The 2020 G20 Riyadh summit, under Saudi Arabia’s Presidency, has emphasized the importance of bridging the gender inequality gap and the need to empower women as a key enabler for economic recovery.
Leaders of G20 countries, in the forum’s final communique, admitted that women were gravely impacted by the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic and said that they will spend efforts to ensure the gender inequality gap does not widen.
“As many women have been disproportionately affected by the crisis, we will work to ensure that the pandemic does not widen gender inequalities and 8 Leaders' Declaration G20 Riyadh Summit November 21 - 22, 2020 undermine the progress made in recent decades,” the final statement said.
“Recalling relevant UN declarations, processes, and calls to action to empower women and girls, we reaffirm the importance of women’s and girls’ empowerment as a cross-cutting issue in all aspects of our policies and recognize that women are a key driver of economic growth,” it added.
“We will continue to promote gender equality, as well as combat stereotypes, reduce pay gaps, and address the unequal distribution of unpaid work and care responsibilities between men and women.”
The leaders said they will step up their efforts towards achieving the Brisbane Goal to reduce the gap in labor force participation between men and women by 25 percent by 2025 along with improving the quality of women’s employment.
“We will take steps to remove the barriers to women’s economic participation and entrepreneurship,” the leaders said.
They also welcomed the commencement, under the Saudi Presidency, of the Private Sector Alliance for the Empowerment and Progression of Women’s Economic Representation (EMPOWER) for women’s advancement in leadership positions.
It is worth noting that women’s participation in G20 meetings under Saudi Presidency was the highest recorded with a whopping 33.7% of the total participants.
Women at G20 workshops this year contributed greatly to the most complex economic, social, and civil files. Working in teams and communication groups, women’s presence was essential in organizing more than 100 events.
