As Turkey prepares to host the G20 meeting in November, young women from the world’ major economies and developing countries issued yesterday a call for action to G20 leaders: it’s time to start delivering on your commitment to bring 100 million women into the labor force.
The women delivered their message to the G20 leaders at the conclusion of the 6th G(irls)20 Summit in Istanbul, in a communiqué presented to Ambassador Emre Yunt, Director General for Multilateral Economic Affairs, Republic of Turkey. Earlier, G(irls)20 CEO and founder Farah Mohamed also announced the launch of a ‘Keeping Score’ initiative to ensure that the G20 live up to their pledge. The G(irls)20 summit brings together one delegate from each G20 member: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States and the European Union. It also involves representatives from the African Union, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region.
The final summit communiqué was presented to Ambassador Yunt by Sebiha Güngör, the 2015 G(irls)20 delegate representing Turkey. It identifies various ways jobs can be created for women and how women can be retained and promoted once in the workforce.
In addition to a written communiqué, the delegates recorded a video with recommendations to the G20 leaders on how they can keep their commitment. The Keeping Score report will be based on information from the OECD and G20 member states. It will examine, monitor and measure each member’s progress toward the 2025 target. The themes of the G(irls)20 summit focused on preparing current and future generations of girls and women for equal and sustainable job opportunities, barriers to employment – cultural, social and political; and best practices in supporting female labor force participation.“A commitment of this size must be monitored and transparent if it is to be realized. On an annual basis, G(irls)20 will provide an independent report on member states’ action toward increasing female labor force participation” said Farah.
Speakers at the event included Güler Sabancı, the first Chairwoman of Sabanci Holdings and one of the 100 most powerful women according to Forbes; Saadia Zahidi, Senior Director at World Economic Forum; and Amanda Lindhout, kidnap survivor and bestselling author. A special video message from Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, was screened at the meeting. For a full program please visit The G(irls)20 summit was preceded by workshops and meetings for the young delegates to strengthen their entrepreneurial skills and thinking with the aim of cultivating a new generation of female leaders.
