Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians aim to assist more women into leadership roles in Parliaments at 8th CWP Conference in New South Wales
Women Parliamentarians from across the Commonwealth held their 8th Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Conference in Sydney, New South Wales to discuss women’s representation in Parliaments, gender sensitisation and quotas amongst a wide range of topics. The main theme of the conference was: 'Engaging, Promoting and Retaining Women in Power'.
The 8th CWP Conference brought together Members of Parliament to discuss equal representation in Parliaments through a series of workshops and governance meetings including four learning and development workshops for delegates.
Above: Delegates at the 8th Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) Conference in New South Wales. Click here for more images of the event.
The CWP Conference was opened by the CWP Chairperson, Hon. Dr Zainab Gimba, MP, Member of the House of Representatives at the National Assembly of Nigeria who welcomed delegates and the CWP President (2024), Ms Lynda Voltz, MP (New South Wales) spoke about her experience as a legislator.
Over 100 Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians and delegates attended the conference from across the Commonwealth. The CWP conference saw leading figures in Commonwealth Parliaments addressing the conference and included four wide-ranging sessions for delegates on the following issues:
- Promoting the Political Participation of Young Women and Girls;
- Future-Proofing Democracy: Innovations in Security and Support for Women Parliamentarians;
- The Retention of Women in Parliaments: How to Keep Women in Politics?; and
- a joint workshop with the CPA Small Branches network – Gender and National Climate Planning: moving from commitment to scalable action.
The CWP Conference also heard from Members from the Parliaments of Canada, India, Australia, Pakistan, Maldives, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom and New Zealand as well as experts from UN Women, Compassion in Politics, and the Universities of New South Wales and Western Australia.
The CWP Business meeting updated on the CWP network’s activities during the previous year and the plans for the year ahead. The CWP Chairperson also pledged to renew the effort to increase women’s representation and political participation in Parliaments across the Commonwealth.
Ahead of the 8th CWP Conference, the CWP Steering Committee met in New South Wales representing the nine CPA Regions: Africa; Asia; Australia; British Islands and the Mediterranean; Canada; Caribbean, Americas and the Atlantic; India; Pacific; and South East Asia. CWP Steering Committee Members discussed activities for the year ahead as well as key themes for future conferences and meetings.
Above: The CWP Steering Committee met ahead of the 8th CWP Conference in the Jubilee Room at the Parliament of New South Wales. Click here for more images from the CWP Conference.
The CWP Steering Committee elected Hon. Kate Doust, MLC from the Parliament of Western Australia as the CWP Vice-Chairperson for another one-year term.
The CWP Conference was previously triennial (every three years) but in 2023, CWP Members agreed to hold an annual conference to held in the margins of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference.
The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) is the network of women Members of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s Parliament and Legislatures. The CWP network provides a means of building the capacity of women elected to Parliament to be effective in their roles; improving the awareness and ability of all Parliamentarians, male and female, and encouraging them to include a gender perspective in all aspects of their role - legislation, oversight and representation and helping Parliaments to become gender-sensitive institutions.
One of the largest gatherings of Commonwealth Parliamentarians, the 67th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference brought together over 700 Parliamentarians, parliamentary staff and decision makers from across the Commonwealth for this unique conference and networking opportunity.
The 67th CPC was the first time that the CPA New South Wales Branch hosted the event and the first time that an Australian State or Territory hosted the CPA annual conference.
During the 67th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference, there were also a number of additional conferences and meetings including: 40th CPA Small Branches Conference; 8th Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) Conference; meetings of the Commonwealth Parliamentarians with Disabilities (CPwD) network; the CPA General Assembly and meetings of the CPA Executive Committee; and the 58th Society of Clerks at the Table (SOCATT) meetings.
During the conference, a number of elections also took place for the Chairperson of the CPA Executive Committee, the CPA Small Branches Chairperson and the CPA Vice-Chairperson.
-ENDS-
Further information about the 67th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) can be found at the official conference website and also at the 67th CPC Hub.
On social media follow the hashtag #67CPC
Images of the 67th CPC are also available at the CPA's Flickr page.
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) organises its annual Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) to address global political issues and developments in the parliamentary system through conference workshops and sessions for leading Parliamentarians representing Parliaments and Legislatures throughout the Commonwealth.
The CPA is an international community of almost 180 Commonwealth Parliaments and Legislatures working together to deepen the Commonwealth’s commitment to the highest standards of democratic governance.
For media enquiries, please contact communications@cpahq.org.
