Women Political Leaders (WPL) is the global network of female political leaders at national level, including the European Parliament, of whom there are currently around 9,000. WPL provides a platform for the exchange of ideas, experiences and best practices between female political leaders.
WPL is an independent, international, charitable and post-partisan foundation established with the purpose of advancing society by building a network between women in Parliaments. The foundation is based in Reykjavik, Iceland.
History
In 2013, Silvana Koch-Mehrin, former Vice-President of the European Parliament (2009-2011) and Member of the European Parliament (2004-2014), founded and chaired the Women Political Leaders Global Forum (WPL). The WPL Board is chaired by
Hanna Birna Kristjansdottir, former Minister of Interior of Iceland, Mayor of Reykjavík, and President of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Parliament of Iceland.
Women are a small minority in politics. Today, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, almost 80% of parliamentary seats are held by men. In total, globally around 9,000 women are members of national Parliaments. WPL was created with the mission of advancing society by increasing the number and influence of women in political leadership.
Organisation
WPL consists of Members of Parliaments at national levels, including Members of the European Parliament. Organs of WPL are the Advisory Board, the Administrative Board, the Executive Board and the network of WPL Ambassadors.
WPL is also supported by a variety of non-governmental organizations, foundations, institutions and other civil society actors, which are valuable contributions to WPL's mission.
Activities
WPL carries out a broad variety of work to promote women's political participation. This includes hosting global and regional summits, conducting academic research and promoting female leadership with advocacy campaigns. WPL's work is not focused on classical gender policies.
Summits
Female politicians from around the world convene at the WPL Summits. WPL Summits offer an opportunity for participants to take part in political dialogue that reflect perspectives in many policy areas of today's female decision-makers.
*2013 WPL Inaugural Summit "Advancing Society" in the European Parliament On the occasion of 120-year anniversary of the first time women were allowed to vote (in New Zealand), the inaugural Summit took place in Brussels at the European Parliament where around 400 Members of Parliament attended representing 100 countries. Keynote speakers included
Portia Simpson-Miller
Portia Lucretia Simpson-Miller (born 12 December 1945) is a Jamaican politician. She served as Prime Minister of Jamaica from March 2006 to September 2007 and again from 5 January 2012 to 3 March 2016. She was the leader of the People's Nationa ...
, Prime Minister of Jamaica (2012-2016),
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (born Ellen Eugenia Johnson, 29 October 1938) is a Liberian politician who served as the 24th president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa.
Sirleaf was born in Mon ...
, President of Liberia and
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir (; born 4 October 1942) is an Icelandic politician, who served as prime minister of Iceland from 2009 to 2013. She became active in the trade union movement, serving as an officer.
Elected as an MP from 1978 to 2013, ...
, Prime Minister of Iceland (2009-2013).
*2014 WPL Summer Summit in Parliament of Rwanda The 2014 WPL Summer Summit took place at the
Parliament of Rwanda
The Parliament of Rwanda ( French: ''Parlement du Rwanda''; Kinyarwanda: ''Inteko Ishinga Amategeko y’u Rwanda'') has consisted of two chambers since 2003:
*The Senate (French: ''Sénat''; Kinyarwanda: ''Sena'') (Upper Chamber)
*The Chamber ...
with around 200 Members of Parliament from 51 countries. The WPL Summit was part of the 20th Commemoration of the
Genocide in Rwanda
The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...
. With 64% of its Parliamentarians being women, the Rwandan Parliament is the global champion. At this Summit, keynote speakers included
Erna Solberg
Erna Solberg (; born 24 February 1961) is a Norwegian politician and the current Leader of the Opposition. She served as the 35th prime minister of Norway from 2013 to 2021, and has been Leader of the Conservative Party since May 2004.
Solberg wa ...
, Prime Minister of Norway, and
Paul Kagame
Paul Kagame (; born 23 October 1957) is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who is the 4th and current president of Rwanda since 2000. He previously served as a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Uganda-based rebel ...
, President of the Republic of Rwanda.
*2015 WPL Summit "New Leadership for Global Challenges" in the African Union Headquarters The Summit themed "New Leadership for Global Challenges" took place at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on the occasion of the "Year of Women's Empowerment and Development towards Africa's
Agenda 2063 Agenda 2063 is a set of initiatives proposed and currently under implementation by the African Union. It was adopted on 31 January 2015 at the 24th Ordinary Assembly of the Heads of State and Governments of the African Union in Addis Ababa. The call ...
". At this WPL Summit there were around 400 Members of Parliament in attendance from 90 countries. Keynote speakers included
Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union,
Irina Bokova
Irina Georgieva Bokova ( bg, Ирина Георгиева Бокова; born 12 July 1952) is a Bulgarian politician and the former Director-General of UNESCO (2009–2017). During her political and diplomatic career in Bulgaria, she served, a ...
, Secretary General of UNESCO,
Lakshmi Puri
Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri (born 1952) is a former assistant secretary-general at the United Nations and the former deputy executive director of UN Women. Prior to her 15-year stint at the United Nations, she served as an Indian diplomat for 28 year ...
, Representing the Secretary General of United Nations,
Mari Kiviniemi
Mari Johanna Kiviniemi (born 27 September 1968) is a Finnish politician, who served as the second female Prime Minister of Finland from 2010 to 2011.
Since 25 August 2014, she is Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD.
Life and career
Kiviniemi ...
, OECD Deputy Secretary General and Prime Minister of Finland (2010-2011) and
Joyce Banda
Joyce Hilda Banda (née Ntila; born 12 April 1950) is a Malawian politician who was the President of Malawi from 7 April 2012 to 31 May 2014. Banda took office as President following the sudden death of President Bingu wa Mutharika. She is the ...
, President of Malawi (2012-2014).
*2015 WPL Summit "Make it Happen! Influence and Power of Women in Parliaments" in the Senate of Mexico The WPL Summit took place at the Senate of Mexico with around 200 Members of Parliament from 60 countries. It marked the 40th anniversary of the First World Conference on Women in Mexico. This meeting took place shortly after the Mexican Constitutional reform (2014) that obliges political parties to respect the principle of gender parity in the composition of candidates' lists for elective office. Keynote speakers included Mexican Foreign Minister,
Rebeca Grynspan
Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis (born 14 December 1955) is a Costa Rican economist who has been serving as Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) since 13 September 2021.
Grynspan previously served as Ibero-A ...
,
Viviane Reding
Viviane Adélaïde Reding (born 27 April 1951) is a Luxembourgish politician and a former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Luxembourg. She is a member of the Christian Social People's Party, part of the European People's Party. She p ...
, Member of the European Parliament and Former Vice President of the European Commission (2010-2014) and
Laura Chinchilla
Laura Chinchilla Miranda (; born 28 March 1959) is a Costa Rican politician who was President of Costa Rica from 2010 to 2014. She was one of Óscar Arias Sánchez's two Vice-Presidents and his administration's Minister of Justice. She was the ...
, Former President of Costa Rica (2010-2014).
* 2016 WPL Summit "Women in Politics: Fast Forward" in the Parliament of Jordan The WPL Summit occurred in the Jordanian Parliament with around 200 Members of Parliament from 80 countries. This summit was the first of its kind to be held in a Middle East North African (MENA) country. Keynote speakers included
Dalia Grybauskaite
Dalia may refer to:
People
* Dalia (given name), a given name and listing of people with the name
* Dalia (Egyptian singer), of album ''Bahebak enta'' 1998
* Badrunnesa Dalia, Bengali singer known as Dalia
Places
* Dalia (oil field), an off ...
, President of Lithuania and Chair of the Council of Women World Leaders,
Mari Kiviniemi
Mari Johanna Kiviniemi (born 27 September 1968) is a Finnish politician, who served as the second female Prime Minister of Finland from 2010 to 2011.
Since 25 August 2014, she is Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD.
Life and career
Kiviniemi ...
, OECD Deputy Secretary General and Prime Minister of Finland (2010- 2011) and
Marie Louise Coleiro Preca
Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, (born 7 December 1958) is a Maltese politician who served as President of Malta from 2014 to 2019. She has been president of Eurochild since 2019.
Previously, as a member of the Labour Party, Coleiro Preca was a Me ...
, President of Malta (2014-2019).
*2017 WPL Summit "We can do it!" in Iceland The WPL Summit 2017 was hosted in cooperation with the ''Althingi – Iceland's Parliament – and the Government of Iceland'' in Reykjavík from 28–30 November. The high-level conference of 400 female political leaders from around the world took place in collaboration with the Council of Women World Leaders (CWWL), whose Chair, President Dalia Grybauskaite of Lithuania, convened CWWL's network of women Prime Ministers and Presidents. Keynote speakers included
Dalia Grybauskaite
Dalia may refer to:
People
* Dalia (given name), a given name and listing of people with the name
* Dalia (Egyptian singer), of album ''Bahebak enta'' 1998
* Badrunnesa Dalia, Bengali singer known as Dalia
Places
* Dalia (oil field), an off ...
, President of Lithuania and Chair of the CWWL,
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović (; born 29 April 1968) is a Croatian politician and diplomat who served as President of Croatia from 2015 to 2020. She was the first woman to be elected to the office since the first multi-party elections in 1990 and ...
, President of Croatia,
Kersti Kaljulaid
Kersti Kaljulaid (; born 30 December 1969) is an Estonian politician who served as the fifth president of Estonia between 2016 and 2021. She was also the first and only female head of state of Estonia since the country declared independence in ...
, President of Estonia,
Amina Mohammed
Amina Jane Mohammed (born 27 June 1961) is a Nigerian-British diplomat and politician who is serving as the fifth Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, she was Nigerian Minister of Environment from 2015 to 2016 and was ...
, UN Deputy Secretary General, and
Mari Kiviniemi
Mari Johanna Kiviniemi (born 27 September 1968) is a Finnish politician, who served as the second female Prime Minister of Finland from 2010 to 2011.
Since 25 August 2014, she is Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD.
Life and career
Kiviniemi ...
, OECD Deputy Secretary General and Prime Minister of Finland (2010- 2011).
*2018 WPL Summit "It's about time! 100 Reasons to Act" in Lithuania The WPL Summit 2018, co-hosted by Seimas, the Parliament of Lithuania, brought female Heads of State and Government, Ministers, and Parliamentarians from all over the world to Vilnius. The WPL Summit 2018 was held under the patronage of Dalia Grybauskaitė, President of the Republic of Lithuania, and in cooperation with the Council of Women World Leaders (CWWL). President Grybauskaitė, also the Chair of CWWL, convened CWWL's network of women Presidents and Prime Ministers. Keynote speakers included
Dalia Grybauskaite
Dalia may refer to:
People
* Dalia (given name), a given name and listing of people with the name
* Dalia (Egyptian singer), of album ''Bahebak enta'' 1998
* Badrunnesa Dalia, Bengali singer known as Dalia
Places
* Dalia (oil field), an off ...
, President of Lithuania and Chair of the CWWL,
Marie Louise Coleiro Preca
Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, (born 7 December 1958) is a Maltese politician who served as President of Malta from 2014 to 2019. She has been president of Eurochild since 2019.
Previously, as a member of the Labour Party, Coleiro Preca was a Me ...
, President of Malta, and
Helen Clark
Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...
, Prime Minister of New Zealand (1999-2008) and Administrator of the United Nations Development Program (2009- 2017).
*2019 WPL Summit "Taking Actions to Advance Society Through SDGs" in Japan The WPL Summit 2019, co-hosted by the House of Representatives of Japan, brought together 400 female Heads of Government, Ministers, and Parliamentarians from 87 countries across the world to Tokyo on June 25–27. The conclusions of the first-ever WPL Summit held in the Asia-Pacific region were distilled in the WPL Summit 2019 Outcome Declaration, which was presented to Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, in the presence of G20 Leaders during the Leaders' Special Event on Women's Empowerment at the G20 Summit in Osaka on June 29. Key speakers included
Shinzo Abe
Shinzo Abe ( ; ja, 安倍 晋三, Hepburn romanization, Hepburn: , ; 21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), President of the Lib ...
, Prime Minister of Japan,
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus ( ti, ቴዎድሮስ አድሓኖም ገብረኢየሱስ, sometimes spelt ti, ቴድሮስ ኣድሓኖም ገብረየሱስ, label=none; born 3 March 1965) is an Ethiopian public health official, researcher, and ...
, Director-General of the World Health Organization,
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka (; born 3 November 1955), South African Government Information. is a South Africa, South African politician and former United Nations official, who served as the Executive Director of UN Women with the rank of Under-Secret ...
, Executive Director of UN Women with the rank of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, and
Helen Clark
Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...
, Prime Minister of New Zealand (1999-2008) and Administrator of the United Nations Development Program (2009- 2017).
WPL Studies
In addition to creating a platform for female parliamentarians, WPL partners with other organizations to launch relevant reports.
The Female Political Career
The study "The Female Political Career", produced by
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
and the
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
, is the result of a partnership between the Women Political Leaders Global Forum (WPL), the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
and
EY. It reflects survey results from male and female parliamentarians across 84 countries, designed to understand the hurdles women face in launching and sustaining successful political careers.
Social Media: Advancing Women in Politics?
The study "Social Media: Advancing Women in Politics?", produced by
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, is the result of a partnership between the Women Political Leaders Global Forum (WPL), the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, and Facebook. It is based on a survey that examined the use of social media by over 900 female Parliamentarians from 107 countries.
WPL Awards
WPL presents a series of Annual WPL Awards to countries outperforming on female political leadership. The awards are based on the rankings of the
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...
's "Global Gender Gap Report" and the
Inter Parliamentary Union. WPL also presents the "WPL Award for Lifetime Achievements in Female Political Empowerment".
WPL Awards 2013
''Winners in the Categories of Political Empowerment:''
* Women in Parliament: Rwanda
* Years with Female Head of State: Ireland
* Legislators, Senior Officials and Managers: Jamaica
''Winners by Region in Closing the Gender Gap:''
* Global Winner in Closing the Gender Gap: Iceland
* Middle East: Israel
* Oceania: New Zealand
* South and Southeast Asia: Philippines
* East Asia: Mongolia
* Africa: Lesotho
* Europe and Central Asia: Iceland
* European Union: Finland
* South America: Bolivia
''Achievements in Closing the Gender Gap in the Arab World''
* Winner by Region Arab World: United Arab Emirates
* Achievements in increasing the Percentage of Women in Parliamentary Positions: Algeria
WPL Awards 2014
"WIP Award for Lifetime Achievements in Female Political Empowerment"
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, received the WIP Award during the WIP Study Trip to Iceland (3-4 April 2014) as the first woman in the world to be democratically elected Head of State.
WPL Awards 2015
''Winners in the Categories of Political Empowerment:''
* Women in Parliament: Sweden and Ecuador
* Ministerial Positions: Italy
''Winners in Closing the Gender Gap:''
* Global Winner in Closing the Gender Gap: Kenya
* South and South East Asia: Bangladesh
''Achievements in Closing the Gender Gap in the Arab World''
* Tunisia
WPL Awards 2016
"WPL Award for Lifetime Achievements in Female Political Empowerment"
Honourable Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma received the WPL Award for Lifetime Achievement in Female Political Empowerment during the 3rd African Union High Level Panel on Gender Equality & Women's Empowerment, in Kigali.
''WPL Certificates of Recognition 2016 (WIP Global Summit in Jordan, May 2016):''
* Winner in the enhancement of women's role in the decision-making process: Jordan
* Winner in advancing Women in Parliamentary Positions: The first female Speaker of Parliament in the Arab world: United Arab Emirates
''Winners in Legislative Reform:''
* Algeria – for a 50% quota for women on political party lists.
* Morocco – for Equal pay and non-discrimination based on gender, in employment.
* Tunisia – for a 50% quota for women on political party lists
* Iraq – for Introducing a 25% quota for women in the Council of Representatives of Iraq.
* Libya – for Adopting a 16.5% quota for women in the 2014 electoral law, for the House of Representatives of Libya.
* Saudi Arabia – for Women granted the right to vote and stand in the 2015 municipal elections
* Egypt – for Introducing a 10% quota for women in Parliament.
* Oman – for Achieving gender parity in primary and secondary education
WPL Advocacy Campaigns
WPL Leadership Campaign
The campaign "We need more Women in Parliaments and as political leaders because…" aims to highlight the commitment of male Presidents and Prime Ministers around the world to increase the number of women in politics. Over 60 male leaders have supported this campaign including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, President of the European Council Donald Tusk and President of Columbia Manuel Santos. Prime Minister of Iceland, Mr
, became the co-patron of the WIP Leadership Campaign in August 2016.
"Peace and Security"
WPL has started a conversation on the importance of including more women in peace processes. Female Parliamentarians from all around the globe, as well as members of the WPL Advisory Board, have contributed to this initiative by sharing their ideas on how to increase the participation of women in conflict resolution, which is one of the strategic objectives of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which turned 20 years in 2015.
Call for Action to Step It Up for Gender Equality
Female Parliamentarians attending the 2015 WPL Global Summit "New Leadership for Global Challenges" signed a UN Women call for action that focuses on three specific actions: Renewed political commitment to close remaining gaps and fully implement the 12 critical areas of the Beijing Platform for Action by 2020; the empowerment of women, the realization of human rights of women and girls, and the expiry of gender inequality by 2030; and an end to the funding gap on gender equality, and the matching of commitments with the means of implementation.
See also
*
*
Council of Women World Leaders
The Council of Women World Leaders, created in 1996, is a network of 83 current and former presidents and prime ministers. It is the only organization in the world dedicated to women heads of state and government. The council's Ministerial Initia ...
*
Women in government
In many countries, women have been underrepresented in the government and different institutions. This historical tendency still persists, although women are increasingly being elected to be heads of state and government.
As of October 20 ...
References
{{Women in government
International women's organizations
Women legislators