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Meghan Markle Kicks Off International Women’s Day in a Beautiful Black and White Dress — See the Pics!

Royals

Mar 8, 2019 10:24 am·

By Joyann Jeffrey

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Go, Meghan Markle! The pregnant royal attended a panel discussion on Friday, March 8 at King’s College London and, at the event, she used her voice to help empower women on International Women’s Day. Meghan, 37, looked as confident as ever when she walked into the panel discussion wearing a trendy black and white dress with a fitted blazer and black pumps.

Once inside, she took a seat on the stage next to former Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard, Let Us Learn founder Chrisann Jarrett, executive director of Campaign for Female Education, Angeline Murimirwa, singer Annie Lennox and model Adwoa Aboah.

meghan markle — Getty Images

While onstage, Meghan looked so proud to be sitting next to female activists who are using their voices to help women gain more self-confidence. The discussion was led by Anne McElvoy, Senior Editor of the Economist, who joined the rest of the panelists in talking about the “obstacles [that] still affect female empowerment across the world, including access to education and limitations within employment,” Kensington Palace said in a statement.

Scroll down to see more photos of Meghan on International Women’s Day!

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Meghan has always been eager to talk about women’s empowerment. At a Royal Foundation forum in February 2018, she previously opened up about her feminist ideals. “You will hear people saying they are helping women find their voices. I fundamentally disagree with that because women don’t need to find their voices,” she explained. “They need to be empowered to use [their voices] and people need to be urged to listen. Right now, with so many campaigns like #MeToo and #TimesUp, there’s no better time to continue to shine a light on women feeling empowered and people supporting them.”

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Before Meghan arrived at the panel discussion, Kensington Palace tweeted on Friday, March 1 that Meghan will be going to the college to “discuss a range of issues affecting women today.”

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Meghan also talked about how important it is for women to speak up. “If there’s an injustice and a lack of inequality someone needs to say something — and why not you?” she asked the audience. “We must be global feminists and include men and boys.”

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While onstage, Meghan grabbed her baby bump a couple of times. She seemed excited to go to the event as the new Vice President of The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust. “We are delighted to announce that as of today The Duchess of Sussex will take on the role of Vice President for The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust. Please join us is welcoming Her Royal Highness to #TeamQCT,” the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust tweeted on Friday, March 8.

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The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust also tweeted that Meghan’s new role “will highlight our partnerships with young people across the Commonwealth and, in particular, our work supporting women and girls.” How exciting!