Lanark and Hamilton East MP Angela Crawley today (Thursday 8 November) joined female MPs from around the world as part of the Women of the World conference.

The historic one-day event, taking place at the House of Commons in the centenary year of women’s suffrage in the UK, brings together women parliamentarians from around the world to celebrate their achievements, discuss how to strengthen visibility, and further empower women parliamentarians to continue to drive change nationally and internationally.

The event aims to inspire the next generation, contribute to women’s meaningful participation in parliaments globally, and demonstrate how elected women around the world are shaping the political agenda and making a difference to women and girls in their home countries.

Angela will co-chair a session on ending violence against women and girls alongside Ms Shireen Sharmeen Chaudhary of Bangladesh.

Commenting, Angela said:

“It is an honour to join leading politicians from across the globe to discuss female empowerment, particularly on the centenary of women’s suffrage in the UK.

“Women have faced structural barriers accessing politics for too long and, although progress has been made in recent years, we still have a long way to go.

“Women have fought their way into almost every Parliament in the world and are all pushing for the same things and facing the same obstacles.

“Female MPs around the world want not only to only to be in parliament but also to share power equally and empower women in the countries they represent.

“We have so much to learn from women MPs in parliaments elsewhere and this event allows us to do just that.

“One thing this conference highlights is that a woman’s place is in elected office.”