Diary of Events

Forum Monday 11th November 2019 – Palace of Westminster
Violence Against Women in Politics (#VAWP)
6pm – 8pm

Intimidation through online and actual threats and abuse have become a part of life for many female candidates. This intimidation is often used to stifle the democratic voice of women and is quoted as a reason that women don’t stand. The CWO have brought together a panel to discuss these issues, and to come up with solutions to encourage more women to stand, and to feel safe when they do.

Panellists
Dr. Caroline Johnson MP - Dr. Johnson was elected as the MP for Sleaford and North Hykeham following the by-election in 2016 and was re-elected in the general election in 2017. Caroline lives in Sudbrook with her husband and their three children. She is a Consultant Paediatrician who first qualified as a doctor in 2001. Caroline’s husband is a local farmer and small businessman.

Fleur Butler – National CWO Chairman - Fleur's background is as a Management Consultant for the charity sector, before going into politics. She has held every top cabinet post including Finance, Housing and Communities and ended up Leader of a District Council. She writes regularly for the Independent and ConservativeHome.
Fleur was a member of the Council of Europe, and lead delegations for democratic election monitoring from Armenia to Bulgaria and has spoken in Strasbourg. She stood as an MEP and have run various campaigns.

Catherine Anderson - Catherine joined the Jo Cox Foundation as CEO in September 2018 after eight years in parliament as Chief of Staff to Rory Stewart. She is a founding director for 50:50 Parliament and in 2014 founded The Angus McDonald Trust, a health and welfare charity working in Myanmar, for which she was awarded a Points of Light by the Prime Minister.

Katherine Mulherne – Katherine Mulhern is the Chief Executive Officer of ECPAT UK, an anti-child trafficking policy and campaigning organization which has worked with HMG on issues relating to online threats and harms. A lawyer, Katherine has worked with governments and civil society organizations on issues relating to anti-bribery and anti-corruption, transparency, governance and serious and organized crime. Prior to working as a lawyer, Katherine was a war crimes investigator and worked with truth and reconciliation commissions investigating the causes of political violence.

Gonul Daniels - Gonul is Conservative Women’s Organisation Deputy Chairman and London Regional Chairman. She was the Conservative Party’s parliamentary candidate in the 2015 and 2017 general elections in Edmonton and a council candidate in the 2014 and 2018 local elections. Gonul is a school campaigner, she initiated a campaign to increase primary school provision and was one of the founders of Ashmole Primary School, a brand new free school that was created as a result of her campaign. Gonul is Chair of Governors and a Trustee. She has had a career in technology and is a working mother.

Philip Grindell - After the murder of Jo Cox in 2016, Detective Inspector Philip Grindell was the person brought in to Parliament to protect politicians and prevent further events from happening. Philip, a Counter Terrorist Security Coordinator, has designed the protocols, built a team and implemented innovative systems to improve the safety provision to all MPs and Peers. Having reviewed the national protective security packages, he negotiated substantial changes with the Parliamentary Security Department, Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons and the National Counter Terrorism Security Office to secure a cohesive approach to security and investigation of threats and vulnerabilities. He holds responsibility for identifying patterns and trends, briefing National Police Chiefs and the Home Office and lead on all criminal investigations within Parliament.
 

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Please use the Cromwell Green Entrance, at the front of the Houses of Parliament. Ensure you leave enough time to clear through security as it can take up to 30 minutes during busy times and bring an umbrella if needed, as you maybe queueing outside.

Please click here for directions to Parliament and where to find the Cromwell Green entrance.

About CWO Forums

The forums exist to give an opportunity to debate topical subjects and challenging issues that affect women and their families every day. It also gives women a chance to network, socialise and have direct contact with parliamentarians. For more information on this or forthcoming forums, please contact Neeti Gupta, National Forums Coordinator on neeti@conservativewomen.uk

When you start your career, you start hearing this expression “Getting up the ladder” and it’s all a bit of blur, a bit of a dream. Join us for an interesting forum on this topic on Monday 18th Nov between 6-8pm at the Houses of Parliament with a fantastic line-up of speakers – 'Going up the Career Ladder”

Our Panellists:
Gillian Keegan MP for Chichester - Prior to building her political career Gillian has spent 27 years working in leadership roles in the technology, finance and manufacturing sectors.

Fleur Butler – National CWO Chairman, Fleur's background is as a Management Consultant for the charity sector, before going into politics. She has held every top cabinet post including Finance, Housing and Communities and ended up Leader of a District Council.

Flick Drummond - Flick is the Conservative candidate for the Police and Crime Commissioner elections in May 2020. She was the MP for Portsmouth South between 2015-2017 and is the Chair of the SE Region of the Veterans Advisory and Pension Committee, a Board member of the National Citizens Service (NCS) and Voluntary Director of the Conservative Policy Forum (CPF)

Shalini Khemka - Shalini founded E2E in 2011 with the support of Sir Richard Branson (former honorary president). Prior to establishing E2E, Shalini was an Investment Director at LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyd's Banking Group and also co-founded the world’s first online 'bank to bank' trade finance company.

Cathryn Vanderspar - Over the past 30 years, Cathryn has developed a highly successful career in the City, as a tax lawyer, working closely with clients on developing business, with government and industry bodies on new laws. Having recently retired as Head of London tax at Eversheds Sutherland, she is now a consultant with Travers Smith and has taken on a non-executive director role for a global investment manager. She is also involved with informal career mentoring and coaching.

Laila Dupuy - Founder of Kitchin Table, the UK and USA’s first co-working space app enabling women to turn their homes (their kitchen tables) into female co-working spaces. Laila is a mum of six children, a former senior crown prosecutor and is now on a mission to help launch 1,000 female founded businesses in 2019. Kitchin Table has been featured in Daily Telegraph, the Financial Times, The Guardian, Virgin Start up, and has been selected as thirty most promising social start up at SXSW 2018 and Web Summit 2017.
 

About CWO Forums

The forums exist to give an opportunity to debate topical subjects and challenging issues that affect women and their families every day. It also gives women a chance to network, socialise and have direct contact with parliamentarians. For more information on this or forthcoming forums, please contact Neeti Gupta, National Forums Coordinator on neeti@conservativewomen.uk
mailto:neeti@conservativewomen.uk
Please use the Cromwell Green Entrance, at the front of the Houses of Parliament. Ensure you leave enough time to clear through security as it can take up to 30 minutes during busy times and bring an umbrella if needed, as you maybe queueing outside.