The G20 and Gender Equality: How the G20 can advance women’s rights in employment, social protection and fiscal policies

Overview

Across G20 countries and beyond, women are paid less than men, do most of the unpaid labour, are over-represented in part-time work, and are discriminated against in the household, in markets and in institutions. In 2012 in the Los Cabos Declaration, G20 leaders committed to tackling the barriers to women’s full economic and social participation and to expanding opportunities for women in their countries.

Oxfam and the Heinrich Böll Foundation support this commitment, and this paper calls on the G20 to assess its agenda and act on its commitments to women’s rights and gender equality. During the Australian presidency, the G20 has the chance to make good its promises for truly inclusive growth – working to make women more resilient to economic crises through gender-sensitive economic growth and gender-equal employment policies.