The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) network has continued its association with the Reykjavik Global Forum – Women Leaders, through its attendance and contributions at the 2021 programme, which took place from 9-10 November 2021 in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Co-hosted by Women Political Leaders (WPL), the Government of Iceland and the Parliament of Iceland, the Forum brought together women leaders from the political, private and non-governmental sectors to discuss pressing issues including women’s political and economic empowerment, women’s healthcare, reducing the gender pay gap, the ongoing climate crisis, and women’s entrepreneurship.
The Global Forum also provided the opportunity for participants to hear about ongoing global perceptions about women in leadership and concerning data trends showing a lack of support for women in positions of leadership in younger demographics.
Above: Hon. Samantha Sacramento MP (left), Chair of the CWP British Islands and Mediterranean Region (BIMR), with Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland
During the Forum, the CWP Chairperson, Hon. Shandana Gulzar Khan MNA, spoke at a virtual ‘LeadersTalk’ on ‘Healthy Women, Healthy Economies: Policy Innovations and Solutions’, co-hosted by Merck KGaA. Moderated by the writer and broadcaster, Vickie Remoe, the hybrid panel discussion also featured another Commonwealth Parliamentarian, Canadian Senator Kim Pate.
At the session, panellists from the public and private sectors, global institutions and academia shared transformative policy innovations and solutions for building more equitable health systems and societies. The discussion focussed on the need to ensure a more equitable distribution of unpaid health work and caregiving and examined the lessons to be learnt from COVID-19 in the post-pandemic re-building process.
The CWP network was represented at the event by Hon. Samantha Sacramento MP, Chair of the CWP British Islands and Mediterranean Region (BIMR) and Minister for the Health Authority, Justice, Multiculturalism, Equality and Community Affairs in the Government of Gibraltar.
The Reykjavik Global Forum was established as an annual event in 2018 by Women Political Leaders and the Government and Parliament of Iceland, after the success of the 2017 Women Political Leaders Forum. Women Political Leaders is an independent, international, post-partisan and not-for-profit foundation based in Reykjavik, Iceland, which seeks to increase the number and influence of women in political leadership positions by optimising the power of communication and connection to build new communities of knowledge for women political leaders and by convening women political leaders who have the drive and the influence to create positive change.
