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China / Society

G(irls)20 Summit to empower career women

By SU ZHOU (chinadaily.com.cn) Updated: 2016-08-17 21:08

More measures in education, employment and infrastructure should be taken to reduce the gender gap in labor force participation, according to a group of young girls from G20 member countries.

A total of 23 girl delegates of the G(irls)20 Summit gathered in Beijing from August 2 to 11, to discuss the G20 Leaders' 2014 commitment to reducing the gender gap in labor force participation by 25 percent by 2025 and to bring more than 100 million women into the labor force.

"While G20 Leaders acknowledge the crucial role of women in achieving economic growth, the progress and process of achieving the 2014 goal are unclear," said Farah Mohamed, head of G(irls)20, which is an organization based in Canada that is devoted to cultivating a new generation of female leaders.

According to the communique, 23 girls suggested mandating that five percent of government procurement be tendered to female-owned or led companies by 2025, while also providing incentives to the private sector to reach at least 30 percent female representation on boards and at senior levels through financial subsidies and tax exemptions.

More suggestions to close the gender gap include requiring companies to promote pay transparency at all levels of hierarchy, ensuring government decision-makers are gender diverse by removing factors that deter women from holding office and encouraging women to step forward to serve in government, and ensuring safe working conditions for vulnerable workers such as migrant workers and domestic household workers.

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