I have to cast my lot with those who age after age, perversely, with no extraordinary power, reconstitute the world."
Who we are
Equal to the Occasion was set up by Helen Wollaston, who has over 20 years experience delivering equality and social change projects in the public and voluntary sectors, including seven years as Director of Campaigns for the Equal Opportunities Commission.
High profile campaigns
Helen has a strong track record of setting up and delivering high profile national campaigns: Examples include:
Moving on up
The first national investigation into ethnic minority women’s employment, which challenged negative stereotypes about young Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Black Caribbean women’s career aspirations.
Pregnant and Productive
A hard-hitting campaign which used real life stories, attention-grabbing statistics and creative social marketing to ensure that discrimination against pregnant women at work became an issue of public and therefore political concern.
Pregnant and Productive campaign website
Brass for Barnsley
Which increased take-up of lottery funding in a disadvantaged community by building the confidence and capacity of local voluntary groups. The project was described by an independent evaluation as a catalyst for positive change which provided a model for successful joint working.
The impact of Brass for Barnsley phase one evaluation
Non-executive roles
Helen is Chair of YWCA England and Wales, a charity working with young women who want to change their lives. She is also a member of a national Ethnic Minority Advisory Group, advising the Government on a strategy to close the ethnic minority employment gap and a member of West Yorkshire Criminal Justice Board's Diversity Panel.
Qualifications
Helen has an Advanced Diploma in Public Relations, a postgraduate diploma in Information Studies and a Certificate in Management in the Voluntary and Non-Profit Sector
Associations with other consultants
Helen works with a wide network of specialists in equality and diversity, communications, social research and organisational development, giving Equal to the Occasion the flexibility to deliver projects in partnership with others as required. She is an Associate consultant with the Change Institute, the Centre for Strategy and Communication and Infrastruct Ltd.