Meet the WHPC Chapters!

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Current WHPC Chapters:

 

 

Don’t see your community? We are welcoming new Chapter applications! See below for more details, tips and advice on how to form a Chapter.

Find your local Chapter!

What is a WHPC Chapter?

 

A chapter is a community-level group that serves a specific area or organisation and fulfils the WHPC mission locally. Each chapter is responsible for its own fundraising efforts, programmes, relationships, volunteers and so on.

Chapters are formed by individuals or an organisation who want to support women and the vision of WHPC in their communities. Having identified regional needs and resources, they determined that their organisation or region would benefit from being a WHPC Chapter and setting up a local programme of activities aligned with local needs.

To date, we have WHPC Chapters in Europe, Asia, Australasia, and South and North America.

How do I join a WHPC Chapter?

When you join WHPC as an Individual Member, you will be able to select a Chapter to join.

We highly recommend that you go to the Chapter’s website (if listed above) to make sure you join the Chapter mailing lists/correct online platform to ensure communication from the Chapter leadership. WHPC is working hard to streamline this process, we appreciate your patience in the meantime!

Becoming a Chapter

What to consider when starting your own Chapter:

Starting your own WHPC Chapter is an exciting and rewarding experience but also a serious endeavour.  You will become a valued member of an internationally-renowned volunteer driven organisation, gaining access to a wide variety of resources, expertise and support from WHPC and other chapters around the world.

A few things to bear in mind before starting:

  • You must be passionate and committed to our mission.
  • Starting a Chapter requires a significant amount time and energy, something for which chapter founders must be prepared.
  • You must have the capabilities to carry out different elements of the start-up process including gathering a group of like-minded individuals together, gathering institutional support if the Chapter is within an organisation and talking with the women in your community to identify how you plan to start your activities.
  • As starting a new Chapter can sometimes be difficult and daunting you might want to consider setting up as a WHPC Affiliate first before proceeding to a full WHPC Chapter.

Benefits and Responsibilities:

WHPC Chapters enjoy many advantages as part of our network yet also have a number of shared responsibilities.

All WHPC Chapters:

  • are separately organised groups of volunteers that have their own management team and raise their own funds. While some are sponsored by larger agencies, Chapters are independent of each other and from WHPC;
  • build your own local WHPC Chapter membership;
  • require your local WHPC Chapter members to be individual members of WHPC;
  • provide activities within your chapter that fulfil the mission of WHPC to recruit and retain a diverse and inclusive HPC workforce;
  • are members of WHPC and therefore must participate in the WHPC Chapters meetings and abide by the WHPC Terms of Reference and policies;
  • have the right to use the name “WHPC Chapter” and logo as approved by WHPC; and
  • may implement or participate in our programmes and campaigns.

The Application Process

Want to submit an application? Apply using the form below.

  • Use our map of Chapters and Affiliates to check if there is a local community group already in your area. While we encourage Chapters of different sizes to be formed within the same area (such as a country-wide Chapter as well as local organisation Chapters within the same country), we rarely authorise an application for a new Chapter in overlapping regions if the groups are not in contact with each other first. This helps to ensure that activities are complimentary rather than competitive.
  • Prepare your Chapter application by:
    a. Building the team that will run the Chapter (minimum of 2, ideally 5 individuals)
    b. Work with your community to identify appropriate goals and activities. We find that Chapters perform best when those that you hope to assist are informed in designing the activities that you plan to hold. For example, you may wish to send out surveys or hold focus groups to find out the type of support the people in your community will find more useful.
  • The WHPC Chapter and Affiliates Committee will review the information you have provided.

FAQs

Does WHPC provide funding to Chapters?

No. Each Chapter is separately responsible for funding their activities. As part of the WHPC family, however, you will benefit from the strength of our global reputation and brand, which will be instrumental in your fundraising and publicity efforts. You will also have access to a community of WHPC Chapter leads to provide advice and suggestions based on lessons learned in their own journey.

How do I apply?

First, sign up to join WHPC as an individual member here: Apply for individual membership. Apply for Chapter status by completing this form.

I haven't heard anything from my chosen Chapter. What should I do?

We are working on improving the WHPC mailing lists to ensure this doesn’t happen. If this does happen, please get in touch with WHPC at info@womeninhpc.org. We will be able to connect you with your chosen group.