Helga Maria Schmid: Co-Chairing the Munich Security Conference

 

WPL Board Member Helga Maria Schmid continues to shape international security dialogue as Co-Chair of the Munich Security Conference, alongside Jens Stoltenberg. In this role, she contributes to one of the world’s leading forums for international security and foreign policy, bringing together political leaders, policymakers and experts to address pressing global challenges.

Her leadership was also recognised this month when she received the 2026 Justitia Award in Vienna during the Women In Law conference. The award recognises her contribution to international leadership and public service, adding to a distinguished career spanning diplomacy, European foreign policy and multilateral cooperation.

Accepting the award, Helga highlighted the importance of networks such as WPL in advancing women’s leadership. For WPL, her continued leadership on the global security stage, alongside this recognition, reflects the importance of women holding influential positions across international affairs and helping shape the conversations that define our shared future.

 

 

WPL Annual Representation Matters Wrap-Up After the 81st session of the UN General Assembly

 

WPL’s Representation Matters convenings at the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly brought together Presidents, ministers, senior UN and EU officials and political leaders from around the world, including UN Under-Secretary-General Amandeep Singh Gill, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Under-Secretary-General Izumi Nakamitsu, UN Secretary-General candidate María Fernanda Espinosa, UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications Melissa Fleming, Minister of Social Welfare of Sierra Leone Melrose Karminty, Minister of Health, Spain; Co-Chair of the Global Alliance for Women’s Health Dr. Mónica García Gómez, United Nations Under-Secretary-General of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia Rania A. Al-Mashat, European Commission Executive Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu, former President of Ethiopia (2018-2024) Sahle-Work Zewde, former President of Finland (2000–2012) Tarja Halonen, and President of Kosovo (2021-2026) Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu.

 

The range of voices in the room reflected the continued need for spaces where decision makers could exchange perspectives and shape a political agenda that took different experiences into consideration. For WPL, the success of the convenings lay in bringing leaders together and keeping this conversation moving, particularly as political decisions continue to affect people and communities across borders.

Why WPL Needs to Keep the Conversation Going

 

The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2026 offers a clear reminder of how much progress remains to be made in political representation. At the current rate of progress, the global political gender gap is projected to take 194 years to close, highlighting the slow pace at which women are gaining access to political decision-making.

 

The figures on political power remain striking. Women continue to be significantly underrepresented in the highest levels of political leadership, from heads of government to senior ministerial and parliamentary positions. While progress has been made in some countries and institutions, men continue to hold the majority of positions where political decisions are shaped and taken.

 

The challenge is not only to increase the number of women in political leadership, but to keep women’s representation and influence firmly on the political agenda. WPL’s Annual Representation Matters Convenings contribute to that effort by bringing high-level decision makers together to discuss who is represented, whose voices are heard and how political leadership can better reflect the societies it serves.

 

 

“Women Are Here to Stay”: Von der Leyen Defends Women’s Political Leadership in State of the European Union Address

 

On September 16th, in her 2026 State of the Union address, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen used the European Parliament chamber itself to make a point about women’s political leadership. “Women are here to stay. We will defend our rights,” she said, pointing to the women serving as Presidents, Vice-Presidents, Group Leaders, Commissioners and Members of the European Parliament. 

“They want to send us back in an age where women were second class citizens. We have fought so hard for equal treatment, equal opportunities, equal pay. Look around this room… Finally, there are many of us here: Presidents, Vice-Presidents, Group Leaders, Commissioners, Members of the European Parliament, staffers and ushers…” – Ursula von der Leyen

For WPL, the message speaks directly to the importance of both representation and influence: women’s presence in political institutions is not simply symbolic. It shapes who participates in decision-making, whose experiences inform policy, and who has the opportunity to exercise leadership at the highest levels.

 

 

G7 Speakers’ Summit: Women Leading Parliaments

 

From 10–12 September, parliamentary leaders from the G7 countries, alongside the Presidents of the European and Ukrainian Parliaments, gathered in Paris for the 24th G7 Speakers’ Summit, hosted by Yaël Braun-Pivet, President of the French National Assembly. The summit focused on strengthening democratic institutions, building citizen trust and participation, the role of parliaments in foreign and defence policy, and the challenges artificial intelligence presents to legislatures.

The gathering also offered a visible example of women exercising leadership within some of the world’s most influential parliamentary institutions. Braun-Pivet chaired the summit, while Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, and Julia Klöckner, President of the German Bundestag, were among the women leading discussions. 

 

 

Women in Cyber Awards Recognise Leadership in Cybersecurity

 

The inaugural Global Cybersecurity Forum (GCF) Women in Cyber Awards took place on 22 September at UN Headquarters in New York, during the high-level week of the 81st United Nations General Assembly. Organised alongside UN Women and in cooperation with the Permanent Mission of Saudi Arabia to the UN, the awards recognise efforts to strengthen women’s participation and leadership in cybersecurity, with WPL serving as a member of the awards jury.

 

Four organisations were recognised across different areas of career development: United Cybersecurity Alliance for encouraging young girls to enter the field, SABIC for advocacy, Sri Lanka CERT for workforce development, and CYBERLEAD for advancing women into leadership roles.

 

The awards highlight the growing role of women in a sector increasingly important to technology, security and public policy, and the range of efforts needed to create pathways from entry into the field to senior leadership.