Solo Parent Inclusion Campaign
Transforming Inclusion for Solo Parent Families in the Fertility Sector
Solo parent families are too often an afterthought, and we’re here to change that.
Choosing to become a solo parent is a recognised and intentional route to family. Yet too much of the fertility sector is still built around the assumption that parenthood begins with a couple.
From the first search for information to choosing a clinic, starting treatment and preparing for parenthood, solo women can encounter language, systems and processes that assume someone else will be there.
Some barriers are obvious. Others are subtle. A form asking for a partner’s details. Information written only for couples. Being asked who will accompany you to an appointment. Small moments that, repeated throughout the journey, send the same message:
You weren’t who we designed this for.
The Solo Parent Inclusion Campaign exists to change that.
Community
Evidence
Voice
Who We Are
Led jointly by The Stork and I and STAG (Solo Parent Talk and Action Group), the campaign brings together lived experience, research and organisations to explore where solo parent families are being excluded and what needs to change.
Our Purpose
To ensure solo parents are recognised, represented and meaningfully included in every conversation about fertility and family in the UK, rather than being overlooked or expected to fit within systems and policies designed with others in mind.
Why now?
Solo parents are one of the fastest growing family types whilst also being an increasing demographic of those using UK fertility services. Solo parents are routinely missing from the public conversation and fertility coverage is shaped around heterosexual couples. Where it widens, it widens to same sex couples. Solo parents are too often missed out, added in brackets or treated as the bonus mention rather than a primary audience.
What do we mean by exclusion?
Exclusion doesn’t always look like a closed door.
It can be a website that talks almost entirely about couples.
A form asking for partner details that aren’t relevant.
Being asked whether your partner will be attending your appointment.
Information that assumes someone else will be there to share the journey.
A lack of clear information about what the specific pathway looks like for a solo patient.
Some of these experiences may be examples of micro exclusion: small, often unintentional assumptions or defaults that happen repeatedly and can have a much bigger cumulative impact.
None of these moments may feel significant on their own.
But when they happen repeatedly, they can create a powerful message:
This system wasn’t designed with someone like me in mind.
We want to understand these experiences, listen to the people living them and explore what meaningful inclusion could look like.
What we believe
Solo parenthood by choice is a valid and intentional route to family.
Solo parents deserve recognition, support and a dedicated pathway that reflects the reality of choosing to build a family independently.
Solo parents deserve to be seen, named and included.
In fertility clinics, policy, public health messaging, workplaces, antenatal support, solo parents should be reflected as part of the families these systems and services exist to support.
Visibility comes before change.
We can only challenge what we recognise. By making the experiences of solo parents more visible, we can create greater understanding, build the evidence and create the foundations for meaningful change.
Collaboration is more powerful than competition.
No single organisation can create this change alone. The more organisations, professionals and communities that recognise and include solo parents, the stronger the case for change becomes. We want to work collaboratively across organisations, bringing together different expertise, experiences and perspectives to create lasting change.
Our Mission
Our mission is to ensure solo parent families have a voice, are visible and are included in the decisions, conversations and systems that affect them.
We want to bring solo parents and the people who want to support them together to share experiences, build the evidence and create meaningful change.
This campaign is not about speaking for solo parents. It is about creating space for solo parents to speak for themselves, while bringing together organisations, researchers, professionals, policymakers and allies who want to listen, learn and take action.
We want to build a collective voice for solo parent families and make sure anyone who wants to be part of creating change has a place in the conversation.
Solo Parent Inclusion Launch Event
Included by Design: Transforming Inclusion for Solo Parent Families in the Fertility Sector
The launch, on International solo Parent By Choice Day, will bring together solo parents, people considering solo parenthood, researchers, professionals, organisations and others who want to help create a more inclusive world for solo parent families.
What to expect
Hear the experiences
Solo parents will share their experiences of inclusion and exclusion and the moments that have stayed with them.
Explore the evidence
We’ll share findings from our campaign survey, looking at where exclusion is happening and what solo parents want to see change.
Start the conversation
We’ll explore what inclusion can look like in practice across healthcare, workplaces, education, policy, media and everyday life.
Find out how you can get involved
The campaign isn’t about simply identifying what isn’t working. It’s about turning lived experience and evidence into action.
And there will be time afterwards to meet others, connect and continue the conversation.
If you’d like to join us, sign up below and we will send you all the details.
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