Meet the Manchester women’s group making an impact in local communities

When Caitlin, Steph and Martin co-founded Girls on the Go Liverpool in September 2023, their aim was to make the UK a less lonely place for women. Ten months later, over 40,000 women had joined their community and were beginning to form deeper connections beyond the city.

Now, Girls on the Go has four locations (with a fifth coming soon!), over 230,000 Instagram followers and has raised over £70,000 for women’s and children’s charities. Their Manchester branch has almost 100,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok, and their reach has gone beyond simply connecting women – they’re planting roots in cities across the UK, making an impact in causes that directly affect their members and creating safe spaces for people who struggle with isolation.

Recently, we spoke to co-founder and CEO Steph Barney about the organisation’s inspiration, and their roots in Manchester.

How did Girls on the Go move to Manchester?

Steph grew up in France, and when she moved to Liverpool for university she found she could understand the loneliness women can feel when their lives start to expand away from their home town.

It seems that the UK community agreed with her, and during the group’s Liverpool origins they noticed a lot of girls were travelling from various cities at the promise of a community-led group for women.

“A lot of the girls were coming to Liverpool from Manchester,” Steph said, adding that it felt like a natural move to start a group in the latter. In June 2024, the Manchester community had their own branch, kicking things off with a summer wine glass painting event. Since then, they’ve hosted run clubs, yoga groups, book clubs and even some brand-sponsored events.

“Our aim is to make the UK a less lonely place for women” Steph said, laughing at the magnitude of the goal. It’s clearly the large targets that are the driving force of Girls on the Go – our conversation flitting from fun runs to women’s safety, and every achievement seemed to be more meaningful than the last. Whether it’s a pottery painting evening that breaks up feelings of isolation, or a charity event that raises thousands of pounds for women’s charities, every single decision behind Girls on the Go is backed by a steady goal.

‘Having a women-only space is a political decision’

Girls on the Go also isn’t shying away from making a statement. While the group’s social media posts seem event-driven on the surface, they’re filled with the organisers’ values.

“Girls on the Go is not for all girls,” their popular series announces to all their branches.

“If you are transphobic, homophobic, racist, anti-immigrant, islamophobic, ableist – we are not the community for you.”

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“We’re big feminists,” Steph told me, describing herself and her co-founders. One of her proudest achievements is the first Girls on the Go Galentines ball which, besides bringing together 700 girls from across the UK, was also the first time many girls attending “felt like they could leave their drinks uncovered.”

Considering the work the co-founders have put in to make Girls on the Go to become a mobile, protected and fun third space, it’s no surprise that two of the words Steph chose to describe Girls on the Go are community and safety.

The third word? Pink!

‘As a young girl I hated the colour pink’

Our conversation up to this point had been filled with so many huge achievements, it was startling to see such a small choice have so much meaning to Steph, who used to hate pink for the way it symbolised girliness. This conversation isn’t a new one – a wave of women online are talking about how their perception of colour pink has changed since becoming an adult.

@vyingggg

I hated pink… but that’s what society wanted. I remember in primary school, I’d say my favourite colour is purple, instead of pink, because pink was a “girl” colour. Other girls said they loved blue. Hating being a girl was so engrained in my childhood, through my brother, my guy cousins, and through my peers – calling girly things “gay” as an insult. At first, it’s hating a colour. Then it’s hating dresses. Then it’s hating/“competing” against other women. This is how society keeps women oppressed, and men “superior”. Women are taught to hate ourselves. Fighting back against society, and ultimately loving yourself means wearing whatever colour your heart desires! No hashtags, if you’re seeing this, this was meant for you.

♬ Promise – Laufey

“It’s such a pipeline,” Steph said when I brought this up, “but we’re not defined by a colour”

Now, pink is everywhere in Girls on the Go. It’s their main colour scheme, their distinctive brand asset, and their commitment to girlhood. From Bold Street Coffee trips to raising over £70,000 for charity, everything is done with pink in mind.

‘We felt like we were helpless in what we could do’

Colours aren’t the only thing on Steph’s mind – that £70,000 raised was born out of a feeling of helplessness. The group was about more than loneliness and safety, it was about social good – and Steph wanted a way to show that.

Girls on the Go run clubs were transformed into charity runs – women from Manchester and beyond have raised over £5000 for Refugee Women Connect in a Santa Dash, donated over 120 Christmas presents for children at Alder Hey and raised over £24,000 for domestic abuse charities.

“It really meant a lot to us,” Steph said, speaking about their work to support women and children experiencing domestic abuse.

Despite these massive achievements, the group is still moving up – upcoming solo claw clip decorating, speed friending and pottery painting events in Manchester this month are designed to bring even more friends together, and with 81.7k followers, their network is booming with possibilities.