Women MPs of the world conference: Strengthening visibility, driving change

To mark the 100th anniversary of the first women in this country winning the right to stand for election to parliament, the House of Commons will host the first ever Women MPs of the World Conference on Thursday 8th November. MPs have agreed it will be held in the House of Commons Chamber itself.

This historic event is co-hosted by the Secretary of State for International Development and Minister for Women and Equalities, Penny Mordaunt MP, who will give the opening speech in the House of Commons Chamber. The conference is backed Leader of the House, Andrea Leadsom MP and former Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Harriet Harman MP, who will also speak on the day.

The one-day event will bring together women MPs from around over 100 countries around the world to celebrate their achievements, discuss how to strengthen visibility, and further empower women parliamentarians to continue to drive change nationally and internationally. The event aims to inspire the next generation, contribute to women’s equal participation in parliaments globally, and demonstrate how elected women around the world are shaping the political agenda and making a difference to women and girls in their home countries. Delegates will discuss how to advocate for greater representation of women in parliament and public life, as well as exploring the specific challenges facing women MPs and how these might be overcome.

The morning will focus on sharing women MPs’ experiences and what can be done to help them become more effective, counter harassment and abuse, balance family and political responsibilities, and help more women get into parliament.

The afternoon will explore how women parliamentarians are spearheading policy change and how to amplify this, by shining a spotlight on four policy areas that affect the lives of women and girls: promoting women’s economic empowerment; ending violence against women and girls; championing efforts to enable all women to have access to voluntary family planning; and breaking the barriers to girls’ education.

The event is supported by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, British Council, Westminster Foundation for Democracy and Wilton Park.

Community organisations and charities working for women’s rights are being invited into the public gallery to watch the debates.

See here the full programme.