Cherie Blair Highlights the Role of Women Entrepreneurs in Building Sustainable Economies at Reuters’ Sustainability Europe Conference

21st October 2025

Cherie Blair joined sustainability leaders from across the corporate, public and civil society sectors at the Reuters Sustainability Europe Conference, to discuss the critical role of women in driving sustainable business and economic growth.

In a fireside chat led by Vanessa O’Connell, Cherie shared insights on how women entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses must be integral to global supply chains, innovation ecosystems and market strategies if we are to achieve genuine, long-term sustainability.

Cherie stressed that for long-term corporate and economic sustainability, women and businesses owned by them must be integral to supply chains, innovation ecosystems and market strategies. She noted, that according to IMF research, if women played an equal role in economies as men, some countries could see their GDP increase by up to 40%. Yet, at the current rate of progress, it could take more than a century for women to achieve economic equality worldwide.

Responding to the conference theme, which sought to find practical sustainability solutions in current challenging and unstable times, Cherie called for corporate, government and civil society leaders to work together to break down not only the cultural barriers women face in business, but also the practical barriers in accessing technology, finance and markets, as empowering women entrepreneurs contributes not just to gender equality, but to the sustainability and resilience of economies and businesses themselves.”

Ahead of the conference, Cherie spoke with journalist Oliver Balch about these themes in a feature article for Reuters, exploring how the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women aims to empower one million women entrepreneurs by 2030.