Held in Mahabalipuram Tamil Nadu on the theme ‘Women Led Development – Transform, Thrive and Transcend’, the Summit was launched today in the dignified presence of Hon’ble Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smt Smriti Zubin Irani. W20 is the official G20 Engagement Group, created in 2015 to focus on gender equality.
The inaugural session was marked by the release of the W20 communique highlighting the call to action for India’s chairmanship in 5 key priority areas, namely climate change, women’s entrepreneurship, gender digital divide, women’s general leadership, education and skills development.
The opening speech at the inaugural session was delivered by Dr. Sandhya Purecha, President W20. She highlighted various initiatives taken by the W20 during India’s chairmanship, which include the Compendium on Women-Led Development, the First Responder Framework for Climate Change, the White Paper on Health and the Gender Pay Gap and Women’s Entrepreneurship.
Dr Shamika Ravi, Chair of the W20 Communiqué Drafting Committee, explained that the W20 Communiqué is a joint call for all members to make women and girls agents of change under the overall theme of Vasudaiva Kutumbakam. It calls on G20 leaders to enforce their previous commitments.
The 2022 Bali Leaders’ Declaration on Increasing the Quantity and Quality of Women’s Employment, in previous G20 Leaders’ Statements on Equality and Equity for Women, and to develop and improve national gender strategies that are funded and monitored using gender-sensitive and disaggregated data by gender.
Dr. Shombi Sharp, UN Resident Coordinator for India, also addressed the delegates and participants and congratulated the W20 for launching the communique. He emphasized that India’s G20 chairmanship has indeed fulfilled the vision of the Honorable Prime Minister of India to be “inclusive, decisive and action-oriented”.
The session was also graced by the presence of the G20 Sherpa, Shri Amitabh Kant. In his special address, Sherpa called for radical changes to ensure that gender equality and equity become a reality in the near future. Sherpa complemented the progressive W20 communiqué, clearly delineating decisive action points in all priority areas, which were reached based on the consensus of representatives of all countries.
Hon’ble Union Minister, MoWCD, Smt Smriti Zubin Irani began her keynote address by extolling Mahabalipuram as a befitting city to host the W20 summit, not only for its historical magnificence but also for its association with empowered women. She quoted one of India’s most transformative philosophies coming from the Tirukkuraḷ, a classic text of Tamil literature, which says that “Wisdom is a weapon to avert destruction, it is an inner fortress that cannot be destroyed by enemies”.
The Honorable Minister complemented W20 with the release of his ambitious yet achievable communique. While lauding her recommendations on all priority areas, the Hon’ble Minister reiterated the role of women in Climate Resilient Action as a key theme of the G20 under the Indian Presidency.
Climate change and gender are inextricably linked, and women should be at the heart of climate justice, as women and children are most at risk from climate change, as reflected in a 2018 UN report stating that 80% of those displaced by climate change were women. The Honorable Minister emphasized that all climate policies must take an inclusive, equal and fair gender approach.
Another key area under India’s presidency, the Honorable Minister said, was digital gender equality. The discussion on digital gender equality should not only include access to digital training, but also address the inherent gender bias in coding technology and technology products.
She expressed the hope that the W20 forum should facilitate the discussion of gender bias in coded technology and technology products in order to overcome the inherent barriers to access to technology. Furthermore, there should be discussions about AI as an opportunity through a gender lens, and discussions about technology should also focus on what AI brings to women around the world.
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