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Inspiring Future Leaders for International Women’s Day

4 Mar 2025

Photo of attendees at Inspiring Future Leaders event

To mark International Women’s Day 2025, the APPG Women in Parliament hosted a special event connecting young women with parliamentarians. Young women attended from Centenary Action member organisations including Girlguiding, Young Women’s Trust, Plan International UK, King’s Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, Elect Her and the National Council of Women GB to engage with female MPs and Parliamentarians. The event aimed to address the growing disengagement of young women in politics by fostering connections, sharing insights, and showcasing the positives of a career in politics.

Empowering Conversations 

During the first half of the event small groups of young women were joined by a parliamentary participant for open in-depth conversations about what it’s really like to be a woman in politics. This provided a rare opportunity for attendees to ask questions, hear personal experiences, and gain invaluable insights into the realities of political life.

 
Dawn Butler talking to attendees at Inspiring Future Leaders event
Mims Davies MP talking to participants at Inspiring Future Leaders event
Wendy Chamberlain MP talking to young women at Inspiring Future Leaders event
Becky Gittins MP talking to young women at Inspiring Future Leaders event
Baroness Carmen Smith talking to young women at Inspiring Future Leaders event
Jodie Gosling MP, Sophie Carlin and Victoria Day talking to young women at Inspiring Future Leaders event
Parliamentary Participants: 
We were privileged to have a fantastic line up of political leaders take part:

Mims Davies MP: Conservative MP for East Grinstead and Uckfield. Shadow Minister for Women and Shadow Secretary of State for Wales.
Dawn Butler MP: Labour MP for Brent East. She is a member of the Panel of Chairs, making history as the first black female MP to hold this position.
Wendy Chamberlain MP: Liberal Democrat MP for North East Fife. Deputy leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats and Chief Whip for the Liberal Democrats in Westminster and a member of the Modernisation Committee.
Baroness Carmen Smith: Plaid Cymru Peer. On her appointment she became the youngest member of the House of Lords, and the youngest person ever to receive a life peerage.
Becky Gittins MP: Newly elected Labour MP for Clwyd East and one of the youngest members of Parliament, part of a new wave of MPs under 30.
Jodie Gosling MP: Newly elected Labour MP for Nuneaton.
Sophie Carlin: Senior Communications Officer for Shivani Raja MP, the Conservative MP for Leicester East and the youngest female Conservative MP.
Victoria Day: Caseworker for Priti Patel MP, the Conservative MP for Witham and the current Shadow Foreign Secretary.

Building Networks

Following the discussions, attendees took part in a networking reception, where they had the chance to connect informally with MPs, Peers, parliamentary staff, and organisations supporting women in politics. The event was strengthened by the participation of MPs and Peers from across the political spectrum.

Amanda Martin MP talking to young women at the Inspiring Future Leaders event
Ellie Chowns MP talking to young women at Inspiring Future Leaders
Baroness Carmen Smith and Ann Davies MP talking to young women at Inspiring Future Leaders
Baroness Freeman talking to young women at Inspiring Future Leaders event
Natalie Fleet MP talking to young women at Inspiring Future Leaders event
Patricia Ferguson MP talking to young women at Inspiring Future Leaders event
Alex Davies Jones MP talking to attendees of Inspiring Future Leaders event
Baroness JoJo Penn talking to young women at Inspiring Future Leaders event

Impact and Feedback 

The event left a lasting impression on the young women who attended. Here’s what they had to say:

‘Having access to the MPs was absolutely amazing and I learned so much about their daily lives and career highs and lows’
 
‘It was really interesting…I got to ask a lot of questions and had them answered.’
 
‘Today was fantastic, I feel genuinely inspired and uplifted talking to all the female MPs’
 
‘It was probably one of the best things I have ever experienced.’
 
Photos by Anne-Marie Bickerton