This breakfast reception brings together three organisations whose missions converge around visibility, influence, and impact.

International Women’s Day is more than a date in the calendar. In Brussels — where diplomacy, policy, and international affairs intersect daily — it is an opportunity to pause and take stock: of progress made, of barriers that persist, and of the responsibility carried by women who sit at the tables where decisions are made.

Women Political Leaders (WPL) is a global network of women political decision-makers, presidents, prime ministers, ministers, and parliamentarians, committed to advancing women’s political leadership worldwide. By connecting leaders across continents and political systems, WPL strengthens representation at the highest levels and fosters peer exchange among those shaping public policy.

The Diplomatic World Institute serves as an international media and convening platform at the crossroads of diplomacy, business, and geopolitics. Through its publications and high-level gatherings, it amplifies global dialogue and creates space for strategic conversations among policymakers, ambassadors, and institutional leaders.

Together with The Nine, we are shaping a morning of leadership spotlights and strategic dialogue.

A discussion will take place with Nadia Calviño, President of the European Investment Bank Group.

The conversation will be moderated by Shirin Wheeler, Moderator, Author and Principal Advisor for Communications at the European Investment Bank, who works closely with President Nadia Calviño.

In a year marked by shifting alliances, policy reform, and renewed debates on equality, the role of women in power is not symbolic, it is consequential.

This reception recognises those who are not only present in the room, but actively shaping it.

Nadia Calviño

President of the European Investment Bank Group since 1 January 2024, Nadia Calviño is a Spanish economist and lawyer with more than 30 years of experience in public policy, economics and finance.

Before joining the EIB, she served as First Vice-President of Spain and Minister of Economy, Trade and Enterprise. She previously held several senior roles within the Spanish government, including Minister for Economy and Digitalization.

At European level, she has extensive institutional experience, having worked at the European Commission and chaired the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) of the IMF (2022–2023). Her leadership focuses on strengthening Europe’s competitiveness, strategic autonomy, climate action and investment capacity.

Shirin Wheeler

Shirin Wheeler is Moderator, Author and Principal Advisor for Communications at the European Investment Bank, working closely with President Nadia Calviño.

With over 20 years at the BBC as an on-air presenter and reporter covering European affairs and health policy, she brings deep expertise in political communication and public dialogue. She previously served as spokesperson for Regional Policy at the European Commission.

She created and presented Record Europe, the BBC’s dedicated TV programme on European political affairs, broadcast weekly from the European Parliament and co-winner of the first European Parliament Journalism Award in 2008.

Beyond her institutional and media career, she is the author of Witness to the Twentieth Century and has served as a board member of Global Girl Media UK, supporting media literacy and the voices of young women in underserved communities.