Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians explore systemic barriers for women in politics to mark World Parliament Day 2024

Panellists reflected on different pathways to politics considering the disproportionate structural barriers women Parliamentarians face and what actions can be taken. With 2024 set to be ‘an era-defining election year’, the webinar also explored ways to encourage more women to stand for election. On average, only a quarter of Commonwealth Parliamentarians are women.

The panel was chaired by Hon. Kate Doust, MLC, Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council and Vice-Chairperson of the CWP network.

Panellists included:
Hon. Aparajita Haque, MP from the Parliament of Bangladesh and the CWP Regional Representative for the CPA Asia Region
Hon. Grace Kwelepeta, MP from the Parliament of Malawi
CWP President, Hon. Lynda Voltz MP from the Parliament of New South Wales
Dr Minna Cowper-Coles, Research Fellow at the Global Institute for Women's Leadership at King’s College London
Sara Haapalainen, Gender Adviser to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

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