G20 EMPOWER: advancing women’s leadership in the Private Sector
Representatives of private and public sector work together to implement policies aimed at developing companies' ecosystems which can promote women's empowerment.
February 2nd, 2021
The G20 Alliance for the Empowerment and Progression of Women’s Economic Representation (G20 EMPOWER) brings together Private Sector leaders and Government counterparts to jointly advocate for and enact women’s advancement to leadership positions in the private sector.
Launched during the 2019 G20 Summit in Japan and established during the Saudi Presidency, it includes, to date, 27 Members from G20 and guest countries. The Italian G20 Empower Presidency, held by the business association Valore D with the support of the Italian Department for Equal Opportunities, has launched its plan of work with the unanimous approval of the G20 Empower membership, to further progress women’s empowerment across the three cross-cutting areas of the G20 agenda for 2021: people, planet and prosperity.
As stated by Paola Mascaro, Chair of G20 EMPOWER, on December 21st 2020, during the opening meeting with the Co-Chairs – Canada, Japan, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia – “this Alliance provides us with an important opportunity to have an impact: utilizing the best practices of the private sector to plan and implement, adopting a pragmatic and bottom-up approach, policies aimed at developing companies’ ecosystems which can promote women’s empowerment at the top level”.
The Alliance is also intended to build, in each G20 country, a network of “advocates” within the private sector, with the aim of identifying challenges and sharing evidence-based analysis, practical lessons learned, knowledge and best practices that support the greater recruitment and advancement of women as business leaders.