Speaker: Baroness Verma, Under Secretary of State for DFID The 24th African Union Summit declared 2016 as the Year of Women’s Empowerment and Development to promote work towards the goals of Agenda 2063. In honour of Africa Day 2016, the Business Council for Africa hosted a high-level, invitation only, roundtable meeting to discuss female economic empowerment in Africa, supported by FBN Bank. This was in advance of the African Union Day celebrations hosted by the Dean of the African Union Heads of Mission on the 25th of May. African women are becoming increasingly involved in leadership roles across the continent; Rwanda has the highest number of women parliamentarians worldwide, with females holding 64% of seats in the Lower House. However, an analysis of the top 200 businesses on the continent revealed that only 2.5% of the leading CEOs are women. The roundtable meeting was an opportunity for senior figures to discuss the key challenges women are facing in advancing their careers in the public and private sector. The discussion will covered the following topics amongst others: •Empowering women and improving working conditions for women in the supply chain •The challenges and barriers to entry in supporting women into senior management positions •Ensuring the continued retention and development of women in the workplace •Facilitating greater female participation in international trade and investment •Increasing solidarity and knowledge-sharing between international female business leaders For more information on Business Council for Africa (BCA) events please visit our website: www.bcafrica.co.uk