Latest news with #W20
22-05-2025
- Business
South Africa's G20 legacy will be measured by 'lives changed'
Minister in the Presidency responsible for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga, says the legacy of South Africa's G20 Presidency will not be defined by the number of meetings held, or the elegance of its communiqués, but by 'lives changed, systems reformed, and the power redistributed.' Chikunga made the remarks at the opening plenary of the Women20 (W20) South Africa Inception Meeting, currently underway in Cape Town. The W20 is the official G20 engagement group focused on promoting gender equality and women's economic empowerment. The 2025 Inception Meeting, hosted under the theme: 'Women in Solidarity', marks 10 years of W20. The meeting brings together over 100 global delegates representing government, business, academia, and civil society. The two-day Inception Meeting, which started on Wednesday, convenes thought leaders, including policymakers and change-makers from across the globe to explore high-level interventions and innovative solutions to the challenges facing women today. In her address, Chikunga said the gathering is not an endpoint, but a beginning of a call to mobilise transformative change for women around the world. She said the region stands at a pivotal moment, where the African continent has the opportunity to shape the course of global recovery, and where the Global South can reimagine the social contract. 'We stand at a pivotal moment, where we can prove that leadership from our regions is not only possible – it is indispensable. Let us leave this space with a shared resolve: to structure women's voices into the heart of public policy, budgets, institutions, and outcomes,' the Minister said. Chikunga invoked the legacy of South African heroines, like Charlotte Maxeke, Ruth Mompati, and Albertina Sisulu, saying their fight for freedom serves as a reminder that 'freedom without equality is fiction.' As part of Chairship of the G20 Empowerment of Women Working Group, Chikunga said South Africa has conceptualised several empowerment programmes intended to advance, through sustained partnerships, and beyond G20 term. These include the transformative emerging industrialists accelerator, and the disability Inclusion Initiative (DII). The transformative emerging industrialists accelerator is designed to support emerging women entrepreneurs in priority sectors such as energy, maritime, defence and aerospace, platform economies, and agriculture. Participants will receive end-to-end support, from ideation and product development to financing, market access, and commercialisation, in collaboration with SOEs [State Owned Entities], private companies, and industry associations. The DII is South Africa's flagship programme to embed disability rights and inclusion across policy, institutions, and society. Anchored by the establishment of a Disability Inclusion Nerve Centre, the DII initiative will drive: • Research on inclusion across the care economy, AI, financial access, and climate adaptation;• The establishment of a National Disability Data Observatory to strengthen decision-making;• Development of early childhood disability screening protocols;• Capacity-building through disability focal points; and • Support for inclusive schooling and access-enhancing technologies.
eNCA
22-05-2025
- Politics
- eNCA
Women20 SA "Women in solidarity"
CAPE TOWN - Programme around South Africa's G20 presidency continue at breakneck speed, ahead of November's summit. The second and final day of the Women20 South Africa meeting starts with a plenary session that is led by Irene Natividad from the US. The theme is Women in Solidarity, 2025 marks a decade of W20, which has been providing an opportunity for Africa to influence the G20's gender discussions.
New Indian Express
03-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
India has an important role in the global order, BRICS a powerful voice of Global South: Russian expert Panova
In a conversation with The New Indian Express' Amisha Mohan, the head of the BRICS Expert Council for Russia and W20 Sherpa Victoria Panova discussed the role of BRICS in maintaining unity among its diverse members amid geopolitical tensions, the challenges in achieving gender equality across G20 nations, and more. Excerpts: India successfully chaired the G20 summit in 2023. How do you think that defined India's readiness to take on a leadership role and shape the future of international cooperation? India's successful chairmanship of the 2023 G20 Summit highlighted that it's ready to assume a more prominent role in shaping global challenges such as climate change, global health and digital transformation. It has an important role in the global order. The summit's theme, 'One Earth, One Family, One Future', also highlighted India's vision of inclusive global growth. India has both the expertise and interest to promote international cooperation in areas such as renewable energy, digital governance and trade reforms. Geopolitical tensions are on the rise and shifting alliances are the new norm. How do you see BRICS maintaining unity among its diverse members while advocating for a multipolar world order? Though there are diverse political systems, BRICS maintains unity through its shared commitment to sovereignty, mutual respect and a multipolar world order. In the face of global tensions and shifting alliances, BRICS emphasizes dialogue and consensus. Diverse voices within the bloc have always acted as a catalyst in fostering inclusive solutions. This is an era of multilateralism and new dynamics and BRICS is a cooperative platform. As a W20 Sherpa, what do you think are the biggest challenges in achieving gender equality across G20 nations? The biggest hurdles in achieving gender equality in G20 nations are persistent gender stereotypes, unequal economic opportunities, underrepresentation of women in leadership roles and the burden of unpaid care work. There is lack of transparency in the implementation of policies that protect women's labour rights. Addressing these issues requires coordinated efforts across governments, inclusive policy-making and a shift in societal mindsets. If we look at Russia, during the times of the Soviet Union, we introduced bills for legal equality, so by law, it is provided that men and women are equal, by opportunities, by possibilities. But of course, different countries have different starting points. That's why in 2015, Women-20 was launched by the Turkish Presidency and was supported by the Russian Federation's Sherpa Svetlana Lukash. Similarly, a multifaceted approach by different countries has been instrumental in initiating action on women's issues. Groups within the G20, such as W20 and G20 Empower, often propose policy recommendations on women's issues like leadership, equal pay, etc. Moreover, the G20 is implementing tools like the G20 Empower KPI Dashboard to track progress on gender equality metrics and gain insights into measurable outcomes. So, we hope we are coming closer to create an inclusive environment.
