G20 Leaders Declaration Addresses Women’s Role in Global Economic Recovery

The G20 leaders convened this week in Los Cabos, Mexico, and released the G20 Leaders Declaration. For the first time, the G20 Declaration addresses the role women play in global economic recovery.

Sections 23 and 53 of the Declaration discuss the importance of women’s full economic and social participation and of expanding economic opportunities for women in G20 economies, as shown below:

Employment and Social Protection
23. We commit to take concrete actions to overcome the barriers hindering women's full economic and social participation and to expand economic opportunities for women in G20 economies. We also express our firm commitment to advance gender equality in all areas, including skills training, wages and salaries, treatment in the workplace, and responsibilities in care-giving.

Reforming the financial sector and fostering financial inclusion
53. We recognize the need for women and youth to gain access to financial services and financial education, ask the GPFI, the OECD/INFE, and the World Bank to identify barriers they may face and call for a progress report to be delivered by the next Summit.

The G20 is a forum for international cooperation consisting of 19 country members and the European Union, which together represent around 90% of global GDP, 80% of global trade and two-thirds of the world’s population. These leading economies come together to address the world’s economic and financial agenda through policy coordination, promoting financial regulations, and creating international financial architecture.

The Leaders Declaration represents a unified resolution to promote growth and jobs. Sections 23 and 53, highlighting women for the first time, show that the members have agreed upon new measures to pursue economic growth, understanding that gender equality is a vital means to an end. It underscores that women are an integral part of the economy and that progress that needs to be made for women in order to ensure a successful global economic recovery.

For more information on the meeting and the declaration, click here.

Flickr photograph via Gobierno Federal.