About This Episode
As the world marks another International Women’s Day, we’re still asking the same question: why aren’t there more women in politics?
In 2024, nearly half the world’s population held elections, yet we saw the slowest rate of growth in female representation in two decades. What’s holding us back?
In this episode of Change Makers, Edie Lush speaks to two powerhouse politicians from opposite sides of the Atlantic: U.S. Representative Chrissy Houlahan, a Democrat and the first woman ever to represent Pennsylvania’s 6th District in Congress, and Baroness Sandip Verma, a Conservative peer in the House of Lords and former chair of the UN Women’s national committee for UK.
From breaking barriers in male-dominated spaces to tackling issues like gender bias, childcare, and online harassment, these two leaders share their insights on what it takes for women to rise in politics – and how we can create more opportunities for the next generation. It’s a conversation about leadership, resilience, and why progress for women is progress for everyone.
Baroness Sandip Verma and U.S. Representative Chrissy Houlahan
Baroness Sandip Verma
Baroness Verma, a member of the House of Lords since 2006, is a highly respected British-Indian politician and businesswoman.
Baroness Verma was formerly Ministerial Champion for Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Overseas, a role which chairs the UN Women’s national committee for UK. Baroness Verma served as a minister for Energy and Climate Change, as minister for International Development and government whip for the coalition government. She was the Chair of the EU Sub Committee for Goods, a Member of the EU Select Committee. She holds a number of positions and roles in the private sector, a strong and consistent voice for equality, diversity and inclusion that cuts across all her work.
U.S. Representative Chrissy Houlahan
Chrissy Houlahan is an Air Force veteran, engineer, entrepreneur, educator, and the first woman ever to represent Pennsylvania’s 6th District in Congress.
She is the daughter and granddaughter of Holocaust survivors who came to America with nothing. She grew up in a military family; her parents met when her father and grandfather flew P3s in the same Navy squadron. She earned her engineering degree from Stanford with an ROTC scholarship that launched her service in the U.S. Air Force and Air Force Reserves, and later earned her M.S. in Technology and Policy from MIT.
Since serving her community in Congress, she has been awarded the Abraham Lincoln Leadership for America Award and three Congressional Management Foundation Democracy Awards. The Leadership for America award is presented by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to honor lawmakers for their work supporting a free enterprise system. The Democracy Awards recognized her outstanding achievement in the categories of Transparency and Accountability, Constituent Services, and Workplace Environment. Chrissy is the first member of Congress in history to win two categories in a single congressional term.
