Climate-related policies must take an inclusive, equal and equitable gender approach – Union Minister Smriti Zubin Irani

The two-day Women 20 (W20) Summit taking place in Mahabalipuram Tamil Nadu, on the theme ‘Women-Led Development- Transform, Thrive and Transcend’ commenced today in the august presence of Hon’ble Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt Smriti Zubin Irani. The W20 is the official G20 Engagement Group, created in 2015, with the objective of focusing on gender equity.

The Inaugural Session was marked by the release of the W20 Communiqué which highlights the call to action under India’s presidency, across the 5 key priority areas, namely, Climate Change, Women Entrepreneurship, Gender Digital Divide, Grassroots Women Leadership, Education and Skill Development.

The opening address at the Inaugural session was delivered by Dr Sandhya Purecha, the W20 Chair. She highlighted the various initiatives taken by W20 under India’s Presidency, which include a Compendium on Women-Led Development, First Respondent Framework for Climate Change, White Paper on Health and Gender Pay Gap, and Women Entrepreneurship.

Dr Shamika Ravi, chair of the W20 Communiqué drafting committee explained that the W20 communiqué is a joint call from all members to place women and girls as the drivers of change under the overall theme Vasudaiva Kutumbakam .It urges the G20 leaders to advance their previous commitments in the 2022 Bali Leaders’ Declaration on increasing the quantity and quality of women’s employment, previous G20 Leaders’ Declarations regarding equality and equity for women and to develop and improve National Gender Strategies that are funded and tracked using gender-sensitive and sex- disaggregated data.

Dr Shombi Sharp, UN Resident Co-ordinator for India also addressed the delegates and participants and congratulated the W20 on the launch of the Communiqué . He highlighted that India’s G20 presidency has truly delivered on the vision of Hon’ble Prime Minister of India of being ‘inclusive, decisive, and action-oriented.

The session was also graced by the presence of Sherpa G20, Shri Amitabh Kant. The Sherpa, in his special address called for radical changes to ensure that gender equality and equity can be made a reality in the near future. The Sherpa complimented the progressive W20 Communiqué , clearly outlining decisive action-points across all priority areas which was arrived at through consensus of all country representatives

Hon’ble Union Minister, MoWCD, Smt Smriti Zubin Irani, began her keynote address by extolling Mahabalipuram as a befitting city for hosting the W20 Summit, not only for its historical grandeur but also for its connection with empowered women. She quoted one of the most transformative philosophies of India emanating from Tirukkuraḷ, a classic Tamil Literature text, which states that “Wisdom is a weapon to ward off destruction, It is an inner fortress that enemies cannot destroy.”

Hon’ble Minister complemented W20 on the release of its ambitious- yet- attainable Communiqué. While lauding its recommendations on all priority areas, Hon’ble Minister reiterated women’s role in Climate Resilient Action as a key focus of G20 under India’s 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 of climate change, which was reflected in the UN report in 2018 which stated that 80% of those displaced due to climate change have been women. Hon’ble Minister emphasised that all climate-related policies must take an inclusive, equal and equitable gender approach.

Another key focus area under India’s presidency, said Hon’ble Minister, has been digital gender equality. Discourse on digital gender equality should entail not just access to digital training but also focus on the inherent gender bias in coding of technology and technology products. She expressed hope that the W20 forum should facilitate discussion on Gender-bias in coded technology and technological products to enable breaking out of inherent barriers in access to technology. Further, there should also be a discourse on Artificial Intelligence as an opportunity through the gender lens and discussions on technology should also be focussed on what AI brings for women across the world.

In the keynote address, Hon’ble Minister also underlined the importance of deliberations around care economy. As part of women-led development, a focus on care services would reflect creation of 300 million additional jobs, out of which over 80% would be helmed by women. Hon’ble Minister concluded her address by reiterating that India’s presidency is committed to the objective of women-led development.

The Summit of W20 will include various panel discussions in the form of side events and main events across the key themes. In addition, the summit of W20 will include exhibition from grassroots entrepreneurs of Tamil Nadu, supported by the Department of Rural Development, Tamil Nadu. The exhibition will offer a platform for women entrepreneurs to showcase their skills and creativity including exhibits by W20 Argentina and W20 Indonesia.

Through its deliberations, the W20 Summit is expected to pave the way for developing a cogent strategy to target gender-related issues and build a collaborative approach among G20 countries.