The delegates in Westminster Hall

Members of Parliament from across the Commonwealth participated in CPA UK's Women in Trade Workshop, held on 20 - 22 June 2023 in the UK Parliament.

CPA UK's first all-women in-person multilateral programme brought together women parliamentarians from across the Commonwealth for a three-day Workshop designed to strengthen their knowledge of international trade and to discuss the specific impact of trade agreements on gender equality, poverty alleviation and the economic empowerment of women in the Commonwealth.

A delegate addresses the panel during a session

Throughout the programme, delegates heard from a wide variety of expert speakers, from within and outside the UK Parliament, addressing the Workshop's key themes of gender, politics and trade. Alongside knowledge building, the workshop also gave the participants the chance to improve their soft skills through communication and leadership training, and provided an environment for delegates to share experiences and challenges whilst discussing innovative solutions. Finally, the Workshop included a committee exercise on taking oral evidence from witnesses, exploring good practice with regards to research and effective questioning techniques.

The Conference was the latest in a series of CPA UK programmes focused on the theme of international trade, following on from engagements such as the February 2023 Trade Workshop for Overseas Territories and Devolved Legislatures, and the Africa Regional Trade Webinar in July 2022.

You can read more about the Women in Trade programme in our full report.