Young women urged to challenge Westminster norms at International Women’s Day forum
Young women must feel emboldened to question power and engage directly with those who hold it, senior politicians said at a Westminster event designed to open the doors of Parliament to the next generation.
The gathering, held to mark International Women’s Day 2026, brought together school students, youth advocates and leading parliamentarians for a series of small-group discussions aimed at demystifying political life and encouraging participation. The initiative was organised in partnership with CARE International UK and the University of Roehampton’s G-EPIC EU project.
At its heart was a simple but pressing message: that young women should not wait their turn to be heard. Instead, they should raise concerns, test ideas and engage directly with women already navigating political life. This is essential to strengthening democratic representation.
The forum was hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Women in Parliament, with its co-chairs Dawn Butler and Mims Davies among those leading discussions. They were joined by a cross-party group of MPs and peers, including Jodie Gosling, Aphra Brandreth, Dr Marie Tidball, Ellie Chowns, Ann Davies, Baroness Carmen Smith, Kirsteen Sullivan, Sarah Bool, Preet Kaur Gill, Fleur Anderson, Catherine Fookes and Kim Leadbeater as well as Equalities Minister Seema Malhotra.
Participants, drawn from organisations including Young Women’s Trust, UN Women UK and The National Federation of Women’s Institutes, spoke candidly about barriers to entry, confidence and representation. Many had taken part in the G-EPIC project, which works with schools to foster civic engagement among girls.
In contrast to the adversarial tone often associated with Westminster, the discussions were deliberately intimate. Young attendees were encouraged not only to listen but to challenge — asking MPs how they entered politics, what obstacles they faced and how those barriers might be dismantled for others.
The emphasis on direct dialogue with female parliamentarians was seen as particularly significant. Exposure to a diverse range of political journeys, organisers argued, helps dismantle the perception that Parliament is reserved for a narrow demographic.
One MP captured the mood succinctly, reflecting on her own experience: “This place was not made for someone like me… so why try to fit into the system?”
That sentiment — less an expression of exclusion than a call to reshape institutions — resonated strongly with attendees. Rather than adapting themselves to fit Westminster, they were urged to redefine it.
Sponsors, including the healthcare company Theramex, supported the event, which organisers hope will become a fixture in efforts to widen political participation.
In an era of declining trust in public institutions, the message was clear: meaningful change depends not only on who is elected, but on who feels entitled to stand — and to speak.