International Women’s Day 2021

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Each year Lord Dolar Popat and Lady Sandhya Popat host an exclusive International Women’s Day debate in the Houses of Parliament to give non-Parliamentarians a platform to inspire and drive tangible change for women of all races and ethnicities. Past speakers have included leading human rights lawyer Gina Miller and award-winning Indian designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee.

Despite the Houses of Parliament remaining closed due to the pandemic, the debate will continue virtually. Speaking to Asian Voice, Lord Popat said, “This year’s International Women’s Day debate is more important than ever before. We have a responsibility to hear and amplify a diverse group of changemakers and their calls to action during this time of great change for the world. The advantage of the showcase being virtual is that more people can participate and engage in the debate.”

The debate is organised and curated each year by Rupa Popat and Rupal Sachdev Kantaria and run according to Parliamentary protocol, where each speaker has 5 minutes to speak. In this year’s programme, the pair have curated a diverse set of female and male voices from young activists to established leaders across sectors from finance to fashion, including diverse and pressing themes such as transgenderism, youth violence, black lives matter, female entrepreneurship and growth, digitalisation and inspiration on “how to live” drawing on easter and western strengths.
Speakers include bestselling author, podcast host, purpose coach and former monk Jay Shetty, musician, artist and writer Jahnavi Harrison, CEO and Founder of Starling Bank Anne Boden, Group Chief Executive Officer of Natwest Group Alison Rose, Anya Hindmarch CBE, Baroness Minouche Shafik, Her Excellency Yamina Karitanyi and many more.

Speaking ahead of the debate Rupa said, “Real change has been too slow. Women, still face worse health, economic and social outcomes around the world, simply because they are not born as men or boys. This year, we will hear stories from powerful role models, change-makers and diverse voices on driving that change.

Rupal said, “We are hugely grateful for this platform which has enabled us to draw together such an inspiring group. With the pandemic already impacting all types of women, and particular women of colour more strongly than men, highlighting their voices and bringing attention to this issue is more important than ever.”

This year’s International Women’s Day debate will be held on Friday 5th March from 1pm to 2.30pm (GMT). The debate is open to all and participants can register through the following link: https://bit.ly/3qxQLrO or email IWD@vacventures.com . For further details on speakers and the event please is https://bit.ly/3rFvTPw