Women Political Leaders (WPL) is the global network of women politicians with a mission to increase both the number and the influence of women in political leadership positions. Based in Brussels, Belgium, WPL is an independent, international, post-partisan, and not-for-profit foundation founded by President Silvana Koch-Mehrin. WPL communities include women in political office—Presidents, Prime Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliaments, and Mayors—and the organization strives to demonstrate the impact of more women in political leadership for the global good. Recognizing that women need communication, connection, and community to accelerate their leadership, WPL optimizes the power of communication and connection to build new communities of knowledge for women political leaders everywhere.
Why It Matters: Women Political Leaders addresses both numbers and influence—understanding that increasing women’s presence in political leadership means little without also building the networks and knowledge communities that translate presence into power. By convening women who have the drive and influence to create positive change across partisan and national lines, WPL creates infrastructure for collaboration that individual women leaders cannot build alone. The post-partisan approach recognizes that women’s political leadership is not an ideological issue but a structural one, requiring global community-building among Presidents, Prime Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, Parliamentarians, and Mayors who share the experience of leading while underrepresented.
