UK's Manchester City Council actively encourages and supports IWD activity across its community
In the lead up to International Women’s Day (IWD) 2026, one of the UK's most progressive and inclusive councils, Manchester City Council, called for submissions from local nonprofit groups looking to host and support IWD activity in their community.
Manchester City Council made available £10,000 in funding through IWD Activity Grants, comprised of grants up to £500 for groups running impactful activities and events to support and celebrate the women of Manchester for IWD.
"This year’s theme is Give to Gain. We’re looking for ideas that show how kindness, sharing and working together can help make life better for women and girls," said Manchester City Council, encouraging groups to access its grants for hosting events or activities that honour and uplift women in the community.
Activity could be run between 23 February and 15 March 2026 and could be either in-person, online, or hybrid.
Applicants needed to be based in Manchester UK, a not-for-profit, and use the funds to celebrate women.
Applicants could be community groups, voluntary organisations, faith groups, or social enterprises.
Most of the people taking part in the activity delivered by the various groups were to ideally be living or working in Manchester, and the activity needed to have benefited at least ten people.
Manchester City Council was also asking the groups to share photos, videos, or stories of before and/or during their activity and to complete a short feedback form post their activity had been delivered. Groups were also invited to join a feedback session with the Council to help improve future events.
What Manchester City Council looked for in the IWD activity submissions
Manchester City Council was anticipating lots of applications, so successful applicants were chosen based on how well their idea aligned with Manchester City Council's own goals.
Manchester City Council generally looked for:
- Clear benefits for women and girls in Manchester
- A strong link to the IWD campaign theme Give to Gain
- Events that were to be very inclusive and accessible
- A clear plan for how the applicants proposed to spend the grant
- Support for women and girls who can face dual discrimination, such as: migrant communities; communities affected by racism; disabled women and girls; women and girls with low income or other challenges
- Applications from women-led groups and groups that support women and girls as part of their everyday work
A number of Manchester-based nonprofit groups reached out through the IWD website to request information and support with their applications.
An impressive track record in supporting gender equality
Manchester City Council, a Menopause Friendly Organisation, has a long and substantial track record in supporting gender equality.
Some very exciting news regarding Manchester City Council's inclusive approach to supporting and advancing women across its communities is its announcement about Manchester hosting women's 2027 Tour de France stages.
Some of the world's best women cyclists will be passing through Manchester after the city was confirmed as a key start and finish destination for the 2027 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. The starts and finishes for the historic first ever visit of the women's race to Britain were revealed alongside the route for the men's race - which starts in Edinburgh.
Manchester City Council continues to tenaciously advance gender equality. After all, Manchester was the birthplace of the suffragette movement, where Emmeline Pankhurst founded the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) in 1903 at her home, now the Pankhurst Centre, shifting tactics to "deeds not words" with actions like those by Christabel and Sylvia Pankhurst and Annie Kenney, making Manchester a crucial hub for the fight for women's suffrage.