On International Women's Day 2023, the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) network join women in Parliament across the Commonwealth in celebrating the achievements of women and campaigning for women's full and equal participation in political and parliamentary leadership at all levels.

Below you will find a snapshot of the activities that the CWP network and its Members are undertaking to mark #IWD2023.

To mark International Women's Day 2023, the CPA has launched a new online course on 'Effective Women's Parliamentary Caucuses.'

This course offers an introduction to the main methods used to establish and run effective women’s parliamentary caucuses, based on the experiences of Parliaments across the Commonwealth and beyond.

The course first explores the process of establishing a women’s parliamentary caucus, covering key issues such as how institutions can garner support, challenge resistance, and take advantage of a window of opportunity to successfully establish their caucus. It then outlines how to run an effective women’s parliamentary caucus, with lessons on structuring caucuses, setting clear goals, establishing partnerships, remaining viable and engaging with male allies.  

The course provides a comprehensive yet accessible introduction to these issues for both Parliamentarians and parliamentary staff, including those with limited prior knowledge or involvement in establishing or working in a women’s parliamentary caucus.

Modules will cover issues including:

• bipartisanship
• the organisation of a caucus
• internal communication
• focus and objectives
• soft power and outreach
• funding and durability

The course is available on the CPA Parliamentary Academy, our online learning platform.

Register for the course ->

Read a joint statement on 'Equality in Law for Women and Girls in a Digital Age' from partners of the 'Global Strategy for Equality in Law for Women and Girls by 2030: A Multi-stakeholder Strategy'

Read the full statement ->

Partners of the Global Strategy for Equality in Law for Women and Girls by 2030: A Multi-stakeholder Strategy for Accelerated Action are: UN Women; The African Union; Commonwealth Secretariat; Inter-Parliamentary Union; Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie; Secretaria General Ibero-Americana; Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime; Equality Now; Global Citizen; Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights; Global Campaign for Equality in Family Law; International Association of Women Judges; International Development Law Organization; Muslims for Progressive Values; Women’s Learning Partnership; The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute; Commonwealth Parliamentary Association; and Girls Not Brides.

The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians network was represented at the 67^th session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York, USA from 6 to 9 March 2023 by the CWP Vice-Chairperson, Hon. Valerie Woods, MP, Speaker of the National Assembly of Belize. For the first time, the CWP network were issued with places at the main session of CSW67 via the Commonwealth Secretariat which gave additional opportunity to contribute to the discussions taking place.

The CWP Vice-Chair also joined the CPA UK Chairperson, Rt Hon. Dame Maria Miller, MP and other Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians from different countries to discuss the importance of creating gender-sensitive Parliaments and the crucial role that Parliaments play in meeting the needs and interests of women Parliamentarians.

Other themes at the event included innovation and technological change, education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.