The MWF Manifesto

The Medical Women's Federation was founded in 1917 and is today the largest and most influential body of women doctors in the UK.

Our aims are to advance the personal and professional development of women in medicine, to change discriminatory attitudes and practices and to work on behalf of patients.

Great advances are being made in medicine at the beginning of the 21st century, and as the number of women doctors rise, women have an increasingly important role to play in delivering NHS services to patients. This manifesto calls for fundamental changes to be made to the way in which women doctors are trained and employed in order to make the most of what they have to offer throughout their working lives, and to ensure they make as full as contribution to patient care as they are able to. This is of particular importance at the current time, when it is recognised that there is a real shortage of doctors in the UK, and ambitious targets have been set for increasing both numbers of consultants and General Practitioners.

There are still many areas where women's health needs are not well met; the persistence of domestic violence and genital mutilation are but two examples where the MWF continues to campaign at a national and international level for change.