Meeting of the Women Parliamentarian Network in Windsor, December 2023

From 6-8 December, the Women Parliamentarian Network (WPN) met at St George’s House, Windsor.

The meeting convened parliamentarians as well as health and childcare officials from Finland, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Northern Ireland, Oman, Sweden, and the UK. The meeting provided the opportunity to share understandings of how climate change disproportionately affects the health of women, and how a lack of access to childcare can limit women’s economic participation. Members of the Network shared their insights on how these issues can best be addressed. 

Populations in the Gulf-MENA region are particularly vulnerable to the health impacts of climate change. Whilst some breakthrough has been made to bring health onto the agenda in climate discussions (as seen with COP28’s ‘Health Day’), governments must do more to implement measures that acknowledge and reduce these effects, and their disproportionate impacts on women. Climate consciousness must also be fostered through improved education on climate-related issues.

Discussions also focused on finding ways of improving childcare to allow women greater economic participation. Participants shared experiences from their own countries, and heard from experts in Europe and in the Gulf-MENA region. There is a need in many countries for reforms to their childcare systems to allow men and women to share the responsibilities of childcare more equitably without compromising their economic participation. The Swedish model was examined as an example of a good childcare system, though its limitations were also discussed.