G20 china_web

Structural reform and SMEs
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The G20 did not agree on hard targets
for reducing gender inequality until 2014
Implementation has risen in
subsequent years
UN PHOTO/MARCUS BLEASDALE/VII
The Salem Police force,
which is 25 per cent
female, in Monrovia,
Ensuring women’s
full economic
participation
The G20 must form a comprehensive strategy to
reduce the gender gap and better include women
in the workforce, writes Julia Kulik
Since 2008, G20 members have
worked together to promote
strong, sustainable and balanced
economic growth and ensure
that globalisation works for the
benefit of all people. A central way to do
this is to encourage the inclusion and full
economic participation of women. Yet the
G20 did not address the gender gaps in
the economy in a meaningful way until
its summit in 2013 in Saint Petersburg,
Russia. Moreover, it was not until the
following year in Brisbane, Australia, that
G20 leaders agreed to a hard target and
timeline specifically to reduce the gender
gap in the workforce by 25 per cent by 2025.
Closing the gap
In the first year of implementation following
Brisbane, G20 members complied with this
commitment at a level of 66 per cent. This
is below the overall G20 average of 71 per
cent across 151 assessed commitments on
118 G20 China: The Hangzhou Summit • September 2016 G7G20.com