New Commonwealth network offers women MPs a ‘safe space’, says Ladislaus 

GSD Opposition MP Joelle Ladislaus has been appointed Vice Chair of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s Overseas Territories Women Parliamentarians Network, which held its first meeting last Thursday over video call.  

The new Commonwealth network for women parliamentarians is giving female MPs from smaller jurisdictions a crucial “safe space” to share experiences on caregiving, online abuse and personal security, Mrs Ladislaus told the Chronicle. 

Recently appointed to the network following an expression of interest Mrs Ladislaus said the initiative aims to move beyond mere discussion and ensure concerns faced by women in public life translate into concrete action. 

“There’s a danger when we get involved in these committees that there’s a lot of discussion when we are in the room, but if there’s no action taken externally, then what’s the point in it, really?,” she said.  

“It’s important that we continue to disseminate the message that women are still in the minority in positions of leadership. And that there are reasons for it which we’re trying to address.” 

The meeting brought together eight female parliamentarians from jurisdictions similar in size to Gibraltar, with plans to expand membership and meet monthly. 

While motherhood is often cited as a key barrier to women’s progression, the discussion within the network quickly broadened to encompass lifelong caregiving responsibilities. 

Mrs Ladislaus originally thought the issue was “parenting”, but the call made her realise it is far broader than that. 

“For a lot of these women, they’re not actually mothers themselves. A lot of them have made the decision not to be, so it’s actually caregiving for adult parents as well, for elderly parents. It’s a caregiving responsibility generally,” she said.  

With Europe’s ageing population and falling birth rates, she warned that the burden of care will only intensify. 

“We have an ageing population, as does a lot of Europe. We’re not catching up with the birth rate, so there’s going to be a lot more responsibility on those of us who are younger at a certain point in our lives,” she said.  

Where once care could be shared among several siblings, many families now have only one or two children.  

Despite the small population sizes, “30,000 to 40,000”, in many of the jurisdictions represented expectations around public services such as healthcare remain comparable to those of much larger countries like the UK and Australia, she noted, even though smaller administrations work with significantly fewer resources. 

Mrs Ladislaus’s involvement with the new women’s network stems from her wider work with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), which she has attended through Gibraltar’s Parliament. 

She previously took part in the CPA plenary session in Australia and in a Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) conference in Scotland, experiences she described as “huge” and “amazing” in terms of sharing best practice. 

“You meet people from the bigger countries as well,” she said, offering an opportunity to see “how different the jurisdictions are, how different everybody approaches things. But then there are also similarities and you think, ‘Oh, we do that, that’s a really good spin on that.’” 

The Scottish Parliament, in particular, she noted as a model for supporting women to both enter and remain in politics. 

“The Scottish Parliament is very much geared towards supporting women to come into politics and stay in politics. They’ve got breastfeeding rooms, they’ve got an on-site crèche where you can drop your child off and, when you’re at recess, you can just amble over, see your child, get back into Parliament. It’s amazing,” she said.  

While acknowledging that smaller legislatures like Gibraltar’s might struggle to replicate that level of provision, she argued that “something along those lines” including broader “wrap-around care” across society would make a significant difference. 

The network’s first meeting also confronted the reality of online harassment faced by women in politics, with participants sharing examples from their own jurisdictions. 

“There were discussions about trolling online due to the gender,” she said, noting a double standard: “What’s attacked online for women is never attacked online for men.” 

Beyond social media, the conversation turned to physical safety and how structural and political changes can disproportionately affect women. 

She said that one concern raised is security if the physical frontier fence between Gibraltar and Spain were to come down. While stressing that nobody yet knows how the treaty might work in practice, she noted that women are already questioning how this might affect their confidence in moving around freely, especially at night. 

Live streaming of parliamentary sessions was identified as another potential risk, she said. 

“Parliament is streamed live. So people know when you’re leaving Parliament, at what time, when you walked out that door. In other jurisdictions, when you’ve had one of these very controversial arguments or debates, they can wait. There’s nothing to say that they’re not going to be waiting outside,” she said.  

Gibraltar has a visible police presence in and around the Parliament, but many women MPs elsewhere in the network walk alone to their cars or face long commutes home in the dark. 

“We’ve come a long way in that women are very much more independent nowadays, but I think there’s also an element of we just don’t think about safety because, ‘Oh, it’s fine.’ You’re fine until something happens,” she said.  

Mrs Ladislaus also noted that perceptions of women who speak up forcefully in public life formed another strand of the discussion. 

If a woman is assertive, they’re automatically termed aggressive or emotional or difficult. Whereas when a man does it and it’s assertive, strong and ‘alpha’. 

These entrenched perceptions risk deterring women into politics needs.  

Alongside external labels, she acknowledged the internal challenge of imposter syndrome, something her friends had recently called out in her response to this latest appointment. 

“I said, ‘This is not a big deal. I’ve just put in an expression of interest and I’ve been appointed, but it’s not a big deal.’ And they’re saying, ‘Well, stop with the imposter syndrome.’ Male colleagues don’t have it as much as we do,” she said.  

The appointment to the network is currently envisaged as a one‑year term, though organisers are keen to shift towards a two‑year cycle to promote continuity. 

With Gibraltar heading into an election year in 2027, said she had already raised the question of what would happen if she were to lose her seat. However, organisers said it would be looked at for continuity purposes.  

Looking ahead, Gibraltar is preparing to host a CPA conference in June, involving smaller jurisdictions from the British Isles and Mediterranean Region (BIMR). 

“I’m looking forward to that one because it means we get some of these jurisdictions coming over. It’s slightly different because it’s not the Commonwealth jurisdiction,” she said. 

But given their size “It’s quite an interesting conversation that we have with them.” 

For now, the women’s parliamentary network remains in its early stages and “at the moment, it is very much a safe space where female parliamentarians can come together to discuss these issues,” she said.  

“It’s just in its infancy. But I do think it’s going to keep growing.” 

The Minister for Health, Care and Business, Gemma Arias-Vasquez, congratulated Mrs Ladislaus on her appointment, which she said was a positive recognition of her role as a woman parliamentarian in Gibraltar and within the wider Overseas Territories.  

“Although Joelle and I sit on opposite sides of the House, and although we disagree on many political issues, I believe it is important to recognise and applaud the achievements of women in public life,” she said. 

“It is also good to see an Opposition MP getting involved in these important matters, because increasing women’s participation in politics should be something that rises above party political differences.” 

“Gibraltar has made real progress in recent years, although we must still do more. We now have the highest number of elected female representatives in our Parliament and, for the first time, a female Speaker.”  

“But we should also be honest about the fact that women still make up less than a quarter of Gibraltar’s elected Members of Parliament.” 

“There remains much more to do if we are to encourage more women to stand for election, participate fully in public life, and feel that politics is a space where they belong.” 

“I wish Joelle every success in this role and look forward to seeing the contribution she will make through the Network in the interest of Gibraltar as a whole.”