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The Women’s Institute: voting for a resolution

08 June 2021

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In the UK a woman dies of ovarian cancer every two hours, so why haven’t more people heard of the disease? It’s one of the most common cancers for women and yet because the symptoms are unknown to so many, it is usually diagnosed in its late stages when the chance of surviving the disease is at its lowest. Today, with your help we can change this.

Today is the Women’s Institute (WI) Annual Meeting which marks the first day that WI’s up and down the country can vote to support the resolution: “A call to increase awareness of the subtle signs of ovarian cancer”.

The resolution marks the opportunity to reach over 200,000 women with life saving information about the subtle signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer. 

This resolution has been made possible by Kathy Heathcote, a member of the WI and one of our dedicated supporters. Kathy tragically lost her daughter-in-law, Vicky, to the disease in 2019. Vicky used her diagnosis to make a change. Vicky is the incredible woman behind our “I Will Survive Video” and will forever be part of our mission to help more women survive ovarian cancer and now Kathy is carrying on her legacy. For years the WI has been making real change by championing the issues that matter to them the most. If we win the resolution, then we have a 200,000 strong sisterhood backing us for real change. 

You can watch Kathy's speech below.


We need your help to call on WIs up and down the country to vote for the resolution. If you are a member, or know a member of the WI, ask them to vote to support our resolution. Together we have the power to create a world in which no woman dies unnecessarily of this dreadful disease.

The voting will take place online after the meeting and all delegates will vote on the resolution no later than 9 July. To read more about WI resolutions, click here.

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