier this year, the National Police Chiefs’ Council declared that: “violence against women and girls (VAWG) should be treated as an epidemic – a national emergency.”
And while it’s good news that the Government has promised to halve VAWG within a decade, this raises many questions.
For instance… What does this really mean? How will it be monitored and measured? Why does a woman have to wait a decade (or longer) to feel safe?
The Government’s statement needs to be drilled down and fleshed out to reveal what this really means within the Crime and Policing Bill. And the ‘how’ needs addressing. There needs to be clarity and action as a matter of urgency.
Collaboration and knowledge-sharing with civil society is what the Government needs to prioritise if there’s any chance of solving this issue.
There are charities and agencies that live and breathe this topic every single day. They see the people it affects, and they can share insight into what’s happening on the ground.
It’s wonderful news that the Prime Minister’s Cabinet has the most female ministers in history but which of these ministers is to be responsible for leading the efforts to reduce VAWG?
As a charity that stands up for women and girls, we’re, therefore, calling for two things:
- A cross-party, inclusive strategic review of matters affecting women.
- A Minister for Women to be appointed with full cabinet portfolio.
Our message to the Government is, invite us to come and talk to you.
A joined-up approach is what’s needed in order to have the best chance of tackling this widespread issue.
Balancing a professional career and voluntary commitments can be challenging. How do you manage to maintain this balance, and what advice would you give to others in similar positions?
As they say, if you want something done ask a busy woman. Balancing life and career for any woman is a challenge and my job now is no exception. But I love lists!
I’m also supported by wonderful staff in our office and together we make it work.
My advice to anyone else is to go for it and build a great team around you.
Sailing is a unique hobby that you enjoy. How do you find that this activity complements your work with SIGBI and your overall personal wellbeing?
There are some wonderful parallels between my work with SIGBI and sailing. For example, the sense of social connection and community we have within SIGBI is greatly echoed when you’re onboard with a crew when sailing too.
At SIGBI, we’re united by our mission, and we tackle the issues facing women and girls head on, just as you’d work together to navigate the waters to reach your destination on a boat.
Sailing is also very relaxing – being on the open sea allows me to take a break and be mindful.
Looking ahead to the remainder of your presidency, what are your top priorities for SIGBI, and how do you plan to achieve them by November 2025?
Our top priority is all about managing changes well and inspiring existing and new members to continue our all-important work.
One of the key events in the diary for the end of the year is the ‘SIGBI Edinburgh Conference 2024’ on 1-3 November.
It’s our 90th SIGBI conference and there’s a jam-packed programme. There will be various keynote speeches, alongside a review of past projects – looking at successes and what more can be done – our Best Practice Awards, and more.
At this event, we’ll be revisiting one of our projects from the last decade. Often projects start small but lead to something much more and we can all learn from that experience.
I can’t give too much away at this point, but this year we’re keen to take another look at the recommendations of our station safety project and take this further forward as we head into 2025.
With SIGBI celebrating 90 years and a membership spanning various regions, how do you envision the organisation’s growth and impact evolving over the next decade?
The change we are making in the world is designed to inspire members and potential members to work with SIGBI.
Ultimately, the need for work to be done, for impact to be made and for volunteers to get involved is still as strong as ever. There remains much to do – gender equality is nowhere near where it needs to be.
Organisations like ours, with a seat at the UN table and our feet in grassroots activities, are an essential part of the wider campaign for women’s rights.
Any woman can be a part of this campaign and become a Soroptimist. We would love to meet up with anyone interested to discuss how they can get involved more.
You can find out more and get in touch here: https://sigbi.org/
