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Asia is one of the regions where women, policy and political leadership are topics that have yet to gain traction. Southeast Asian countries for instance have seen an increased number of women in political positions in recent years but women still continue to experience discrimination in the male-dominated world. Therefore a concerted regional effort to begin building bridges to promote best practices and shared experiences began with a regional meeting of female parliamentarians from all over Asia on the 16th and 17th of October 2014, in Singapore.

The main focus of the conference was on how to encourage female leadership in Asia and empower women in general to become more active in politics. The participants gained worthy insights into Asian as well as European politics from a female perspective and were able to meet and discuss with female leaders from around the globe. Ms Teresa Jimenez-Becerril Barrio, member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2009 and member of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, delivered one of the keynote addresses, which covered experiences from Europe, specifically on how it has been possible to increase women’s participation in policy making and leadership; actual challenges for women in politics; and the role of regional solidarity structures such as the Committee on Gender and Equality within the European Parliament. The conference also included personal training workshops on behalf of experienced experts from the political but also the private corporate sector.