Leaders to Discuss Women's Opportunities in UK-India Trade Deal

• West Yorkshire leaders are gathering in Leeds on 16 October
• The gender chapter of the UK-India Free Trade Agreement and women's opportunities in trade will be highlighted

Business, policy, and academic influencers from around West Yorkshire will converge in Leeds on 16 October to explore how the gender chapter of the UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) might unlock new trade opportunities for women.

The half-day forum, "Women, Trade and the UK-India Future: A West Yorkshire Perspective", is sponsored by Womble Bond Dickinson with West Yorkshire Combined Authority support.

The event will unite negotiators, legal specialists, historians, and West Yorkshire exporters with a view to unlocking the potential of the FTA's gender provisions to benefit regional business and West Yorkshire-India relations. There will also be an examination of practical measures to enable more inclusive international trade.

The meeting is before the Northern Trade Delegation to India, organized by ISS Airview, on 12–20 November.

The eight-day mission is intended to bring delegates in contact with senior decision-makers, businesspeople, and facilitators of trade in India, gaining understanding of market entry approaches, regulatory environments, and emerging opportunities from the FTA.

The Leeds conference will open with a statement by Sharon Jandu OBE, NPH Director of Strategic Partnerships and External Engagements for India, Ethnic Minority Business and Policy Forum.

This will be preceded by a keynote address from Vine Pemberton Joss, women's suffrage movement historian, on the life of Dr Edith Pechey, Yorkshire's first doctor, and her legacy in India.

The morning session will end with comments by Rose Smalley-Gordon, Womble Bond Dickinson Managing Associate, and then lunch and networking.

Addressing before the event, Sharon Jandu OBE explained the initiative is to provide support to women founders and exporters in West Yorkshire to reap the benefits of the UK-India trade partnership.

She underscored that the FTA's gender provisions acknowledge that trade is not neutral for both genders and stressed that commitments have to be turned into tangible assistance to entrepreneurs.

Vine observed that Dr Pechey's life shows the significance of long-term institutional change for equitable trade.