B20 ITALY

Special Initiative
on Women Empowerment
Policy Paper 2021

TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Foreword by the Taskforce Chair

1

5

Recommendations: Executive Summar

2

7

Introduction

3

8

Recommendation 1: Include: Bring more women

5

back into the workforce and into the heart of economic9
activity shaping the future

18 11

Policy Action 1.1: Mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic

26

on women's economic opportunities

33 13

Policy Action 1.2: Strengthen the pipeline of women into STEM

38

and other high-growth sectors

19

Policy Action 1.3: Embed a gender lens at the core of innovative
activity

28

Recommendation 2: Reimagine: Build an inclusive
society and workplace cultures which dismantle
pervasive gender stereotypes

34

Policy Action 2.1: Eliminate barriers to women’s full inclusionin the workplace for an equal participation in the economy

36

Policy Action 2.2: Build the relevance and resilience of women’s 		
skills42

Policy Action 2.3: Eradicate sexual discrimination, harassment,
and gender-based violence

249

B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Recommendation 3: Grow: Smooth the road for women
into business leadership and ownership

57

Policy Action 3.1: Target gender parity in senior decision-making 		positions59

Policy Action 3.2: Enhance the entrepreneurial potential of women

66

Annex

74

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTB20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Foreword by the Taskforce Chair“It has been a pleasure to serve as the Special Ambassador for the B20 Special
Initiative on Women Empowerment this year. I was glad to work in close collaboration with our members, knowledge partner, and, of course, with the task
force manager and my deputy, to draft this policy paper.
Empowering women today is even more critical than just one year ago. The
COVID-19 pandemic has significantly set back the progress towards gender parity and inclusion. We must react to the pandemic, reaffirming that there is noother way to proceed towards truly inclusive economic growth other than byunleashing the full potential of women.
Coming from the business world, I have a soft spot for data and metrics; during
its proceedings, this special intitiative, has thoughtfully considered three maincross-cutting themes: “build the relevance and resilience of women’s skills”, “embed a gender lens at the core of innovative activity”, and “target gender parity insenior decision-making positions”.
The following three policy recommendations stem from these three cross-cutting themes, each one highlighting one aspect that we consider of paramountimportance to effectively empower women: to act towards a more inclusive
world, bringing more women back to the workforce and into the heart of economic activity shaping the future; to reimagine the society we live in, building
an inclusive society and workplace cultures which dismantle pervasive genderstereotypes; and to foster economic growth, smoothing the road for women
into business leadership and ownership.
The last piece of the puzzle was identifying three KPIs to more easily track G20
members’ progress in implementing our recommendations. These KPIs are: “female participation in the labour force”; “women’s percentage of unpaid work
compared to men”; and the “percentage of women in senior or middle management”. I hope that these KPIs become firmly rooted and that they will act asa benchmark to trace positive developments in women’s empowement globally.
We, together with the G20 governments, have the opportunity to design a post
pandemic world that is more inclusive and fairer to women. The call to action
for women’s empowerment comes from 3,64 billion people all around the world.
It is our duty to not leave this call unanswered.”Sincerely,
Diana Bracco
Special Ambassador for Women Empowerment
President & CEO, Bracco Group5

B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTB20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Recommendations: Summary
Recommendation 1: Include: Bring more women back into the workforce and into the heart of econtomic activity shaping the future - The G20
should support women’s return to the post-pandemic workforce and advocate for gender balance across high-growth, high-impact activities such as
the design, development and delivery of health and advanced technologies.
Policy Action 1.1: Mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic on women's economic opportunities – Design gender-responsive measures toensure that progress made over recent decades towards equality is not lost
– but is strengthened in the post-pandemic world.
Policy Action 1.2: Strengthen the pipeline of women into STEM and otherhigh-growth sectors – Cultivate early interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) and build women’s aspirations and skills to increase
participation in the most in-demand job roles.
Policy Action 1.3: Embed a gender lens at the core of innovative activity– Increase gender equity in research and development (R&D) and develop
gender-sensitive ethical guidelines in key areas such as health and advanced
technologies.
Recommendation 2: Reimagine: Build an inclusive society and workplacecultures which dismantle pervasive gender stereotypes – The G20 should
boost women’s economic opportunities by eliminating legal and cultural barriers to paid work, and actively upskilling female workers.
Policy Action 2.1: Eliminate barriers to the equal participation of womenin the economy – dentify current gender gaps and address the associatedsocial and cultural norms that limit women’s opportunities, including unpaid
work, occupational segregation, and stereotypes.
Policy Action 2.2: Build the relevance and resilience of women’s skills –Promote gender equity across business departments and functions; and provide women in roles at higher risk of disruption with specific reskilling andtraining.
Policy Action 2.3: Eradicate sexual discrimination, harassment, and gender-based violence – Work to eliminate discrimination, harassment, and violence in society through targeted education programs and develop support
mechanisms to aid reporting of unethical behavior in the workplace.
Recommendation 3: Grow: Smooth the road for women into business leadership and ownership –The G20 should mitigate the barriers that limit
the ability of women to advance, lead and start businesses.
Policy Action 3.1: Target gender parity in senior decision-making positions
Advocate for and eliminate barriers to women reaching senior decision-making positions, with a focus on comprehensive collection of sex-disaggregateddata.
Policy Action 3.2: Enhance the entrepreneurial potential of women – Build
the aspirations and capacity of female entrepreneurs and actively support thestarting, financing, scaling, and sustainability of women-owned businesses.

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTIntroduction
A Seminal Moment for Women’s Empowerment
Italy assumes the G20 Presidency at a critical moment in modern human history. The intense, often devastating impact of COVID-19 on the lives andlivelihoods of people around the world has spurred governments to take unprecedented action; it has sharpened the minds of individuals, organizations,and societies to imagine a brighter future; and it has highlighted pervasive
inequalities which have seen certain groups hit harder by the ongoing socialand economic crisis.
The B20 Taskforce on Women’s Empowerment commits to harnessing thismomentum to reverse the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on womenand to unlock new income generation opportunities. Underpinned by a broad consensus that the scale of pre-pandemic gender gaps was unacceptable,
we suggest a comprehensive policy framework to support women along thework-life cycle.
The 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, theprogressive blueprint for advancing the rights of girls and women, was overshadowed by the pandemic. This taskforce has the privilege to pick up thebaton and reshape a gender equal future through targeted, actionable recommendations.
An Unequal Past
The scale of the COVID-19 crisis and the associated desire to ‘go back to normal’ should not be allowed to mask the staggering gender inequalities we were
living with. In 2019, women were over a third less likely to be in the labor force
than men – a figure broadly unchanged over the past two decades¹. Women’s
opportunities have been held down by the burden of unpaid work; by discrimination and harassment; and by outdated laws and socio-cultural norms.
Even among those women who do reach paid employment, they are less likely
to work full-time; less likely to work in key, high-growth sectors such as engineering and technology, and less likely to reach senior leadership positions.
This is a moral, social and commercial catastrophe for the world. Women’s
economic empowerment has a symbiotic relationship with health and education which extends into their families and wider society². And at every level, but especially at the decision-making levels, greater gender diversity has
been linked with a host of benefits from increased national productivity andexport diversification to innovation and corporate growth³. A recent Accenture study found that companies led by executives focused on creating cultures where women and men thrive are growing 2-3x faster than their competitors⁴. The World Bank analysis has estimated a global wealth dividend of
US$172 trillion would result from equalizing women’s earnings with men’s⁵.

¹ World Bank, 2020. Labor force participation rate, 2005-2020; https://data.worldbank.org/² W20 Saudi Arabia & Accenture, 2020. “If not now, when?”, https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF-147/
Accenture-W20-2020-Final-Report-If-Not-Now-When.pdf³ IMF, 2018. “Pursuing women’s economic empowerment”
⁴ Accenture, 2020. “The Hidden Value of Culture Makers”; https://www.accenture.com/us-en/about/inclusion-diversity/culture-equality-research
⁵ World Bank, 2020. “How large is the gender dividend? Measuring selected impacts and costs of gender inequality”,
https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2020/03/03/world-couldachieve-gender-dividend-of-172-trillion-from-closinglifetime-earnings-gaps

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTAn Even Less Equal Present
Early hopes that COVID-19 would help ‘level the playing field’ for womenin the workplace – for example, through mass adoption of flexible working
practices – quickly faded. The reality is that the pandemic has exacerbatedexisting gender inequalities. At Carbis Bay, the G7 recognised the "the devastating and disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on women and girls, whichrisks reversing hard-won gains especially with regards to gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health and rights, education and jobs⁶."
Women’s jobs are 19% more at risk than men’s due to their overrepresentation in the sectors hardest hit by lockdowns, such as retail, tourism andhospitality⁷. In the period from March to August 2020, women were 79%
more likely to have been made redundant and their earnings fell 63% faster,compared with men. Worringly, analysis of the impact of the Ebola and Zika
viruses suggests that women’s earnings take longer to recover than men’s⁹.
Reduced earning potential is being compounded by the greater burden andintensity of unpaid work that has fallen on women, further entreching antiquated gender roles¹⁰. And an estimated 20 million girls in developing countries may never return to school after pandemic-related shutdowns in orderto supplement household incomes¹¹. The cumulative impact has added 36 years to the timeline to reach gender parity – from 99.5 years in 2020, to 135.6
years today – according to a recent World Economic Forum (WEF) report¹²,and is likely to drag an additional 47 million women into poverty¹³.
A More Equal Future
However, there is a potential upside to the grim tragedy of the COVID-19
pandemic. The combination of unprecedented government action with clearer recognition and reporting of the unequal impact of the crisis creates aunique opportunity to dismantle barriers to women’s empowerment and torebuild our economies and societies with women at the core.
Building a world in which women have equal opportunities to engage in income generating activities is a central pillar of the SDG5. Outlining a seriesof actions to educate girls, empower women and end gender-based violence, the G7 declared in June that "Gender equality is at the heart of an open,
inclusive, and just society¹⁴." To accelerate progress, we call on the G20 toadopt our ambitious, comprehensive policy framework which aims to: bringmore women into secure, rewarding employment; reimagine a workplace
free from archaic, restrictive gender stereotypes; and grow the next generation of women executives and entrepreneurs.
⁶ MF, 2018. “Pursuing women’s economic empowerment”
⁷ IMF, 2018. “Pursuing women’s economic empowerment”
⁸ W20 & Accenture, 2020. “If not now, when?”, https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF-147/AccentureW20-2020-Final-Report-If-Not-Now-When.pdf
⁹ Wenham, Smith & Morgan, 2020. “COVID-19: the gendered impacts of the outbreak”, The Lancet, https://www.
researchgate.net/publication/339756913_COVID-19_the_gendered_impacts_of_the_outbreak¹⁰ UNWomen, 2020. “Whoose time to care?“ https://data.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/Whosetime-to-care-brief_0.pdf¹¹ Malala Fund, 2020. “Girls‘ education and COVID-19“, https://www.malala.org/newsroom/archive/malala-fund-releases-report-girls-education-COVID-19¹² World Economic Forum, 2021. “Global Gender Gap Report 2021”, https://www.weforum.org/reports/global-gender-gap-report-2021¹³ UNWomen. 2020. “From Insight to Action: Gender Equality in the Wake of COVID-19”, https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2020/gender-equality-inthe-wake-of-COVID-19-en.pdf?la=en&vs=5142¹⁴ G7, 2021. Carbis Bay Summit Communiqué

9B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Partnering to Shape a New Path
In line with the B20 Italy focus on partnership and shared action, our taskforce has committed to an inclusive approach that involves consultation withthe broadest set of social partners possible. As such, we have made efforts
to align our priorities and recommendations with our partners in related B20
workstreams, such as the B20 Taskforce on Employment and Education and
the B20 Taskforce on Digital Transformation, as well as our G20 engagement
partners at the L20 and W20, the G20 EMPOWER alliance and the G20 Employment Working Group itself. Beyond this, we make efforts to align withother important initiatives that support cross-sectoral action on the futureof employment and education, such as the International Labor Organization (ILO) Centenary Declaration of 2019. We believe that through sharedobjectives and a collaborative spirit, we are well placed to seize this historic
opportunity to build a gender equal future.
In fact, the only way to achieve our ambitious goal is through strong partnership, continuous dialogue and a shared commitment to act.

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Recommendation 1 - Include: Bring more women back into the workforce and into the heartof economic activity shaping the future
The G20 should support women’s return to the post-pandemic workforce andadvocate for gender balance across high-growth, high-impact activities suchas the design, development and delivery of health and advanced technologies.
Policy Actions
1.1

Mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic on women's economic opportunities – Design gender-responsive measures to ensure that
progress made over recent decades towards equality is not lost – but isstrengthened in the post-pandemic world.
• The G20 should adopt gender budgeting in post-COVID-19 recovery programs based on robust tracking of female participation in thelabor market.
• The G20 should encourage the development of programs to support women re-entering the workforce after time away.
• The G20 should fund research on the effects of female employment
on economic growth to facilitate evidence-based policymaking and international comparability.

1.2 Strengthen the pipeline of women into STEM and other high-growth
sectors - Cultivate early interest in Science, Technology, Engineering andMath (STEM) and build women’s aspirations and skills to increase participation in the most in-demand job roles.
• The G20 should actively address the physical and cultural barriers
which limit the access to digital technologies and the engagement of girls and women in STEM education.
• The G20 should mitigate barriers and eradicate stereotypes which
limit women's access and ability to thrive in high-growth sectors.
• The G20 should help women reskill/upskill to attain in-demand roles
with the biggest gender gaps.
1.3 Embed a gender lens at the core of innovative activity - Increase gender equity in research and development (R&D), including design, and develop gender-sensitive ethical guidelines in key areas such as health andadvanced technologies.
• The G20 should place the views, skills and needs of women at theheart of efforts to tackle major global challenges such as climate change
and inequality.
• The G20 should develop gender-sensitive ethical guidelines governing R&D (including design) in areas such as advanced technologies andmedicine.
• The G20 should encourage gender parity throughout the innovation
cycle to ensure the needs of women are not overlooked.
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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Proposed KPIThe B20 Women’s Empowerment Taskforce proposes that current and future G20 processes monitor progress on the female labor force participation
rate. Specific targets for these KPIs are proposed in the Annex, with ambitions for 2024. We also propose to begin monitoring and tracking several Key
Pilot Performance Indicators (KPPIs), including the proportion of females
graduating in subjects related to Science, Technology, Engineering andMathematics (STEM) and rate of attrition the percentage of women employed in STEM, and the percentage of female researchers. More information on these indicators can be found in the Annex.
SDG impacted - 5: Gender Equality - Recommendation 1: is primarily aligned to SDG5, particularly SDG 5.B ‘Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote
the empowerment of women’ and SDG5.1 ‘End all forms of discrimination
against all women and girls everywhere’. 9: Industry, Inno- vation and Infrastructure - The policy actions strongly contribute to acheiving SDG9,
especially SDG9.B ‘Support domestic technology development, researchand innovation in developing countries’, SDG9.5 ‘Enhance scientific research,
upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, inparticular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovationand substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per 1 million people and public and private research and development
spending and SDG9.C ‘Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable accessto the internet in least developed countries by 2020. 8: Decent Work andEconomic Growth - It also supports both SDG8.2 ‘Achieve higher levels of
economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading andinnovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labor-intensive sectors and SDG8.5 ‘Achieve full and productive employment and decent
work for all women and men, including for young people and persons withdisabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value’. 4: Quality Education And it resonates with SDG4.4 ‘Substantially increase the number of youth
and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills,
for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship’. 3: Good Health andWell Being - Finally, there are links into SDG3.B ‘Support the research anddevelopment of vaccines and medicines for the communicable and noncommunicable diseases’ and SDG3.7 ‘Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information andeducation, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies
and programmes’.
Italy's G20 principles - People: Recommendation 1 supports the Italian G20
Presidency priority theme of ‘People’, particualrly in the ambition to shapea “sustainable, just, inclusive and resilient recovery” by “promoting women’s
empowerment” and “ensuring universal access to education”. Prosperity: It
also supports 'Prosperity‘ 1 in terms of “reducing the digital divide, promoting infrastructural developments able to guarantee universal internet access and achieving adequate and widespread digital literacy” and “exploiting
the full potential of the technological revolution to concretely improve theliving conditions of citizens all over the world, in every aspect of their lives”.

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Policy Action 1.1: Mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic on
women's economic opportunities
Design gender-responsive measures to ensure that progress made overrecent decades towards equality is not lost – but is strengthened in the
post-pandemic world.
Context and COVID-19 Impact
COVID-19 has had a large, negative impact on women's economic opportunities. The World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2021 estimates that the pandemic has added 36 years to the timeline to gender equality.
The gender gap in "Economic Participation and Opportunity" is now forecast
not to close for more than 250 years¹⁵.
It is important to note that many men have also been negatively impacted
by the pandemic. But women have been hit harder than men because they
didn’t enter the pandemic equal with men, thus widening gender gaps. For
example, women accounted for just 38% of the global labor force in 2019¹⁶;
women’s employment is more concentrated in sectors vulnerable to job loss
and sectors which have been most affected by the short economic fallout
from COVID-19 (e.g. women make up 54% of employees in tourism)¹⁷; women are more likely to work part-time, often due to the burden of unpaid
work¹⁸; and women are still under-represented in sectors identified to haveincreasing employment prospects¹⁹. The upshot is that women were much
more likely to lose their jobs than men over recent months (see Exhibit 1)²⁰.
With the global vaccination campaign in progress, there is hope that the nascent recovery will gather momentum over the coming months. However,there remains a risk that the recovery will not be gender-balanced if governments and businesses fail to take concrete and timely actions to bring women's economic opportunities back to pre-pandemic levels, at the very least.
This is not only a women’s issue: Both men and women would benefit froma more equal society. According to World Economic Forum analysis, companies leading their geography and industry for diversity, equity, inclusion andbelonging perform better than the market average across a wide range of key
performance metrics. For example, they are 25% - 36% more likely to outperform on profitability; they see up to 20% higher rates of innovation and 19%
higher innovation revenues; and improve their ability of spotting and reducing business risks by up to 30%²¹.

¹⁵ 15 WEF, 2021. "Global Gender Gap Report"; https://www.weforum.org/reports/global-gender-gap-report-2021¹⁶ World Bank Statistics. Derived from ILOSTAT database; retrieved on January 29, 2021. Data accessed by Accenture Research 16 April 2021.
¹⁷ World Tourism Organization,org/10.18111/9789284420384

2019.

"GlobalReport

on

Women

in

Tourism";https://doi.

¹⁸ OECD, 2021. Employment and unemployment rate, by sex and age group, quarterly data
¹⁹ WEF, 2021. "Global Gender Gap Report"; https://www.weforum.org/reports/global-gender-gap-report-2021²⁰ ILO, 2021. "COVID-19 and the world of work. Seventh edition";
https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@dcomm/documents/briefingnote/wcms_767028.pdf²¹ WEF, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 4.0, June 2020, https://www.weforum.org/reports/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-4-0-atoolkit-for-leaders-to-accelerate-social-progress-in-the-future-of-work

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Across the European Union alone, research by the European Institute for
Gender Equality, estimates that a more gender equal EU would boost GDP
per capita by 6.1% - 9.6%, amounting to €1.95 - €3.15 trillion, and creating an
additional 10.5 million jobs²².
We urge businesses and governments to take immediate action to mitigate
the devastating impact of COVID-19 on women and, in doing so, to help todrive a faster socio-economic recovery.
Exhibit 1
Employment loss
for women vs. men in 2020

Source: ILO, 2021. “ILO Monitor: Covid-19 and the world of work”. Seventh edition²² European Institue for Gender Equality. "Economic case for gender equality in the EU"; https://eige.europa.
eu/gendermainstreaming/policy-areas/economic-and-financial-affairs/economic-benefits-gender-equality

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Exploration of Action Areas
Adopt gender budgeting-COVID-19 recovery programs based on robust tracking of female participation in the labor market
Promote investment in the long-term sustainable development of thesectors traditionally employing women (e.g., tourism)
Women account for a disproportionate number of jobs in the sectors hit hardest by the pandemic. ILO analysis suggests that two-thirds of the jobs thatwill be lost and not recovered are women's jobs²³. Governments must takeurgent action to help businesses in these sectors map out sustainable development plans for the future.
The tourism industry is a prime example. The sector has historically provided
important job opportunities for women, but the seasonal, low-skilled andinformal nature of some of these roles has left many women struggling to
generate an income without either social or institutional support. The UN
World Tourism Organization has called on governments to develop a gender-sensitive response²⁴. This includes shorter-term measures, such as financial support and guidance, but also longer-term initiatives such as increasing
flexible working, social protection, skill development and the numbers of women in senior leadership which will also have a positive impact on the entire
informal sector.
The role of public employment services to identify sustainable employment
opportunities for women is also crucial. Local employment centers should
help women jobseekers find work in sectors which have been recruiting during the pandemic and to reskill for the demands of the future²⁵. For example,
in Korea, employment offices provided special COVID-19 funding for employers who allowed women to take childcare or maternity leave and subsequently retained them²⁶.
Assess the implications for women of all recovery policies and programmes
and identify upfront metrics for measuring their associated successGovernments must engage in effective gender-mainstreaming. This means
bringing the experience of women into the core of design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all domains
to ensure that they can benefit equally. Importantly, relevant plans should
be drawn up at the government ministry or departmental level to ensure effective, holisitc implementation and to track progress.
The first step is to understand the direct and indirect impact of the pandemic on women and girls; a report produced by UNWomen for Ukraine basedon remote surveys, is a good example.²⁷²³ ILO, 2020 "A gender-responsive employment reovery"; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/--ed_emp/documents/publication/wcms_751785.pdf²⁴ UNWTO, 2021 "Inclusive Recovery Guide – Sociocultural Impacts of COVID-19, Issue 3: Women in tourism"²⁵ ILO, 2020 "A gender-responsive employment reovery"; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/--ed_emp/documents/publication/wcms_751785.pdf²⁶ Ibid.
²⁷ 27 UN Women, 2020. "Rapid Gender Assessment: Ukraine" https://www2.unwomen.org//media/field%20office%20eca/attachments/publications/2020/06/rapid%20gender%20assessment_eng-min.
pdf?la=en&vs=3646

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTSecondly, policymakers need to conduct comprehensive gender impact assessments to aid design; this is part of the standard budget proposal process
in Canada²⁸. Thirdly, governments must provide sufficient funding to successfully fulfil each policy using tools such as the Budget Circulars and Gender
Budget Statements²⁹. Finally, a strong set of metrics must be identified to allow the impact of policies to be tracked and evaluated with the goal of refining interventions, as necessary.
Encourage the development of programs to support women re-entering the workforce after time away
Work with employers to provide return-to-work programs for women,
placing a premium on skills and experiences developed outside of theworkforce
Return-to-work programs can offer a robust, structured path back into employment for women who leave paid employment for a period of time, forexample to look after children or elderly relatives. Such programs are becoming increasingly important due to shifting demographics and the increasing prevalence of chronic disease, as well as the increase in women who havetaken a leave from work during the pandemic to care for children at home.
Governments should work with employers to design and subsidize programs
to help the millions of women forced out of the labor market to integrateback into the workforce.
Interventions should provide at least six weeks of on-the-job training to help
womenre- or upskill, with the option of a permanent contract upon mutually successful completion. Such programs should recognize and place a premium on some of the "softer" skills, such as negotiation, communication andtime management, that can be developed outside the workforce. For example, the Accenture Technology "Return to Work Program" is a 16-week paid
“returnship” program for women looking to refreshskills and learn new technologies after a career break³⁰.
Develop innovative incentives and work-life balance schemes to stimulate female employment creation
The pervasive impact of COVID-19 on women's lives and livelihoods has pulled gender inequality more firmly into the public spotlight. This provides anopportunity for governments to work with the private sector and NGOs todevelop innovative incentives and work-life balance schemes to attract women back into the labor force.
Lowering the burden of unpaid work is key so child and elder care provision
should be a key element of national plans for recovery. Governments should
invest in affordable, high-quality child and eldercare services and workers,
backed by voucher schemes. For example, in United Kingdom, people canclaim up to GBP2,000 in tax-free childcare every year.³¹²⁸ OECD, The Directorate for Public Governance²⁹ OECD, 2018. "Gender equality in Canada"; https://www.oecd.org/gov/gender-equality-in-canada-2018-launch-version.pdf³⁰ Accenture. Return to work program; https://www.accenture.com/us-en/careers/local/return-work-program³¹ Gov.uk. Tax-Free Childcare. https://www.gov.uk/tax-free-childcare³² TalentCorp. Career Comeback Tax Exemption. https://www.talentcorp.com.my/initiatives/career-comeback-tax-exemption

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Another idea is to encourage women to return to work through providing tax
relief. For example, in Malaysia women can claim income tax exemption of up
to 12 months after returning to work from a career break.³²
Financial and other support can also be made dependent on company action
onimproving gender diversity. For example, in France, the insurance industry
is investing €2 billion in "Sustainable Recovery France" – a responsible investment recovery fund to help small and medium-sized enterprises in the healthand tourism sectors recover from the pandemic. Reporting on the proportion of women in management positions is a key criterion for any businesses
wanting to access to the program.³³
Fund research on the effects of female employment on economic
growth to facilitate evidence-based policymaking and international
comparability
Investigate the impact of increasing female labor force participation on
the labor market and wider measures of economic and business growth
The positive impact of increasing the economic participation of women is increasingly well understood at both the corporate and macroeconomic levels.
For example, a recent IMF study found that adding more women, as opposed
to more men, to the labor force tends to increase skills diversity, consumption and leisure time, so boosting
growth and productivity.³⁴
However, more investigation is needed on potential multiplier effects, suchas the extent to which women moving into the labor force boosts demand
for ancillary household management services such as child and eldercare;and whether women are creating and taking "new" jobs, as opposed to simply replacing men. For example, research from the Women's Budget Groupfinds that increasing employment boosts demand for "all the goods and services that enter household consumption, such as food, clothing, and entertainment".³⁵ These so-called "induced employment effects", which are included within the ILO Employment Impact Assessments framework,³⁶ suggest
increasing women's employment stimulates both economic and labor force
growth. Greater workforce diversity has also been found to have a positive
impact on business growth.³⁷
Fund research into the longer-term impact of the pandemic on women,
backed by the robust collection of sex-disaggregated data, to help policymakers to make wellinformed, gender-sensitive decisions
The pandemic has already had a huge impact on lives and livelihoods aroundthe world. But its longer-term impact on, for example, working practices andsocial norms, remains uncertain. It is therefore critical that governments continue to monitor these impacts in a gender-responsive way to ensure a more
equitable future.

³³ French Insurance Federation. https://www.ffa-assurance.fr/en/sustainable-stimulus-investment-programme³⁴ IMF, 2018. " Economic Gains from Gender Inclusion: New Mechanisms, New Evidence"³⁵ Women's Budget Group, 2016. "Investing in the Care economy to boost employment and gender equality";
https://www.lse.ac.uk/gender/assets/documents/news/Investing-in-the-Care-economy.pdf³⁶ ILO. Employment Impact Assessments; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/documents/
publication/wcms_774061.pdf³⁷Accenture, 2020. "The hidden value of Culture Makers"https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/Thought-Leadership-Assets/PDF-2/Accenture-Getting-To-Equal-2020-Research-Report.pdf

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Without sex-disaggregated data, the perspectives of women are often hidden, making the job of policymakers much harder. Governments should workwith the private sector and NGOs – including through capacity building andfunding to boost compliance – to systematically collect, produce and reportreliable, high-quality, granular data.
G20 member countries should therefore:• Adopt gender budgeting in post-COVID-19 recovery programs based on
robust tracking of female participation in the labor market.
• Encourage the development of programs to support women re-entering
the workforce after time away.
• Fund research on the effects of female employment on economic growth
to facilitate evidence-based policymaking and international comparability.

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Policy Action 1.2: Strengthen the pipeline of women into STEM andother highgrowth sectors
Cultivate early interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)
and build women’s aspirations and skills to increase participation in the mostin-demand job roles.
Context and COVID-19 Impact
The impact of digital technology over recent decades has been so profoundthat it is described as the Fourth Industrial Revolution. However, the persistent exclusion of women from associated job roles weighs on economic development and also on the ability of women to share in the benefits. Womenare heavily underrepresented in some of today’s most in-demand job roles,
such as Cloud Computing (14%), Engineering (20%) and Data & AI (32%) withno significant progress since 2018³⁸. Such narrow talent pools limit the abilityof women to shape our future.
The pipeline of women into STEM careers narrows from a young age. However, this is not due to aptitude: Girls do at least as well, if not better, thanboys on internationally standardized science and math tests³⁹. Rather, girls’
interest in STEM subjects tend to wane for more for cultural reasons, such as
the (negative) influence of family and peers, teachers and the media, and themale-centric curricula and physical environments in which they learn⁴⁰.
The latest Global Gender Gap Report notes: “Gendered signals from the labor market—the social experience of learning in STEM classes and working intechnology fields—go a long way toward shaping the potential employee baseof the professions making them distinctively male⁴¹.”Tellingly, a 2020 surveyof 7,000 adults in seven countries, found that 19% of female respondents and
25% of males said they believe STEM careers are more suitable to men than
women⁴².
These attitudes are entrenched by the time students begin to select subjects:
In secondary education, boys tend to be more likely than girls to take advanced courses in mathematics and physics⁴³. At the age of 15, boys are, on
average, ten times more likely than girls to want to become Information andCommunication Technologies (ICT) professionals⁴⁴. At the tertiary level, women are much less likely to major in STEM subjects such as Information andCommunication Technologies (3% vs 8% of men) and Engineering, Manufacturing, or Construction (7% vs 22%)⁴⁵.

³⁸ World Economic Forum, 2021. “Global Gender Gap Report 2021”, https://www.weforum.org/reports/global-gender-gap-report-2021³⁹ World Bank, 2020. “The Equality Equation”, https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/34317/Main- Report.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
⁴⁰ UNESCO, 2017. “Cracking the Code: Girls’ and women’s education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)”
⁴¹ World Economic Forum, 2021. “Global Gender Gap Report 2021”, https://www.weforum.org/reports/global-gender-gap-report-2021
⁴² W20 Saudi Arabia & Accenture, 2020. “If not now, when?”, https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF-147/
Accenture-W20-2020-Final-Report-If-Not-Now-When.pdf
⁴³ French Insurance Federation. https://www.ffa-assurance.fr/en/sustainable-stimulus-investment-programme
⁴⁴ IMF, 2018. " Economic Gains from Gender Inclusion: New Mechanisms, New Evidence"
⁴⁵ Women's Budget Group, 2016. "Investing in the Care economy to boost employment and gender equality";
https://www.lse.ac.uk/gender/assets/documents/news/Investing-in-the-Care-economy.pdf

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTThe low numbers of women qualifying in relevant subjects is then compounded in the workplace by high attrition rates. A recent study in the United States found that 50% of women who take roles in technology drop out by theage of 35, compared with around 20% in other job types, principally becauseof non-inclusive working environments⁴⁶. The ILO estimates that women holdjust 33% of managerial roles in the IT sector across G20 countries⁴⁷. Naturally
this shrinks the talent pool at more senior levels: Analysis of the executive
teams of 3,000 companies in 56 countries found just 14% of companies hada female head of information technology (IT)⁴⁸.
Given how sharply the returns to digital have risen during the pandemic, thelack of women working in technology-related roles is a concern on multipleof levels. For one, these roles have proved far more resilient during the pandemic: ILO data from the third quarter of 2020 suggests that both employment (7.3%) and working hours (5.8%) have increased faster than in any othersector over the past 12 months globally⁴⁹. A male-centric workforce may also
overlook the needs of women at a time when reliance on the internet (whereavailable) has soared.
Exhibit 2
Sectoral employment growth
rates in the third quarter of 2020(%, year-on-year)

Note: Average growth for any given sector is unweighted and based on a maximum sample of 49 countries
Source: ILO, 2021. “COVID-19 and the world of work“

⁴⁶ ILO. Employment Impact Assessments; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/documents/
publication/wcms_774061.pdf
⁴⁷ Accenture, 2020. "The hidden value of Culture Makers"https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/Thought-Leadership-Assets/PDF-2/Accenture-Getting-To-Equal-2020-Research-Report.pdf
⁴⁸ ILO, 2020. “Women in managerial and leadership positions in the G20“, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/
public/---dgreports/---ddg_p/documents/publication/wcms_762098.pdf
⁴⁹ ILO, 2021. “COVID-19 and the world of work“, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@
dcomm/documents/briefingnote/wcms_767028.pdf

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Exploration of Action Areas
Actively address the physical and cultural barriers which limit the access to digital technologies and the engagement of girls and women in
STEM education
Invest in digital and physical infrastructure and hardware to boost accessand digital skill development opportunities for girls, especially in remoteand rural areas
Helping more girls and women connect to the internet is a fundamental firststep to boosting the engagement of women in STEM. The OECD notes: "Hurdles to access, affordability, lack of education as well as inherent biases andsociocultural norms curtail women and girls’ ability to benefit from the opportunities offered by the digital transformation ⁵⁰."Governments should prioritize extending broadband networks, especially tomore rural areas. Across the OECD there were 32.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants as of June 2020. On average, 29% of thesewere fibre connections – up 5 percentage points from 2018 – ranging fromover 80% in Korea and Japan to under 5% in Germany, the UK, Belgium andGreece⁵¹.
Access to the necessary hardware is clearly crucial. An increase in mobile
phone ownership and access has increased connectivity around the world:
Since 2015 an estimated 1 billion people have gained access to the internet
through a mobile phone⁵². Mobile devices provide an invaluable "bridge" inplaces where robust digital infrastructure is not yet in place and have been alifeline for women during the pandemic, enabling them to access COVID-19
information, stay connected to their families, continue their business activities and access government support⁵³.
However, women are less likely than men both to own a mobile device, andto use mobile internet, due to issues such as access to networks and devices,
affordability, literacy and skills, safety and security, knowledge and the availability of relevant, userfriendly products, services and content⁵⁴.
The CFS+ program in Canada, which has distributed more than 1.7 million
refurbished computers since 1993 to libraries, not-for-profit organizations,Indigenous communities and lower-income groups, is a good example of how
to tackle upfront costs. However, ongoing costs such as data and electricity
must also be considered when rolling out such interventions – as well as theneed to boost digital literacy. In India, female digital instructors have helped
to boost the skills and confidence of over 2.6 million women in 60,000 ruralvillages through the Internet Saathi initiative.⁵⁵

⁵⁰ OECD, 2018."Bridging the gender divide"; https://www.oecd.org/digital/bridging-the-digital-gender-divide.pdf
⁵¹ OECD, 2020. Broadband Portal; https://www.oecd.org/sti/broadband/broadband-statistics/
⁵² GSMA, 2020. "State of Mobile Internet Connectivity Report"; https://www.gsma.com/r/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/GSMAState-of-Mobile-Internet-Connectivity-Report-2020.pdf
⁵³ GSMA, 2021. "The Mobile Gender Gap Report" www.gsma.com/r/gender-gap
⁵⁴ bid.
⁵⁵ OECD, 2018."Bridging the gender divide"; https://www.oecd.org/digital/bridging-the-digital-gender-divide.pdf

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Reimagine the early years STEM learning experience through a genderlens, focusing on the curricula, learning environment and teachers
The early years learning experience is critical to sustaining the interest of girls in STEM subjects. Beyond elevating STEM subjects as a priority at all age
groups, governments should reimagine what, where and how girls learn.
A first step is to get more girls into school. The recent commitments by the
G7 to bring 40 million more girls into education and to get 20 million moregirls reading by age 10 in low and lower-middle income countries by 2026 –backed by USD2.75 billion in funding over the next 5 years – are welcome inthis regard.
However, many school curricula need modernizing to give girls a greater
chance of reaching their potential in the modern world. Studies have shownthat educational materials in that span different countries and cultures stilltend to depict men in professional roles (especially as scientists) with women
more often portrayed in domestic roles such as child or eldercare givers.⁵⁶
And beyond stereotypical gender roles, curricula need to incorporate the latest technological advances and ground learning in solving real-world challenges to properly reflect what UNICEF calls the "transformative potential of
STEM education⁵⁷."
Modernized curricula should be amplified by reimagining the learning environment. Studies have shown that boys tend to show more interest in STEM
in the traditional classroom setting⁵⁸. Engaging in related activities outside
the classroom, such as museum visits or coding camps, can help elevate therelevance of science both to girls and to broader society through a clearer
focus on "learning by doing ⁵⁹." A good example is the European Commission/
UNESCO "Ark Of Inquiry" project, which aims to empower girls in the scienceclassroom through more real life, hands-on scientific discovery⁶⁰.
Finally both who the teachers are and how they teach need to be considered.
Inspirational STEM teachers are as a key driver for women to pursue associated careers. However girls' ambitions are often curtailed by a lack of womenteachers and outdated pedagogical practices. "TeachHer" is a UNESCO initiative to help edcuators develop a more engaging learning experience forgirls, through methods such as gender-responsive lesson planning⁶¹. And a
key pillar of another UNESCO program, CapED, supports the professional
development of teachers in terms of reducing gender bias in STEM teachingand encouraging girls to participate in classroom activities⁶².

⁵⁶ World Bank, 2020. "The Equality Equation"
⁵⁷ UNICEF, 2020. "Towards an equal future: Reimagining girls’ education through STEM"
⁵⁸ World Bank, 2020. "The Equality Equation"
⁵⁹ Ibid.
⁶⁰ Ark of Inquiry. http://www.arkofinquiry.eu/
⁶¹ bid
⁶² UNESCO. CapED; https://en.unesco.org/themes/education/caped/about

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTDevelop clear pathways for women into STEM careers, including clear signposting of the opportunities and support available for both individuals
and their support networks
STEM education provides students with critical skills – from assessing evidence to creativity – for a variety of career paths. However, given current
employment trends, strengthening the connection between STEM education
and an associated career for women is becoming more important. For example, in the United States, the proportion of women working in technology has
actually declined since 1984 despite significant job growth.⁶³
Governments should help girls and women to make informed choices about
their education. For instance, Fondazione Agnelli in Italy, identifies the highschools that best prepare students for university and the workplace depending on their field of interest.⁶⁴ National and international comparisons ofhigh schools and universities should also factor into the gender diversity of
their alumni – and provide incentives for these institutions to boost the number of female STEM graduates. Another example is STEMintheCity, an initiative launched by the Municipality of Milan in 2017 to promoteand educate girls about STEM careers ad provide access to role models, training and hands-on experience.⁶⁵
Once at school or university, providing sound career advice is key to reducing
both the attrition rates of women studying STEM and those in the workplace. Governments should ensure that teachers and other advisors are familiar
with STEM careers and can address common misconceptions about whatsuch roles entail. The UNESCO "Girls into Science" training module is a good
example, offrering training and support for educators on STEM career guidance, as well as helping to promote a positive, aspirational image of womenin the industry. As discussed in the B20 Employment and Education Policy
Paper, business-university partnerships play an important role in this regard.
Governments should also facilitate the growth and development of university and professional associations aimed at women in STEM-related fields at
the national and global levels. Such groups offer women significant careerdevelopment opportunities from the tangible – including such as formalized
mentorship, network development, and job and scholarship opportunities– to the more intangible, such as problemsolving and building resilience inmale-dominated sectors.⁶⁶
Finally, providing parents and other caregivers with clear information canalso help overcome STEM stereotypes. Developing materials like brochures
and websites, which outline career pathways, "day-in-the-life" case studies
and work experience opportunities, can help parents and other caregivers
have informed conversations with children, boosting motivation.⁶⁷

⁶³ Accenture, 2020. "Resetting Tech Culture"; https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF-134/Accenture-A4-GWC-Report-Final1.pdf#zoom=50
⁶⁴ Fondazione Agnelli. https://www.fondazioneagnelli.it/2020/11/11/eduscopio-2020-21-e-online/
⁶⁵ STEM in the City. https://www.steminthecity.eu/
⁶⁶ World Bank, 2020. "The Equality Equation"
⁶⁷ UNESCO, 2017. "Cracking the code: Girls’ and women’s education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)"

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Mitigate barriers and shift perceptions which limit women's access andability to thrive in high-growth sectors
Work with high-growth sector employers to identify key attrition points
in the work lifecycle of women and design relevant interventions
Reducing attrition rates benefits not just the employee, but also the employer in terms of lower recruitment costs, higher productivity and innovation.⁶⁸ However, upon entering certain high-growth, male-dominated sectors, women often face non-inclusive working environments which weigh on
progression, and lack the flexibility they need to balance their personal andprofessional lives when other commitments such as child and eldercare arise. Governments should work with employers to mitigate the structural problems driving these key attrition points.
The working environment could be improved for women in a number of ways.
Networks, which provide a framework of peer support to help women handle difficult situations, should be developed and sponsored, very visibly, by
senior leaders. Managers should be encouraged to give women responsibility
and the space to be creative; to offer unbiased, tailored feedback; and to learn more about the specific barriers women face in the workplace. Reducing
sexual discrimination and harassment (see Policy Action 2.3) is also crucial.
Providing employees with the flexibility to juggle personal and professional
commitments is vital to helping both women and men thrive in any workplace. It can also help to accelerate the shift in the existing caregiving paradigm
while building resilience against future pandemics and shifting demographics (see Policy Action 2.1). However, because women are underrepresented inhigh-growth sectors today, interventions such as mentoring, male advocatesand allies programs, and building role models become even more importantin helping women manage their careers. In Saudi Arabia, the proportion of
women employed in the telecommunications and technology sector has increased from 7% to 25% over the past three years thanks to initiatives such as
in-house nurseries and leadership training provided by INSEAD.
Launch comprehensive communication campaigns to transform perceptions of women in STEM, including elevating female role models and celebrating women’s achievements
Governments should also do more to modernize the image of STEM in society, in order to eliminate the pervasive associations of related careers withmen. High-profile awards for women and campaigns featuring female rolemodels can help to tackle socio-cultural norms, biases and stereotypes. The"International Day of Women and Girls in Science" on 11 February every year
offers a globally recognized anchor for such events.
The UNESCO-L'Oréal "For Women in Science program" has been runningsince 1998 and is a good example of a global awards program which offers
both tangible and intangible benefits for winners. Every year, five womenscientists from five regions ofthe world are awarded €100,000 for important contributions to science. A sister initiative, "International Rising Talents", selects 15 of the most promising female talents globally who each receive€15,000.⁶⁹

⁶⁸ Accenture, 2020. "The Hidden Value of Culture Makers"; https://www.accenture.com/gb-en/about/inclusiondiversity/_acnmedia/Thought-Leadership-Assets/PDF-2/Accenture-Getting-To-Equal-2020-Research-Report.pdf
⁶⁹ For Women in Science. https://www.forwomeninscience.com/

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTAt the country level, in 2008, Germany launched the National Pact for Women in MINT (STEM) in 2008 which brings together relevant parties frommultiple disciplines, including politics, science and the media, to modernize
the image of STEM-related roles.⁷⁰ In Australia, increasing visibility is a key
pillar of the government's "Advancing Women in STEM strategy". Initiatives
include the appointment of a "Women in STEM Ambassador", a digital awareness-raising initiative to reach young Australian women on the importance of STEM to their future, and "Superstars of STEM" to boost recognitionof Australian women who work in science and technology.⁷¹ And in Italy, an
online database – www.100esperte.it – collects the resumes of female STEM
experts to boost respresentation of women in the media.
Provide direct and indirect incentives for high-growth sector organizations that hire women and achieve gender parity
Reducing attrition rates benefits not just the employee, but also the employer in terms of lower recruitment costs, higher productivity and innovation.⁶⁸ However, upon entering certain high-growth, male-dominated sectors, women often face non-inclusive working environments which weigh on
progression, and lack the flexibility they need to balance their personal andprofessional lives when other commitments such as child and eldercare arise. Governments should work with employers to mitigate the structural problems driving these key attrition points.
Governments should look into both direct and indirect incentives for organizations to increase gender parity in terms of hiring, retention and progression. Direct incentives such as grants, wage and credit subsidies, and tax relief
could all offer organizations financial encouragement to hire more women.
For example, film production teams in France can secure a bonus of up 15% instate funding if they meet certain gender equality criteria. Canada reduced
the tax contribution of secondary earners within households to increase thefinancial incentive for women to work. And in the United States, proposed
legislation would provide grants of up to US$50 million per year for small
and medium-sized businesses to help women return to or transition into the
STEM workforce.
Indirect incentives could include reporting and certification. For example, since 2017 all large companies in the United Kingdom have been obliged to publish gender pay data. A similar requirement could be introduced to track levelsof recruitment and promotion across levels and departments. The UNDP’s"Gender Equality Seal" offers an interesting certification approach that governments could look to adopt. It awards bronze, silver, or gold 'seals' according to organizations' ongoing progress on gender equality committments.

⁶⁹ For Women in Science. https://www.forwomeninscience.com/
⁷⁰ Komm mach MINT. "Go MINT" - National Pact for Women in MINT careers"; https://www.komm-mach-mint.
de/englishinformation
⁷¹ Australia Government. Advancing Women in STEM strategy; https://www.industry.gov.au/data-and-publications/advancingwomen-in-stem-strategy/vision-for-equal-opportunity-in-stem/action-area-making-women-in-stem-visible25

B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Help women re/upskill to attain in-demand roles with the biggest gender
gaps
Develop collection and reporting mechanisms of sex-disaggregated databy job role to better respond to market needs, identify gaps and trackprogress
Sex-disaggregated data is a critical tool for policy makers to be able to understand the realities of the lives of women and men. According to the OECD,such data make it easier to "assess the situation and develop appropriate,evidence-based responses and policies."⁷²
The collection of sex-disaggregated data can draw on a variety of methodologies, including surveys, interviews, reviews, desk review and focus group
discussion. Such data should ideally be made available in a time series format
to track changes and adapt policies accordingly. However, all analysis shouldbe performed in regular consultation with relevant civil society organizations,such as women's advocacy groups.
In Spain, the "National Statistical Plan" requires public bodies to systematically include a sex variable in their datasets. And the "Institute of Women", anautonomous body attached to the Spanish Ministry of Equality, maintains a
database of over 300 social and economic indicators.⁷³
Provide funding for training and career development for women to access high-growth sectors
High-growth sectors are characterized by rapid change, especially in skills
requirements. Governments should work with employers to support women
looking to transition with relevant training and career development, including through apprenticeships and work experience.
For example, the ILO’s "Women in STEM Workforce Readiness and Development Programme" aims to mitigate the imminent threat of automation by
boosting the STEMrelated skills of women. More than 12,000 women workers in Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand have passed through the program
which offers skills gap identification and upskilling as well as job placement
and in-company developing and mentoring.⁷⁴ The ILO also offers the "#WOMENCANDOIT" scholarship which provides bespoke support for women looking to enter careers such as game and software development.
In the United States, the "STEM Restoring Employment Skills through Targeted Assistance, Re-entry, and Training (RESTART) Act" would provide small
and mediumsized businesses grants that offer "returnships" for women in
STEM. Targeted at mid-career women, these training and development programs would span a minimum of ten weeks with the aim of mitigating thechallenges some face when moving (back) into STEM-related roles.

⁷² OECD. Governance for Gender Equality Toolkit; https://www.oecd.org/gender/governance/toolkit/government/assessment-ofgender-impact/disaggregated-data/
⁷³ Ibid
⁷⁴ ILO. Women in STEM Workforce Readiness and Development Programme in Indonesia; https://www.ilo.org/
jakarta/whatwedo/projects/WCMS_624553/lang--en/index.htm & UNICEF, 2020."Towards an equal future:Reimagining girls’ education through STEM"

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTBuild a global database of information and best practice on digital inclusion and STEM engagement solutions
G20 governments should bring together interested parties to develop andmaintain a database of interventions and information relating to boosting
the digital inclusion and STEM engagement of women. This should include
key multinational organizations – such as UNESCO, UNICEF, ILO, ITU, ITC,
UN Women, EQUALS: The Global Partnership for Gender Equality in the
Digital Age and The World Bank – relevant NGOs – such as The Women'sEngineering Society and Girls Who Code; and educators, private sector andcritical stakeholders.
The database would be a repository for both individuals and organizations
to access best practice case studies and relevant data to support career andpolicy development and will build on existing initiatives such as the EQUALSDigital Skills Hub.⁷⁵
G20 member countries should therefore:• Actively address the physical and cultural barriers which limit the accessto digitaltechnologies and the engagement of girls and women in STEM education• Mitigate barriers and shift perceptions that limit women's access andability to thrive in high-growth sectors• Help women re/upskill to attain in-demand roles with the biggest gendergaps

⁷⁵ UNESCO. EQUALS Digital Skills Hub for girls and women; https://en.unesco.org/news/launch-equals-digital-skills-hub-girlsand-women27

B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Policy Action 1.3: Embed a gender lens at the core of innovative activity
Increase gender equity in research and development (R&D), including design,and develop gender-sensitive ethical guidelines in key areas such as healthand advanced technologies.
Context and COVID-19 Impact
Diversity is the mother of innovation. When asked recently about the development of a COVID-19 vaccine in just 11 months, Dr. Özlem Türeci, theco-founder and chief medical officer of BioNTech, said gender balance was“critical to making the seemingly impossible possible.”⁷⁶ Professor Sarah Gilbert from Oxford University notes that two-thirds of the team that developed the vaccine with AstraZeneca were women.⁷⁷
Unfortunately, neither organization is typical. Globally, women are estimated to account for less than 30% of R&D employees, ranging from 48.2% in
Central Asia to just 18.5% in South and West Asia.⁷⁸ The lack of women conducting research is compounded by a lack of a gender representation in research subjects. A 2019 study looked at 43,000 articles and 13,000 clinical trial:
it concluded that “sex bias against female participants in clinical studies persists despite legal and policy initiatives toincrease female representation.”⁷⁹
In the technology arena, men’s needs are often treated as the "default" withnew products and services then adapted for women.⁸⁰
These gender imbalances have serious consequences. For example, analysis of car crash data in the United States found that women are 47% more
likely than men to be seriously injured, and 17% more likely to die⁸¹; a finding
linked to a lack of “female” crash test dummies.⁸² Diseases which manifest
differently in women compared with men can result in misdiagnosis, mistreatment and inappropriate drugs reaching the market, potentially with fatal
consequences.⁸³ These issues could be exacerbated if the artificial intelligence (AI) which underpins new services, such as precision medicine, is triainedon biased datasets.⁸⁴ Meanwhile, technologies aimed at women’s health so-called "femtech" – remain chronically under-funded.⁸⁵
The pandemic has both highlighted and sharpended existing gender gaps.
Many countries were slow to study the impact of the pandemic through agender lens; even today, three G20 countries – Japan, Saudi Arabia and Russia—still do not provide fully sex-disaggregated data on COVID-19-relatedcases and deaths.⁸⁶
⁷⁶ UN, 8 March, 2021. “’COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate, but societies do’, say women frontliners”,
https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/03/1086692
⁷⁸ UNESCO, 2019. “Women in science“, http://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/fs55-women-inscience-2019-en.pdf
⁷⁹ 79 Feldman et al, 2019. “Quantifying Sex Bias in Clinical Studies at Scale With Automated Data Extraction”,
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6613296/; Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence
⁸⁰ Criado Perez, Caroline, 2019. “Invisible Women: Data Bias in A World Designed for Men”; Penguin Random
House.
⁸¹ US Department of Transportation, 2013. “Injury Vulnerability and Effectiveness of Occupant Protection Technologies for Older Occupants and Women“, https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/811766
⁸² Criado Perez, Caroline, 2019. “Invisible Women: Data Bias in A World Designed for Men”; Penguin
Random House.
⁸³ Ibid.
⁸⁴ Cirillo et al, 2020. „Sex and gender differences and biases in artificial intelligence for biomedicine and healthcare“, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-020-0288-5; npj Digit. Med. 3, 81
⁸⁵ Research and Markets, 2020. “Global Female Technology (Femtech) Market: Analysis and Forecast, 2019-2030”
⁸⁶ Global Health 5050, 2021. https://globalhealth5050.org/the-sex-gender-and-COVID-19-project/dataset/;
Dataset accessed 6 April, 2021

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

And data suggests that the academic output of women relative to men has
fallen during the crisis, a loss of experitse which weighs both on the global
response to the pandemic and on the future career trajectories of female
academics.⁸⁷

Note: Data from 2017 or latest year available
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2019. “Women in Science – Fact Sheet No.55“

⁸⁷ Gabster, van Daalen, Dhatt & Barry, 2020. ”Challenges for the female academic during the COVID-19 pandemic“, https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(20)31412-4.pdf; The Lancet, Vol 395, 27 June 202029

B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Exploration of Action Areas
Place both the skills and needs of women at the heart of efforts totackle majorglobal challenges such as climate change and inequality
Fund research into the gendered impact of major global challenges tohelp shape women-specific interventions
The impact of COVID-19 showed once again that the impacts of major global
events are rarely gender-neutral. Governments must place the needs of women at the heart of recovery efforts, as well as at the center of interventions
addressing challenges such as climate change and inequality.
A key issue highlighted by the pandemic is the narrow focus on direct impacts, such as infection and death rates. However, women are often disproportionately affected by indirect impacts; the proportion of women working
in the health and social care sectors and the rise in domestic violence are justtwo recent examples. Governments must fund more research to understand,highlight and mitigate these indirect impacts.
The climate crisis is another example. While the potential societal impact ofclimate change is increasingly well understood, the gender-differentiatedeffects are not. The OECD highlights "the use of time, exposure to violence,
intra-household inequalities, use of natural resources, and specific healthconcerns" as relevant areas where current data fails to capture gender differences.⁸⁸
Moreover, governments need to harness the potential of women in supporting the energy transition. For example, thanks to strong social networks andtheir position as primary energy users within households, women are ideallyplaced to lead and support the delivery of off-grid renewable energy solutions.⁸⁹ However, more research is needed to understand how to overcome
prevailing gender gaps in terms of training, occupational segregation and finacing to realize such opportunities.
Target gender parity on taskforces and in senior decision-making bodies
set up to tackle major global challenges
Diversity has a strong positive association with innovation.⁹⁰ However, too
often women are excluded from key decision-making bodies. Analysis of
COVID-19 pandemic taskforces and government health ministers were bothfound to be heavily male-dominated.⁹¹ And at the 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 25) in Madrid, women accounted for 40% of
delegates, falling to 27% of leads.⁹² As Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist
at the World Health Organization (WHO) noted during the pandemic: "Policies for women are often not being decided by women."⁹³⁸⁸ OECD, 2021. " Let’s choose to challenge the climate crisis with a gender lens"; https://oecd-environmentfocus.
blog/2021/03/04/lets-choose-to-challenge-the-climate-crisis-with-a-gender-lens/
⁸⁹ IRENA, 2019. "Gender Equality for an Inclusive Energy Transition"; https://www.irena.org/newsroom/articles/2019/Jan/Gender-equality-for-an-inclusive-energy-transition
⁹⁰ Accenture, 2019. "Equality = Innovation"; https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/Thought-Leadership-Assets/PDF/Accenture-Equality-Equals-Innovation-Gender-Equality-Research-Report-IWD-2019.pdf
⁹¹ W20 Saudi Arabia & Accenture, 2020. “If not now, when?”, https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF-147/
Accenture-W20-2020-Final-Report-If-Not-Now-When.pdf
⁹² UNFCC,2021. " Gender composition"; https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/cp2020_03_adv.pdf
⁹³ GCSP, 2020. "COVID-19: What does this mean for gender?"; https://www.gcsp.ch/global-insights/COVID-19-what-doesmean-gender.

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Governments should set a clear tone from the top by actively bringing more
women into decision-making bodies. For example, the Independent Panelon Pandemic Preparedness and Response, established by the WHO Director-General last year, has female co-chairs and a gender-equal split of members.⁹⁴ And in Rwanda, the 2003 constitution set a 30% mandatory minimum
quota of women on all decision-making bodies.
Develop gender-sensitive ethical guidelines governing R&D in areas
such as advanced technologies and medicine
Work with developers of advanced technologies (e.g., Artificial Intelligence) to map out the inherent biases and associated risks for women
Advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) offer huge potential benefits across a wide variety of sectors and domains, not the least ofwhich is reducing recruitment bias. However, they also present risks relating
to discrimination, privacy, safety and security. Governments must work withthe developers of such technologies to draw up robust ethical guidelines surrounding their development and deployment, with a clear focus on monitoring and mitigating gender-differentiated impacts.
For example, the European Commission's regulatory framework on AI refers
to the need to address gender bias. The proposed legislation states that AI
systems should contribute to reducing rather than creating bias; those identified as "high-risk" would need to prove that they do not discriminate; thatthe data underpinning them is representative; and that any decisions madeare auditable. ⁹⁵
Governments should also clearly map out the threat posed by automation
to women's livelihoods (see Policy Action 2.1). IMF research found that 11% ofjobs done by women are under severe threat of being automated, comparedwith 9% of men's because women tend to perform more routine tasks thanmen. Women over the age of 40 are particularly at risk.⁹⁶
Invest in boosting awareness and development of gender medicine to ensure womenspecific health challenges are properly diagnosed and treated
Gender medicine recognizes that fundamental differences in male and female bodies due to both biology and environment, mean that diagnoses andoften treatments should be gender responsive. Governments must support
the development of gender medicine and raise awareness of the need toapply critical existing knowledge, such as how symptoms of certain diseases
manifest differently in men and women.
Building the gender competencies of medical professionals is key. This should
include basic gender concepts such as power relations and bias; the ability to
explain gender differences in health outcomes; and effective and empathetic, gender-sensitive communication with patients.⁹⁷

⁹⁴ The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response; https://theindependentpanel.org/panel-members/
⁹⁵ European Commission, 2021. "New rules for Artificial Intelligence – Questions and Answers"; https://ec.europa.
eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/QANDA_21_1683
⁹⁶ IMF, 2021. "An Economy for All"; https://www.imf.org/External/Pubs/FT/irb/2020/SpringSummer/index.pdf
⁹⁷ WHO, 2006. "Integrating gender into the curricula for health professionals";

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTIn Austria, gender medicine is integrated into university curricula, helping
students develop gender responsive clinical skills and helping them to understand how patients interact with male and female physicians. And in Italy,
the"application and diffusion" of gender medicine throughout the national
health system became law in 2018.⁹⁸
As discussed in the B20 Health and Life Sciences Policy Paper, governments
should also support employers in building awareness at the individual level sothey can inform women about potential illnesses and help them take controlof their health.
Encourage gender parity throughout the innovation cycle to ensure
the specific needs of women are not overlooked
Advocate for a gender lens in the development and trialling of new medicines and technologies
Women are still seen too often as a "subgroup" in the development and trialling of new medicines and technologies. Governments should advocate forgender parity in the evidence gathering and reporting phases, and throughregulatory policy and practice.
Greater attention must be paid to the inclusion of females in medical studies
and trials. For example, in 2016 the US National Institutes of Health (NIH)
mandated the inclusion of both male and female samples in preclinical studies. And the European Medicines Authority and Health Canada have advocated for including more women – uncluding those who are older, pregnant
or lactating – as part of the drug approval process.⁹⁹
In terms of new technologies, the lack of women working in STEM (see Policy Action 1.2) sometimes leads to the needs of women being ignored in thedesign phaseresulting in, for example, smartphones too big for the average women's hands and pockets.¹⁰⁰ Governments should advocate for gender-sensitive product and service design, highlighting both the societal andcommercial benefits for technology developers. The "Female Interaction"
project, sponsored by the Danish government, is an example of how technology developers can better understand female needs and preferences andso establish appropriate product, service and content development guidelines.¹⁰¹ And "Horizon Europe", the EU's flagship research and innovation program, requires gender to be integrated into all related activities.¹⁰²

⁹⁸ Baggio and Malorni, 2019. "The Italian law on gender medicine: a reality and a hope", The Italian Journal of
Gender-Specific Medicine; https://www.gendermedjournal.it/archivio/3245/articoli/32143/
⁹⁹ Ravindran at al, 2020. " Making pharmaceutical research and regulation work for women", BMJ; https://www.
bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m3808¹⁰⁰ Criado Perez, Caroline, 2019. “Invisible Women: Data Bias in A World Designed for Men”; Penguin
Random House.
¹⁰¹ UNESCO and UNWomen, 2010. Gender, science and technology; https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Digital-Inclusion/Women-and-Girls/Documents/ReportsModules/Final-Report-EGMST%20Gender%20science%20technology%20expert%20group%20report.pdf¹⁰² European Union, 2021. "Horizon Europe"; https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-law-and-publications/publication-detail/-/publication/c0b30b4b-6ce2-11eb-aeb5-01aa75ed71a1

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Educate and incentivize the investment community to incorporate a gender perspective into decision-making in order to boost the capital available for femtech and womenfocused start-ups
Finding investment for women-focused innovation remains a challenge. Governments should advocate for more gender diversity in the venture capital
sector, and for teams to build gender perspectives into decision-making.
Shifting societal stereotypes is an important first step. Governments should
bring women's health issues such as menstruation and menopause into the
public discourse, helping to mitigate societal taboos, and highlight the associated commercial opportunities. For example, in Argentina, the women's
development organization Pro Mujer educates young women on menstrual
hygiene management by partnering with nurses, providing free sanitary products and launching social media and communication awareness campaigns.¹⁰³
Governments then need to shift funding stereotypes. For example, applicantsto "Horizon Europe" must present gender equality plans and specific funding
is set aside for gender research and empowering women innovators.¹⁰⁴ And
Investing in Women (IW), an Australian Government initiative, works with
impact investors to provide capitalfor small and medium-sized enterprises
focused on providing gender responsive products and services.¹⁰⁵ Greater
support for increased impact investing (see B20 Finance and Infrastructure
Policy Paper) could also help address diversity, gender and inclusion issues.
G20 member countries should therefore:• Place both the skills and needs of women at the heart of efforts to tackle
major global challenges such as climate change and inequality• Develop gender-sensitive ethical guidelines governing R&D in areas suchas advanced technologies and medicine• Encourage gender parity throughout the innovation cycle to ensure theneeds of women are not overlooked¹⁰³ Pro Mujer, 2019. https://promujer.org/2019/09/19/lets-talk-menstruation/¹⁰⁴ European Union, 2021. "Horizon Europe"; https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-law-and-publications/publication-detail/-/publication/c0b30b4b-6ce2-11eb-aeb5-01aa75ed71a1¹⁰⁵ Investing in Women, 2020. "How to invest with a gender lens"; https://v4w.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/
HOW-TOGUIDE-REPORT.pdf

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Recommendation 2 - Reimagine: Build an inclusive society and workplace cultures which
dismantle pervasive gender stereotypes
The G20 should boost women’s economic opportunities by eliminating legal
and cultural barriers to paid work, and actively upskilling female workers.
Policy Actions
2.1 Eliminate barriers to women’s full inclusion in the workplace for an
equal participation in our economy – Address social and cultural norms that limit women’s opportunities, including unpaid work, occupational segregation and stereotypes.
• The G20 should develop and fund programs and incentives to allow
women and men to balance work with family care responsibilities.
• The G20 should advocate for gender balance in the workplace andhelp organizations to mitigate occupational segregation.
• The G20 should develop innovative initiatives that support women
working informally, or part-time, or who are self-employed.
2.2 Build the relevance and resilience of women’s skills – Promote gender
equity across business departments and functions; and provide womenin roles at higher risk of disruption with specific reskilling and training.
• The G20 should identify women in high-risk roles and work withcompanies and education institutions to reskill them for high-growth
sectors• The G20 should encourage new gender-sensitive recruitment andpromotion strategies which boost the representation of women acrossall roles and departments• The G20 should develop and fund a comprehensive, dynamic, gender-sensitive lifelong learning framework to encourage continuous
upskilling
2.3 Eradicate sexual discrimination, harassment, and gender-based violence – Work to eliminate discrimination, harassment, and violence insociety through targeted education programs and develop support mechanisms to address unethical behavior in the workplace.
• The G20 should deliver comprehensive social education campaigns
focused on reducing gender-related bias, discrimination, harassment,
and violence.
• The G20 should encourage and support employers to adopt tools togive women greater confidence in reporting unethical behavior.
• The G20 should work with internet providers, social and traditional
media and publishing companies to reduce discrimination and abuse of
women.

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Proposed KPIs
The B20 Women’s Empowerment Taskforce proposes that current and future G20 processes monitor progress on the percentage of unpaid work done
by women. Specific targets for this KPI are proposed in the Annex, with ambition for 2024. We also encourage that current and future G20 processes
monitor progress on KPPIs relating job quality between men and women.
This refers to multiple aspects of employment that contribute to the wellbeing of workers, such as earnings quality, quality of the working environment and role sustainability. More information can be found in the Annex.
SDG impacted - 5: Gender Equality - Recommendation 2 is primarily aligned to SDG5, particularly SDG 5.1 ‘End all forms of discrimation against all
women and girls everywhere’ and SDG5.2 ‘Eliminate all forms of violenceagainst all women and girls in the public and private spheres...’ and SDG5.4‘Recognize the value of unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and thepromotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as
nationally appropriate.’ and SDG5.b ‘Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote
the empowerment of women’. 4: Quality Education - And it resonates with
SDG4.4 ‘Substantially increase the number of youth and adults who haverelevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment...’ Inaddition to SDG4.5 ‘...Ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training...‘ and SDG4.7 ‘By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire theknowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development including,among others...human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity...’ 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth - IAnd it applies to SDG8.5‘Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women andmen, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay
for work of equal value’. 10: Reduced Inequalities - It also supports both
SDG10.2 to ‘Empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion
or economic or other status.’ As well as SDG10.3 ‘Ensure equal opportunity
and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory
laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation,policies
and action in this regard’ and SDG10.4 ‘Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage
and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equality’. 1:
No Poverty - Finally, there are links into SDG1.3 ‘Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable.’ As well as
SDG1.4: ‘By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor andthe vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access tobasic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property,
inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including microfinance’.
G20 Italy's priority impact - People: Recommendation 1 supports the Italian G20 Presidency priority theme of ‘People’, particualrly in the ambition
to shape a “sustainable, just, inclusive and resilient recovery” by “promoting
women’s empowerment“ and “ensuring universal access to education”. Prosperity: It also supports ‘Prosperity‘ 1 in terms of “reducing the digital divide,promoting infrastructural developments able to guarantee universal internet
access and achieving adequate and widespread digital literacy“ and “exploiting the full potential of the technological revolution to concretely improve
the living conditions of citizens all over the world, in every aspect of their lives“.
35B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Policy Action 2.1: Eliminate barriers to women’s full inclusion in theworkplacefor an equal participation in the economy
Address social and cultural norms that limit women’s opportunities, including unpaid work, occupational segregation and stereotypes.
Context and COVID-19 Impact
Across the world, women are much less likely than men to be economically active: In 2020, 47% of women participated in the labor force, comparedwith 74% of men.¹⁰⁶ And even when they participate, they tend to work in lesssecure roles for less money.
Over the years, multiple, systemic barriers have weighed on the ability of women to engage in paid employment. For instance, World Bank analysis showsthat 90 economies still restrict the types of jobs women are able to do.¹⁰⁷
This contributes to approximately 740 million women working in the informal economy who are overrepresented among domestic and home-based
workers.¹⁰⁸ Such roles tend to leave women working for lower wages without
income protection or other social protection, such as health insurance, pension or paid sick leave.¹⁰⁹
More intangible, socio-cultural norms also continue to limit opportunities
and inclusive workplaces for women. For example, deeply ingrained genderstereotypes promote women as caregiveers and men as breadwinners.¹¹⁰ A
2017 Gallup/ILO study found that 20% of men and 14% of women globally
believe it is unacceptable for women to work outside the home.¹¹¹And acrossthe European Union, care responsibilities keep approximately 7.7 million women out of the labor force, compared to just 450,000 men.¹¹²
Even for women in the workforce, these socio-cultural norms can translate
into underemployment, pay gaps, and discrimination. Prior to the pandemic,
across the OECD, one in four women were working part-time compared withjust one in ten men (see Exhibit 3 below),¹¹³ largely driven by the burden of
unpaid care work.¹¹⁴ Similarly, in Europe, 18% of women reported reducing
working hours due to childcare, compared to only 3% of employed men. In
turn, wages are also impacted, with the OECD citing a “motherhood penalty"
on women amounting to a 7%reduction in wages per child.¹¹⁵¹⁰⁶ World Bank, 2019. Labor force participation rate, female/male (% female/male population ages 15+)
¹⁰⁷ World Bank, 2020. “Women, Business and the Law 2020”; https://wbl.worldbank.org/¹⁰⁸ ILO, 2018. “Women and men in the informal economy: A statistical picture”; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/
groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_626831.pdf¹⁰⁹ UN Women. “Women in the informal economy”, https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/csw61/women-in-informaleconomy¹¹⁰ ILO, 2020. “World Employment and Social Outlook - Trends 2020“; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_734455.pdf¹¹¹ ILO & Gallup, 2017. “Towards a better future for women and work: Voices of women and men“
https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/
wcms_546256.pdf¹¹² European Institute for Gender Equity, 2021. “General inequalities in care and consequences for the labormarket”;20204948_mh0220888enn_pdf.pdf¹¹³ OECD, 2019. “OECD Employment Outlook“; https://data.oecd.org/emp/part-time-employment-rate.html¹¹⁴ 29% of female part-time workers in the EU cited care duties as the main reason for their part-time employement. European Institute for Gender Equity, 2021. “General inequalities in care and consequences for the labormarket”;20204948_mh0220888enn_pdf.pdf¹¹⁵ WEF, 2019. "An economist explains why women get paid less"; https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/03/
an-economist- explains-why-women-get-paid-less/36

B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Flexible work arrangements could help women juggle multiple committments, but research shows many fear being penalized for making use of such arrangements.
The challenge presented by the prevailing parenting paradigm and the bu
den of unpaid work has been highlighted by the experience of women during
the COVID- 19 pandemic. The “double shift“ for women juggling both unpaid
and paid work responsibilities has been dragged into the mainstream. Data
from UNWomen suggests that both women and men are doing more unpaid
work, but that the burden and intensity on women has been greater, further
entreching gender stereotypes.¹¹⁶
The burden of unpaid care on women has been compounded by the concentration of women in more vulnerable sectors and employment formats overrecent months. ILO data suggests that 5.0% of women in paid employment
lost their jobs in 2020, compared with 3.9% of men, partially driven by theoverrepresentation of women in part-time and other temporary roles.¹¹⁷ A
W20 study estimates that women’s earnings fell by 16.5% on average between March and August 2020 compared with a drop of 10.1% for men – but women in full-time employment saw a decline of just 8%, on average, comparedwith a decrease of 33% for their self-employed peers.¹¹⁸
Exhibit 4
Gender gaps in labor force
participation and part-time
employment rates

Source: 1. World Bank (2019), percentage of population aged 15+ https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.
CACT.FE.ZS; 2. OECD (2019), percentage of total employment, https://data.oecd.org/emp/part-time-employment-rate.htm¹¹⁶ UNWomen, 2020. “Whoose time to care?“; https://data.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/Whose-time-to-carebrief_0.pdf¹¹⁷ ILO, 2021. “COVID-19 and the world of work. Seventh edition“;https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@
dgreports/@dcomm/documents/briefingnote/wcms_767028.pdf¹¹⁸ W20 Saudi Arabia & Accenture, 2020. “If not now, when?”; https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF-147/
Accenture-W20-2020-Final-Report-If-Not-Now-When.pdf

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Exploration of Action Areas
Fund and develop programs and incentives to allow women and men tobalance work with family care responsibilities
Develop family-friendly policies, including incentives for men to take parental leaves
For women to thrive in the workplace, men need to take on a greater burden of childcare. As former United States Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader
Ginsburg noted, "Women will have achieved true equality when men sharewith them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation." It is therefore critical that governments develop a range of pollicies to allow women andmen to share both paid work and childcare more equally.
Comprehensive parental leave is a key first step. This should include not justadequate maternity leave, but also paternity leave to change the prevailingparenting paradigm that designates women as "caregivers" and men as "breadwinners". Moreover, research has shown that organizations which encourage maternity leave alone have a detrimental impact on women's career
progression, but those which encourage maternity and paternity leave havea positive impact.¹¹⁹
In Sweden, parents receive 480 days' parental allowance per child – but aminimum of 90 days for each parent and days can be taken until the childturns 12.¹²⁰ In the United Kingdom, Shared Parental Leave allows couples canshare up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay between them in thefirst year of the child's life.¹²¹ However, such policies need to be backed up by
campaigns to reduce the social stigma attached to men taking time off tocare for children.
Governments should also consider how to reduce the burden of other family
management responsibilities on women. For example, basic hosuehold infrastructure – such as more efficent cooking stoves and fuel, and better sanitation and running water – could free up women's time for economically
productive activities.
Provide greater access to high-quality, affordable, professional childcare
and eldercare support
Across the world, the burden of childcare and eldercare continues to fall
disproportionately on the shoulders of women. Governments must look tobuild and strengthen the provision of care infrastructure to allow women to
take a full and active role in the labor force.
Childcare is prohibitively expensive in many countries around the world.
Across the OECD, childcare costs average 17% of a women's earnings in amedian, dual-incomehousehold, rising to around a third in Ireland and Switzerland, and a half in Japan and the United Kingdom.¹²²¹¹⁹ Accenture, 2018. "When she rises, we all rise"; https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF-73/AccentureWhen-She-Rises-We-All-Rise.pdf¹²⁰ European Commission, „Sweden - Parental benefits and benefits related to childbirth“; https://ec.europa.eu/
social/main.jsp?catId=1130&intPageId=4808&langId=en¹²¹ UK Government,“Shared Parental Leave and Pay“; https://www.gov.uk/shared-parental-leave-and-pay¹²² European Commission, „Sweden - Parental benefits and benefits related to childbirth“; https://ec.europa.eu/
social/main.jsp?catId=1130&intPageId=4808&langId=en

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However, in other countries, such as Italy and Germany, net costs are close tozero as families who use public childcare centers can benefit from subsidized
fees.¹²³ In the Untied States, a new tax credit plan would cap the contributionof families earning 1.5 times their state median child-care services at 7% of
their annual income.¹²⁴
Governments could also do more to stimulate both the availablility and quality of childcare provision. For example, in Japan the government is looking
to train another 77,000 childcare workers to meet demand following the
expansion of preschool subsidies.¹²⁵ In the United States, the new tax credit
plan would raise the minimum wage for childcare workers to $15 an hour.¹²⁶
And in countries such as Saudi Arabia, governments require private-sector
employers (with a certain number of female employees) to provide on-site
childcare facilities.
The need for eldercare support is also growing as rising longevity increases
the risks and burdens associated with diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Eldercare policy differs significantly around the world. For example, UNWomen
analysis finds the share of public expenditure aligned to long-term care ranges from 2.2% in Finland and 2.1% in Japan to just 0.7% in Spain and 0.1% in
China.¹²⁷
Advocate for gender balance in the workplace and help organizations
to mitigate occupational segregation
Work with employers to mitigate occupational segregation and lower thegender pay gap
Occupational segregation weighs on women's economic opportunities andis a key contributor to the gender pay gap. Governments should work with
employers and education providers to reduce segregation between sectors,
departments and levels.
Sectors such as construction and care work have traditionally been dominated by men and women respectively; this is also true of today's high-growth sectors (see Policy Action 2.1) which limits women's opportunities
in higher-growth, higher-paying roles.At the organizational level, women also
tend to be concentrated in certain departments such as human resources, finance, and marketing. And finally, women are underrepresented at the moresenior levels (see Policy Action 3.1).
To highlight such disparities, governments should work with employers andorganizations such as the ILO to measure and track the proportion of womenby sector, department, and level. This can be supported by robust gender
gap reporting, such as that introduced by the United Kingdom in 2017 for allorganizations with 250 or more employees.¹²⁸¹²³ OECD, 2020. "Is Childcare Affordable?"; https://www.oecd.org/els/family/OECD-Is-Childcare-Affordable.pdf¹²⁴ US Government, 2021. Fact Sheet: The American Families Plan; https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/
statementsreleases/2021/04/28/fact-sheet-the-american-families-plan/¹²⁵ New York Times, 2019. "Japan desperately needs more care workers"; https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/09/
world/asia/japan-day-care.html¹²⁶ US Government, 2021. Fact Sheet: The American Families Plan; https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/
statementsreleases/2021/04/28/fact-sheet-the-american-families-plan/¹²⁷ UNWomen, 2017. "Eldsercare policies in East Asia and Europe"; https://www.unwomen.org/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2017/discussion-paper-eldercare-policies-in-east-asia-andeuropeen.pdf?la=en&vs=1127¹²⁸ UK Government. The gender pay gap data you must gather; https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-gender-paygap-data-youmust-gather#next-steps-making-your-gender-pay-gap-calculations

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTProgress could be further strengthened by providing financial incentives toorganizations which hire women in the form of grants, wage and credit subsidies and tax relief (see Policy Action 2.1).
Develop and fund campaigns which promote the benefits of gender parity,
including elevating female role models and celebrating women’s achievements
Occupational segregation also be mitigated by shifting stereotypes aroundthe types of roles women and men hold. Governments should highlight theproven benefits of diversity in decision-making and raise awareness of women's achievements, especially in non-traditional sectors and departments,using International Women's Day as an important – but non-exclusive – hook.
Public awareness initiatives can play a major role in highlighting the pervasive,
detrimental impact of gender stereotypes which drive occupational segregation. Importantly, these should address both male and female biases. Inspiration can be drawn from innovative stereotype-busting campaigns such as"This Girl Can" by Sport England, "Bet She Can" or "#banbossy".
Governments can also work with and support the efforts of business associations and networks, particularly those which focus on collective problem-solving and the amplification of achievement in male-dominated roles and sectors. Finally, governments should consider how they can support the growing
number of women in business awards¹²⁹, for example, through amplifying theachievements of the winners.
Develop innovative initiatives that support women working informally, part-time or who are self-employed
Ensure that women working in alternative models of employment havesufficient access to benefits such as pension, health insurance and paid
sick leave
Social protection plays an important role in reducing poverty and inequality. However current systems often fail to provide full, effective coverage forpeople working in alternative models of employment such as those working
part-time; for temporary, selfemployed or "gig" workers; or informal caregivers. The B20 Finance and Infrastructure Taskforce have identified gender
gaps in both insurance and pensions, for example.
Governments should therefore develop and test innovative solutions toclose coverage gaps and adapt systems to emerging forms of employment.
One key area governments can address is the application of minimum
thresholds in terms of earning, hours or time in employment which disproportionately affect part-time and contract workers. For example, in the
Netherlands, social insurance contributions work on a "per hour" basis while
part-time workers are legally entitled to the same wages, benefits and training opportunities as fulltime employees.¹³⁰¹²⁸ UK Government. The gender pay gap data you must gather; https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-gender-paygap-data-youmust-gather#next-steps-making-your-gender-pay-gap-calculations¹²⁹ International Women's Day. International Awards; https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Missions/15535/
Internationalawards-celebrate-impressive-achievements-of-women-worldwide¹³⁰ ILO, 2018. "Innovative approaches for ensuring universal social protection for the future of work"; https://www.
ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---cabinet/documents/publication/wcms_629864.pdf

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Another area of focus should be on increasing the flexibility of systems – forexample, to eliminate coverage gaps that occur when women take career
breaks, change employers or work for multiple employers. Intermediary bodies play a role here, helping to aggregate contributions across multiple employers and reduce the administrative burden on individuals. For example,
in Colombia, cooperatives enter into collective agreements with social insurance schemes, and manage key elements of the process such as negotation,
contribution and distribution.¹³¹
Finally, governments should create mimumum levels of benefits – or social
protection "floors". Areas of focus include child, family and disability benefits, pensions, and health coverage.
G20 member countries should therefore:• Fund and develop programs and incentives to allow women and men tobalancework with family care responsibilities• Advocate for gender balance in the workplace and help organizations to
mitigate occupational segregation• Develop innovative initiatives that support women working informally, orpart-time, or who are self-employed¹³¹ ILO, 2018. "Innovative approaches for ensuring universal social protection for the future of work"; https://www.
ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---cabinet/documents/publication/wcms_629864.pdf

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Policy Action 2.2: Build the relevance and resilience of women’s skills
Promote gender equity across business departments and functions; and provide women in roles at higher risk of disruption with specific reskilling andtraining.
Context and COVID-19 Impact
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been amplified across industries
in which there are high concentrations of women. Sectors such as hospitality,
tourism and retail have suffered from demand and supply pressures due tolockdown measures, limiting both the consumer demand and the ability of
employees to do their jobs.¹³²
Unfortunately, pre-existing occupational segregation (or “glass walls”) andvarying impact by industry also resulted in an unequal impact on women.
A UNWomen study found that women’s jobs are 19% more vulnerable thanthose of men, noting that 80% of domestic workers – 72% of whom are women – have lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic.¹³³ The ILO similarly reports that almost half (49%) of employed women are working in sectors witha medium or high-risk of income and job loss during the pandemic, compared with 40% of men.¹³⁴
As a result, women’s employment status, earnings and potential for future
employment have all been negatively impacted. Data from the WEF and LinkedIn suggests that some industries which employ a lot of women, such as
education and retail, have seen “notable declines of women hired into senior
management roles.”¹³⁵ Another study across six G20 countries found thatwomen have been 24% more likely to permanently lose their jobs compared
to men over the last year.¹³⁶
In addition to unequal representation across industries, women are also overrepresented in specific functions (e.g., human resources; finance and administration; and marketing and sales) and under-represented in others.¹³⁷ One
contributing factor may be inequities inherent in workplace hiring and promotion practices. For example, a high prevalence of women or men in certain
jobs influences thinking that women or men are more suitable for those roles,
respectively, which then impacts hiring¹³⁸.

¹³² World Economic Forum, 2021. “Global Gender Gap Report 2021”; https://www.weforum.org/reports/global-gender-gapreport-2021¹³³ UNWomen, 2020. “From Insight to Action: Gender Equality in the Wake of COVID-19”; https://www.unwomen.
org/en/digitallibrary/publications/2020/09/gender-equality-in-the-wake-of-covid-19¹³⁴ ILO, 2020. “A gender-responsive employment recovery: Building back fairer”; https://www.ilo.org/emppolicy/
pubs/WCMS_751785/lang--en/index.html¹³⁵ World Economic Forum, 2021. “Global Gender Gap Report 2021”; https://www.weforum.org/reports/global-gender-gapreport-2021¹³⁶ Countries included China, Italy, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. IZA Instituteof Labor Economics., October 2020. “Gender inequality during the COVID-19 pandemic: Income, expenditure, savings, and job loss“;https://www.iza.org/publications/dp/13824/gender-inequality-during-the-COVID-19-pandemic-income-expenditure-savings-andjob-loss¹³⁷ ILO, 2020. “The business case for change“;. https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_dialogue/--act_emp/documents/publication/wcms_742697.pdf¹³⁸ Riach, P. and Rich, J., 2006. “An experimental investigation of sexual discrimination in hiring in the English labor market”, Advances in Economic Analysis & Policy; https://www.researchgate.net/publication/4908229_An_
Experimental_Investigation_of_Sexual_Discrimination_in_Hiring_in_the_English_Labor_Market & https://hbr.
org/2021/02/research-to-reduce-gender-bias-in-hiring-make-your-shortlist-longer

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Studies have shown, for instance, how women are more likely to be recruited
for secretarial positions, and men are more likely to be hired for STEM roles,
despite identical resumes.¹³⁹,¹⁴⁰
These gender gaps underscore the need to build the relevance and resilienceof women’s skills. A recent WEF study found that 50% of all employees willneed reskilling by 2025 – but that the vast majority of business leaders (94%)
expect workers to upskill "on the job".¹⁴¹ Organizations that actively align theskillsets of female workers with high-demand areas – such as digital and technical skills – will not only "future-proof" their careers, but should also beable build more equitable departments, functions, and industries.
Exhibit 5
Gender distribution acrossworkforce sectors in the G20

Note: The ISIC Rev. 4 sectors covered are: Retail trade (45 & 47), Accommodation and food services (I), Arts, entertainment and recreation (R) and Other services (S, T, U & V)
Source: ILO & OECD, 2020. https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---cabinet/documents/
publication/wcms_756334.pdf¹³⁹ Riach, P. and Rich, J., 2006. “An experimental investigation of sexual discrimination in hiring in the English labor market”,Advances in Economic Analysis & Policy; https://www.researchgate.net/publication/4908229_An_
Experimental_Investigation_of_Sexual_Discrimination_in_Hiring_in_the_English_Labor_Market & https://hbr.
org/2021/02/research-to-reduce-gender-bias-in-hiring-make-your-shortlist-longer¹⁴⁰ Yakowicz, W., 2014. “How to Remove Gender Bias From the Hiring Process“; https://www.inc.com/will-yakowicz/how-to-helpend-gender-bias-while-hiring.html¹⁴¹ World Economic Forum, 2020. “Future of Jobs Report”; http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_
Jobs_2020.pdf

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Exploration of Action Areas
Identify women in high-risk roles and work with companies and education institutions to reskill them for high-growth sectors
Work collaboratively with ecosystem partners to identify best practices
in reskilling women for the future
Research shows that women are often prevented from accessing the skillingand vocational programs offered by businesses, government, and NGOs bycare obligations, distance, and time pressures.¹⁴² As noted by the ILO: "Helping low-skilled women participate in the labor market would appear to bea key policy challenge in virtually all G20 economies."¹⁴³ Ensuring that women
upskill in areas that open up avenues to stable and higher-income jobs not
only increases the incentive to participate in the labor maket, but also ensures the supply of workers with skills aligned with companies' emerging needs.
Uniting ecosystem partners to work together on the issue of reskilling women holds the promise not only of advancing best practices, but also publicly committing to change. Such partnerships are critical to "future-proofing"
women’s careers and to changing the current occupational and functions segregation that exists. Efforts start with targeting children in school, and continue with a focus on women who are already part of, or who are looking to
re-integrate into, the workforce.
For example, the Scottish government is aiming to reduce gender-based
occupational segregation with its "Be what you want' campaign". The campaign targets 11-14 yearold students in Scottish schools and tries to support
their career aspirations while highlighting the barriers that boys and girls
face when trying to enter non-traditional areas of work.¹⁴⁴ And the European Commission’s Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition brings together member
states, companies and other organizations to pledge to take action to help
close the digital skills gap. Each year, the best capacity building initiatives for
women and girls are recognized through the European Digital Skills Awards,
which helps to spotlight innovative models that groups can learn from.¹⁴⁵
Develop fiscal policy that supports companies to double down on reskilling investments that focus on women
Financing mechanisms are an important policy tool to drive women’s participation in skilling and training programs, as well as improve women’s skillalignment to emerging business needs. Many G20 member states have usedsubsidies, tax incentives, and subsidized loans to boost training and development. Policies and incentives aimed at at institutions, employers, or individuals could target the in-demand skills women need to access sectors inwhich they are under-represented.¹⁴⁶¹⁴² Cho, Yoonyoung, et al., 2013. “Gender differences in the effects of vocational training: Constraints on womenand drop-out behavior.“ The World Bank; https://gap.hks.harvard.edu/gender-differences-effects-vocational-training-constraints-women-and- drop-out-behavior¹⁴³ OECD, 2019. “Women at work in G20 counrties“; https://www.oecd.org/g20/summits/osaka/G20-Womenat-Work.pdf¹⁴⁴ World Economic Forum, 2017. “Accelerating gender parity in the fourth industrial revolution“;
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_EGW_White_Paper_Gender_Parity_4IR.pdf¹⁴⁵ European Commission. Digital skills and jobs coalition; https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/digital-skills-coalition¹⁴⁶ ILO, 2018. “Financing life-long learning for the future of work“; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/--- inst/documents/publication/wcms_646046.pdf

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Brazil, for instance, taxes companies to provide training. The training levy is
managed by a private sector non-profit organization to ensure the strongalignment of skills with private sector needs.¹⁴⁷ In New Zealand, through the
Aotearoa New Zealand Skills Pledge, some of the country’s largest employers
have committed to publishing how much they spend on training and double
the number of training hours per employee by 2025.¹⁴⁸ And in Germany, individuals without a college degree, or those who have spent at least four years
in a job unrelated to their initial training, may receive government funds to retrain in an area with strong labor market demand.¹⁴⁹ Tailoring such incentives
to focus explicity on women could help to eliminate occupational segregationand set up women to compete on a level playing field in the labor market.
Bring together education providers, government and business to strengthen the indemand skills profile of women
Governments should bring together key stakeholders to develop a common
vision around how to align women's skills with the needs of the modern world. This should outline how to develop gender-responsive skills development
strategies and ensure that vocational training is aligned with market demand.
The first step is to conduct market assessments across high-growth sectors
to provide information on which skills are in high demand and to forecast theneeds and number of new entrants that a given sector can accommodate.
The second step is to understand the skills profile of roles in these sectors
and to develop an associated training and development program for women
looking to switch.
Collaborating with ecosystem partners can also help to determine which interventions to focus on and provide women with the information they need topursue such opportunities, including the type of reskilling programs that canbest support their ambitions. One example is the recent focus on apprenticeships for women. In 2016, the G20 adopted the "Initiative to Promote Quality
Apprenticeship" which acknowledged that "apprenticeship has proven to be
an increasingly useful method to deliver vocational training globally."¹⁵⁰
Encourage new gender-sensitive recruitment and promotion strategies which boost the representation of women across all roles and departments
Promote strategies and best practices to increase the recruitment andpromotion of women within sectors with low female representation
Companies have a number of options available to them to attract more female candidates and achieve greater gender balance in areas where women are
underrepresented. Specifically, reducing discrimination during both recruiting and promotion processes is vital, as they are critical avenues for achieving
equal representation of women across different sectors and functions in theworkforce. Research has shown that unconscious bias can negatively impact
women’s opportunities to get hired, receive equal pay offers and get promoted. Implementing processes that mitigate such bias, is therefore essential.
¹⁴⁷ Costin, C. 2015. “Insights from Brazil for skills development in rapidly transforming African countries,“ TheWorld Bank; https://blogs.worldbank.org/education/insights-brazil-skills-development-rapidly-transforming-african-countries¹⁴⁸ Ardern, Rt Hon. Jacinda, 2019. “Boost for employee skills and training“; https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/boost- employee-skills-and-training¹⁴⁹ f ILO, 2018. “Financing life-long learning for the future of work“; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/--- inst/documents/publication/wcms_646046.pdf¹⁵⁰ G20 Research Group, 2016. “Innovation and inclusive growth: decent work, enhanced employability and adequate job opportunities“; http://www.g20.utoronto.ca/2016/160713-labour.html

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTIn terms of recruiment, a number of approaches – such as mandatory unconscious bias training for hiring managers, blind applications that remove
personal information, tracking acceptance ratings by hiring managemers tocheck for bias, and even affirmative action to reduce gender imbalances in
specific departments – can be employed. Companies and government alsoneed to be sensitive to how recruitment screeners and artifical intelligence(AI) algorithms may discriminate against female applicants. For instance,some companies may screen out women who have taken time out from work
to care for children or elderly family. Without proper supervsion, AI could
also target job advertisements specfically at men over women or rank maleapplicants more highly as a result of cumulative bias contained in the historical or training data.¹⁵¹
Once women are hired, targeted retention strategies can help to maintainstrong female representation across roles and departments. Role-specificmentoring and sponsorship programs, gender-equal rates of promotion andadvancement, flexible work arrangements, and "equality ambassadors" whohelp create a more inclusive workplace culture can all increase the likelihoodof a woman staying in a role.¹⁵², ¹⁵³ These initiatives should be supported by
the collection of sex-disaggregated data on hiring, retention and progression
to help organizations understand what works at the individual, organizatonal
and sectoral level.
Work with organizations to develop incentives for units and managers
that achieve gender parity, with a particular focus on women in seniorleadership who can become key role models
Incentives for achieving gender parity at the sectoral and organizational levelshould also be considered. At the sectoral level, funding mechanism or tax
relief measures could be used to influence organizations’ efforts at meeting
specific gender targets. For instance, the Canadian government has recently
created financial incentives for university research departments in life sciences; specifically, research funding criteria now includes minimum gender representation requirements.¹⁵⁴ At the organizational level, HR managers, corporate leaders and department heads can be provided with incentives suchas bonuses, promotions or a percentage of their total compensation tied toachieving specific gender targets and retaining women at a specific level within their organizations.
Develop and fund a comprehensive, dynamic, gender-sensitive lifelong learning framework to encourage continuous upskilling
Identify key attrition points in the work lifecycle of women and design relevant interventions, with a focus on helping mothers return to the workforce after time out
A significant proportion o f women drop out of the workforce after having
children, which contributes to a decline in gender diversity at more seniorlevels in business. Designing effective interventions that can help women get
past key attrition points is critical.

¹⁵¹ Catalyst Research, 2020. “AI and equitable hiring in a post-pandemic world (trend brief)“; https://www.catalyst.
org/research/ai-equitable-hiring-trend-brief/¹⁵² Ibarra, H., 2019. “A lack of sponsorship is keeping women from advacing into leadership,“ Harvard Business
Review; https://hbr.org/2019/08/a-lack-of-sponsorship-is-keeping-women-from-advancing-into-leadership¹⁵³ OCED, 2020. “Policies and practices to promote women in leadership roles in the private sector“; https://www.
oecd.org/corporate/OECD-G20-EMPOWER-Women-Leadership.pdf154 World Economic Forum, 2017. “Accelerating gender parity in the fourth industrial revolution“; http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_EGW_White_Paper_Gender_Parity_4IR.pdf

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTSupport for effective interventions can come from either the government or
the private sector. For example, Singapore’s nationwide SkillsFuture programprovides all citizens with the resources they need to develop and advancetheir skills at different stages in their lives. To further motivate Singaporeansto take an active approach for their own skills development and to inculcate
a lifelong learning mindset, all citizens aged 25 and above receive a creditof S$500 for the purpose of reskilling and/or upskilling.¹⁵⁵ Additional one-off
top-ups were also made available to aid Singaporeans who were affected by
the COVID-19 pandemic.
Private companies are also making inroads. For example, in Japan, 1,000
businesses announced that they would provide digital training to 10 million
people by 2022. This includes "Women Will", an initiative inspired by studies
that showed two out of three women in Japan did not return to work after
having children. The program helps new mothers return to the workforce byleveraging technology, such as internet-enabled tools, to allow them to better juggle personal and professional committments.¹⁵⁶
Identify avenues to finance lifelong learning opportunities for women
Significant funding is required to extend lifelong learning opportunities towomen. There are a range of financial mechanisms to achieve this. For example, employer training or Corporate Social Responsibility levies to increase
the amount of funds available for education and training could be introduced. The use of social and development impact bonds, global solidarity levies
to increase investment and the specific realignment of government revenues
are other avenues that could be explored.
For example, Australia’s 2021-22 budget committed over AUS$42M to cofund scholarships in partnership with industry for over 230 women to pursue higher STEM qualifications.¹⁵⁷ In Ireland, "Women ReBOOT", an enterprise-led initiative cofunded and supported by Skillnet Ireland, helps women todevelop skills to reenter the technology sector after a career break. The program includes group seminars, technology and knowledge training, individual
coaching and in-company work placements.¹⁵⁸
Similarly, WomEng is a social enterprise that aims to develop the next generation of women engineering leaders in society. It works to actively promote STEM education; support skills development, employability and entrepreneurship; and provide mentoring. WomEng works to attract, retain anddevelop women in the engineering pipeline through every stage of development, from primary school through to professional workers.¹⁵⁹¹⁵⁵ SkillsFuture; https://www.skillsfuture.gov.sg/credit¹⁵⁶ Tsusaka, M, 2020. “The reskilling revolution can transform the future of work for women,“ The World economic
Forum; https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/women-reskilling-revolution-future-of-work/¹⁵⁷ Women in STEM Ambassador, 2021. “Budget 2021-22: Women in STEM Ambassador welcomes funding to support gender equity in STEM“; https://womeninstem.org.au/latest-news/budget-2021-22-women-in-stem/¹⁵⁸ OECD, 2020.OECD economic surveys:: thailand 2020: economic assessment; https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/
sites/36a174fd- en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/36a174fd-en¹⁵⁹ World Economic Forum, 2017. “Accelerating gender parity in the fourth industrial revolution“;
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_EGW_White_Paper_Gender_Parity_4IR.pdf

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G20 member countries should therefore:• The G20 should identify women in high-risk roles and work with companies and education institutions to reskill them for high-growth sectors• The G20 should encourage new gender-sensitive recruitment and promotion strategies which boost the representation of women across all rolesand departments• The G20 should develop and fund a comprehensive, dynamic, gender-sensitive lifelong learning framework to encourage continuous upskilling48

B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Policy Action 2.3: Eradicate sexual discrimination, harassment, andgender- based violenceWork to eliminate discrimination, harassment, and violence in society through targeted education programs and develop support mechanisms to address unethical behavior in the workplace.
Context and COVID-19 Impact
Gender-based discrimination, harassment and violence remains pervasive across the world. The WHO estimates that 30% of women globally are
subjected to physical or sexual violence in their lifetimes, a figure which has
remained stable over the past decade.¹⁶⁰ A 2014 study in the European Union,found that 55% of women had faced sexual harassment since the age of 15,
and 21% over the previous 12 months.¹⁶¹ Four years later, the average for Europe was estimated at 59%.¹⁶²
This behavior spills over from society into the workplace. A W20-Accenture
survey found that almost one in three women experience sexual harassmenton the job at least “sometimes”; and more than one in seven say they experience such behavior “regularly".¹⁶³ This can severely limit women’s economic
opportunities. Not only does such behavior negatively impact physical andmental health, but it also weighs on pay and career progression; reinforces
occupational segregation;¹⁶⁴ and can sometimes lead women to prematurely
exit the labor force. Accordingly, experiencing harassment in the workplaceoften negatively impacts women’s long-term professional success and financial well-being.¹⁶⁵ It also imposes costs on both society and organizations, forexample through lost productivity, settlements and medical care.¹⁶⁶
However, many countries still do not afford women legal protection in theworkplace against discrimination and harassment. A World Bank analysis of
employment laws around the world finds that 31 countries do not prohibit
discrimination based on gender; 48 have no legislation on sexual harassment;
and 56 have no criminal penalties or civil remedies for sexual harassment. ¹⁶⁷
Tellingly, the report finds that “economies where women face less discrimination under the law, greater progress has been made in closing the gender gap
in [economic] outcomes.”¹⁶⁸¹⁶⁰ 60 WHO, 2021. “Devastatingly pervasive: 1 in 3 women globally experience violence”; https://www.who.int/
news/item/09-03- 2021-devastatingly-pervasive-1-in-3-women-globally-experience-violence¹⁶¹ European Agency for Fundamental Rights, 2014. “Violence against women: an EU-wide survey”; https://fra.
europa.eu/en/publication/2014/violence-against-women-eu-wide-survey-main-results-report¹⁶² Ipsos, 2018. “Perils of Perception”; https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2018- 12/perils_of_perception_2018_charts_v1_final_041218_1.pdf¹⁶³ W20 Saudi Arabia & Accenture, 2020. “If not now, when?”; https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF-147/
Accenture-W20- 2020-Final-Report-If-Not-Now-When.pdf - 7,000 adults wer surveyed online in Brazil, India,
Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
¹⁶⁴ ILO, 2019. “Sexual harassment in the world of work“; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/--- gender/documents/briefingnote/wcms_738115.pdf¹⁶⁵ ILO, 2018. “Women and men in the informal economy: A statistical picture”; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/
groups/public/--- dgreports/---dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_626831.pdf¹⁶⁶ ILO, 2019. “Sexual harassment in the world of work“; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/--- gender/documents/briefingnote/wcms_738115.pdf¹⁶⁷ World Bank, 2021. “Women, Business and the Law 2021”; https://wbl.worldbank.org/¹⁶⁸ World Bank, 2021. “Women, Business and the Law 2021”; https://wbl.worldbank.org/

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTCOVID-19 has served to exacerbate some of these challenges. Strict "shelter-in-place" measures have not only raised tensions in households but also
restricted the ability of women to access support services. Early in the pandemic, the United Nations reported that gender-based violence was increasing“exponentially”,¹⁶⁹ with reports of domestic violence rising rapidly in many
countries.¹⁷⁰ Moreover, travel restrictions and difficulties in interviewing women confidentially have made collecting data even harder.¹⁷¹
An increase in time spent online as a result of confinement is also a concern,
given the opportunities for abusers to hide behind distance and anonymity. Before COVID-19, 52% of young women and girls surveyed by the World
Wide Web Foundation said they had ever experienced online abuse such as
threatening messages.¹⁷² Data is sparse, but since the start of the pandemic,
the situation for women online appears to have further deteriorated. In the
United Kingdom, 46% of women reported experiencing online abuse, mostly
from strangers.¹⁷³ And in Saudi Arabia, there was a 163% increase in online
searches around sexual assaults in 2020 compared with 2019.¹⁷⁴
Exhibit 6
Women who experience sexual
harassment while doing their job(% at least “sometimes”)

Note: N=4813 women adults surveyed online in August 2020; Q: “How often, if at all, do you experience sexual
harassment while doing your job?“; 5pt scale from Always to Never; Harassment defined as conduct which annoys,
threatens, intimidates, alarms, or puts a person in fear of their safety (e.g., unwanted sexual advances, obscene
remarks).
Source: W20 Saudi Arabia & Accenture, 2020. “If not now, when?”; https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF147/Accenture-W20-2020-Final-Report-If-Not-Now-When.pdf¹⁶⁹ UN, 2020. “The Impact of COVID-19 on Women“; https://www.un.org/sexualviolenceinconflict/wp- content/
uploads/2020/06/report/policy-brief-the-impact-of-COVID-19-on-women/policy-brief-the-impact-of-COVID-19-on-women- en-1.pdf¹⁷⁰ UNWomen. 2020. “From Insight to Action: Gender Equality in the Wake of COVID-19”; https://www.unwomen.org/- /media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2020/gender-equality-inthe-wake-of-COVID-19- en.pdf?la=en&vs=5142¹⁷¹ Devex, 2020. “Has it become too dangerous to measure violence against women?”; https://www.devex.com/
news/has-it- become-too-dangerous-to-measure-violence-against-women-97112¹⁷² World Wide Web Foundation, 2020. “There’s a pandemic of online violence against women and girls”; https://
webfoundation.org/2020/07/theres-a-pandemic-of-online-violence-against-women-and-girls/¹⁷³ End Violence Against Women, 2020. “Online abuse during Covid”; https://www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.
uk/online- abuse-during-covid-almost-half-of-women-have-experienced-online-abuse-during-pandemic/¹⁷⁴ W20 Saudi Arabia & Accenture, 2020. “If not now, when?”; https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF-147/
Accenture- W20-2020-Final-Report-If-Not-Now-When.pdf

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Exploration of Action Areas
Deliver comprehensive social education campaigns focused on reducing gender-related bias, discrimination, harassment and violence
Launch high-profile campaigns to eliminate gender-based harassment
and harmful gender stereotypes in societyHigh profile campaigns against gender-related harassment and violence can
not only help to raise awareness about the problem, but also, can inspire
action and promote the adoption of new legislation. Violence and harassment
are addressed in a range of laws, including those on equal opportunities andnondiscrimination, labor codes, and criminal laws, among others. However,
not all types of violence and harassment, or all workers, may be covered. An
80-country ILO study, found that 27% of countries do not define or only vaguely define violence and harassment, and 6% only cover physical conduct,thus excluding pervasive forms of psychological violence and harassment.¹⁷⁵
Encouragingly, recent active global movements against violence and harassment have succeeded in raising awareness of the pervasiveness of sexual
harassment against women and influencing governments and the criminal
justice system to re-examine the way that such incidents are addressed. The
influence of the "#MeToo" movement, for instance, can be seen in advancing legislation which protects women across multiple global jurisdictions. In
France, the movement inspired the minister for gender equality to write a
new bill on sexual harassment which extends the statue of limitations for sex
crimes, creates new sanctions for cyberstalking and imposes fines for street
harassment.¹⁷⁶ Similarly, in Japan, an online petition inspired by the movement, prompted an advisory board of the labor ministry to convene public
discussions on harassment in the workplace, resulting in the ministry committing to submitting legilsation to address the issue.¹⁷⁷
At the global level, the ILO adopted a new convention on violence and harassment in 2019. Governments that ratify the treaty are required to develop
national laws prohibiting workplace violence and take preventive measures,such as information campaigns and requiring companies to have workplacepolicies on violence in the workplace. They are also required to take measures
to protect workers from violence and harassment, with a focus on women.
Prior to this treaty, there was no international standard for addressing violence and harassment in the world of work.¹⁷⁸
As legislation slowly changes, businesses have a strong role to play in continuing the fight against gender-based harassment and harmful gender stereotypes.

¹⁷⁵ ILO, 2019. “A quantum leap for gender equality: For a better future of work for all”; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_674831.pdf¹⁷⁶ Time, 2018. “France's Gender Equality Minister Has Already Cracked Down on Catcalling and Online Abuse.”;https://time.com/5358798/marlene-schiappa-interview-harassment/¹⁷⁷ Stone, M. And Vogelstein, R., 2019. “Celebrating #MeToo’s global impact”, Foreign Policy; https://foreignpolicy.
com/2019/03/07/metooglobalimpactinternationalwomens-day/¹⁷⁸ ILO, 2019. “ILO: New treaty to protect workers from violence, harassment”; https://www.hrw.org/
news/2019/06/21/ilo-new- treaty-protect-workers-violence-harassment

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As lockdowns led to increased levels of domestic, sexual and gender-based
violence, and cyber violence, like online stalking and abuse, has intensified
over the last year,¹⁷⁹ companies can take swift action—often more swift thangovernment—to help turn the tide back on these rising numbers. Indeed, there is great need for safe access to support services and emergency measures,
including legal assistance, judicial remedies, and medical and psychologicalsupport for women who have suffered such harassment.¹⁸⁰ Similarly, the needremains for business leaders to send repeated signals to workers, consumers
and stakeholders that there is no place for such harassment within their workplaces.
Work with schools, community groups and other organizations to reimagine sex education curricula, and to provide a platform for dialogue
about sexual harassment and violence
The link between childhood experience and future cognitive, emotional, physical and social development is well established. Comprehensive sexuality
education (CSE) aims to equip both girls and boys with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values to help them develop respectful relationships which
they bring with them into the workplace.¹⁸¹ Done well, it can provide individuals with insights into gender and power dynamics in intimate relationships,
including issues such as consent, coercion, and violence. Moreover, it can help
to counter cultural stereotypes about masculinity and the sexual potrayal ofwomen and it can also assist victims in breaking their silence on sexual harassment and violence. A UNICEF report found that violence is the second
leading cause of death among adolescent girls globally.¹⁸²
Nevertheless, there is great inconsistency in terms of how CSE is provided
across states and countries around the world, and in some instances, opposition to CSE persists. Fortunately, a plethora of research now exists that demonstrates the benefits of comprehensive CSE on reducing teenage pregancies, and incidence of STIs and HIV. High-quality CSE has also been linked topositive impacts on power dynamics in intimate relationships.
Leaders worldwide should support evidence-based education about sexuality and relationships that is provided continuously over time. In addition, theyneed to do so together in partnership with schools, univeristies, the healthcommunity, and other community organizations. Such collaborations havebeen shown to be more impactful than siloed, and independent programs.¹⁸³
Strengthening CSE provision should be consolidated with tackling genderstereotypes in the classroom. This includes providing gender sensitive teaching materials – which offer a range of role models and do not perpetuate gender stereotypes – and training teachers to discuss and challenge suchstereotypes (see also Policy Action 1.2).

¹⁷⁹ UNWomen, 2020. “From insights to action”; gender-equality-in-the-wake-of-COVID-19-en.pdf (unwomen.org)¹⁸⁰ Bhargava R., and Bhargava, Dr. M., 2021. “COVID-19 has been a setback for women. Gender-responsive policies
can stem the losses,” The World economic Forum; https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/04/women-mustnot-be-left-behind-in-the-fight- against-COVID-19-india¹⁸¹ UNESCO, 2018. “Why comprehensive sexuality education is important”; https://en.unesco.org/news/why-comprehensive- sexuality-education-important¹⁸² UNICEF, 2014. “A statistical snapshot of violence against adolescent girls”; https://data.unicef.org/resources/
statistical- snapshot-violence-adolescent-girls/¹⁸³ UNESCO, 2018. “Why comprehensive sexuality education is important”; https://en.unesco.org/news/why-comprehensive- sexuality-education-important52

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Make the business case clear to companies to eradicate sexual harassment and violence from the workplace
Companies stand to lose when sexual violence and harassment are not adequately addressed, and yet hundreds of companies across the globe continue
to forge ahead in business with either no policy or a sub-optimal policies on
this issue. Evidence shows that violence and harassment is associated withincreased absenteeism and turnover. A recent study found that for each employee who is sexually harassed, a company loses US$22,500 in productivity,
on average.¹⁸⁴ And this figure does not include the high cost of litigation or thecost of reputational damage.¹⁸⁵
Ensuring that businesses are aware of the business case is critical to achieving
adoption of more stringent policies to thwart such behavior in the workplace. Governments, along with local NGOs, industry groups and business coalitions should therefore work together to ensure that such messaging is being
communicated to all levels of enterprises—big and small—in conjunction withguidance for organizations to update their policies in this area.
Encourage and support employers to adopt a comprehensive and effective workplace policy on violence and harassment tools
Work with organizations to upgrade relevant corporate training from
optional to compulsory, and from passive to interactive, and to help employees to identify unprofessional behaviors in the workplace
According to an ILO report, "unfair treatment" – which includes abuse, harassment and discrimination – is among the top three challenges facing working women, especially young women between the ages of 15 and 29.¹⁸⁶ Withstatistics such as these, it is clear that more training needs to be done acrossworkplaces on how to identify, prevent and eliminate sexual harassment
at work. Training is important to ensure both a common understanding ofwhat constitutes violence and harassment, and that employees are aware ofactions to address and prevent such issues. As part of the training, companies
must ensure that there is utmost clarity on the consequences for individuals
who perpetrate harassment as well as the resources available to those who
experience it, including reporting and support mechanisms.
Research shows that single-use training is insufficient and that indeed, frequent, in-person, interactive training is most impactful, especially, whencustomized for a select group of employees. Additionally, multiple types oftraining over time can help to advance employee sensitivity to these topics.
Unconscious bias training, bystander intervention training, and diversity training, for instance, can be offered to employees through a blend of group training sessions, gamification and events-based training. Employee feedback as
well as benchmarketing the impact of such training, should be undertaken toevaluate and monitor effectiveness at both corporate and industry levels.

¹⁸⁴ Hart,C., Crossley, AD., and Correll, SJ., 2018. “Study: when leaders take sexual harassment seriously, so do employees,” Harvard Business Review; https://hbr.org/2018/12/study-when-leaders-take-sexual-harassment-seriously-so-do-employees¹⁸⁵ ILO and UNWomen, 2020. “Empowering women at work”; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/--ed_emp/---emp_ent/-- -multi/documents/publication/wcms_756721.pdf

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTEmpower organizations to develop a culture of inclusivity and diversity inwhich employees are guaranteed both physical and psychological safety
Encouraging leaders to publicly commit to an organizational culture of zero-tolerance can help to drive change across organizations and more broadly, across the workplace at large. Organizational culture is one of the leading
contributing factors to sexual harassment in the workplace. When leaderstake a stand against sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace,it has a ripple effect across its leadership team and downstream across theorganization. Leaders should communicate strongly and frequently on theissue, but also, highlight the action that they are taking to build physical andpsychological safety for all women within their organization. Accountability
measures across all levels of leadership and nurturing a culture of inclusivity are paramount. Commitment to the issue through support of public legislation or through membership of business coalitions that work to eradicate
harassment and violence from the world of work also send clear messages to
employees about the stance that their organization takes on the issue.
Unsurprisingly, under-representation of women in an occupation or industry
is associated with increased risk of sexual harassment. Male-dominated andhierarchical workplace cultures as well as female-dominated functional roles
that are viewed as subservient tend to increase risk. Therefore, leadershipcommitment to diversifying their workforce across occupations, functions
and levels is also important for tackling this issue.¹⁸⁷
Develop a framework to help organizations manage unprofessional behaviors in the workplace, with a clear focus on consequences and non-retaliation
In order to adequately address harassment and violence in the workplace, organizations are encouraged to have a framework that can guide their actions.
Fortunately, many international bodies, such as the ILO, have developed suchmodels.
Frameworks often include leadership’s commitment to zero-tolerance forviolence and harassment in the workplace; the establishment of prevention
programs with measurable KPIs; the identification of the rights and responsibilities of workers and the employer, including the right to privacy and confidentiality; establishing complaint and investigation procedures; and processes to protect complainants, victims, and witnesses against retaliation.
More recently, some frameworks have come to include measures to address
domestic violence and extend support to victims within their workforce. This
includes actions such as providing leave or flexible work arrangements forvictims, providing temporary protection against dismissal, and connecting
them with support services, counselling and emergency health services.¹⁸⁸, ¹⁸⁹
They should also consider how the intersectionality of gender with othercharacteristics such as ethnicity, race, disability and sexual orientation could
heighten women's vulnerability.
¹⁸⁶ ILO, 2019. “A quantum leap for gender equality: For a better future of work for all”; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_674831.pdf¹⁸⁷ ILO and UNWomen, 2020. “Empowering women at work”; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/--ed_emp/---emp_ent/-- -multi/documents/publication/wcms_756721.pdf¹⁸⁸ UNWomen, 2019. “Handbook: Addressing violence and harassment against women in the world of work”;
https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2019/addressing-violence-and- harassment-against-women-in-the-world-of-work-en.pdf?la=en&vs=4050¹⁸⁹ ILO and UNWomen, 2020. “Empowering women at work”; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/--ed_emp/---emp_ent/- --multi/documents/publication/wcms_756721.pdf

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The framework and policies which organizations adopt should instill confidence and trust and should be reflected in broader organizational policies
as well, such as codes of conduct and equality policies. Providing clear information about the complaints process and consequences for offenders, ensuring anonymity of reporting and protecting against retaliation can all help toachieve this. To encourage reporting and compliance, swift speed of enforcement mechanisms, the burden of proof and sufficiency of redress should also
be given very careful consideration.¹⁹⁰
Work with internet providers, social and traditional media and publishing companies to reduce the discrimination and abuse of womenDevelop collection and reporting mechanisms to properly measure andtrack sex-disaggregated incidence of abuse
Reliable gender-disaggregated data is essential to designing policies and monitoring outcomes to establish a clear view of how women may be experiencing harassment online. They are also critical to understanding the effectiveness of specific policies on mitigating sexual harassment on the internet.
However, information gaps in data collection on this topic are commonplace.
Currently, only 45% of the data needed to measure violence against womenand girls is available¹⁹¹ with investment in gender statistics largely flat overthe past decade. And data on cyber violence against women and girls is evenmore scarce, in part because the phenomenon is not criminalized in many
jurisdictions.
Member states should make the collection of sex-disaggregated data a priority in order to understand the extent of cyber violence against girls andwomen, as well as the contexts in which it occurs and the responses that are
taken. Increased investment is needed to do so. However, clear processes forcollecting such data must also be developed and organizations must work
closely together with ecosystem partners to use insights from such data to
inform policy both at the organizational and state level to drive real change.
Measure and track incidence of online abuse and work with internet providers and social media to identify and take appropriate action against
perpetrators of online abuse
The WHO estimates that that one in ten women over the age of 15 have experienced a form of cyber violence.¹⁹² Sadly, as the internet became a lifeline formany to connect to both work and the outside world during the pandemic,
cyber violence increased. UNWomen, for instance, reports that in Australia,
online abuse and bullying increased by 50% since social distancing began.¹⁹³
Cyber violence can manifest in different forms, including cyber stalking, gender-based slurs and harassment, and non-consensual ("revenge porn") or unsolicited pornography.

¹⁹⁰ ILO and UNWomen, 2020. “Empowering women at work”; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/--ed_emp/---emp_ent/- --multi/documents/publication/wcms_756721.pdf¹⁹¹ UNWomen, 2020. “From insights to action”; gender-equality-in-the-wake-of-COVID-19-en.pdf (unwomen.
org) 192 European Institute for Gender Equality. “Cyber violence against women”; https://eige.europa.eu/gender-based- violence/cyber-violence-against-women¹⁹³ UNWomen, 2020. “From insights to action”; gender-equality-in-the-wake-of-COVID-19-en.pdf (unwomen.org)

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTAs it is a relatively new phenomenon, legislation against cyber violence is largely absent in most jurisdictions, though several G20 countries – includingFrance, Germany and the UK – recently adopted legislation to address specific aspects of cyber violence. In the UK, for example, sharing private sexualphotographs without the subject’s consent became a criminal offense withmaximum two years' imprisonment. Within 18 months of its introduction,
more than 200 people had been prosecuted.¹⁹⁴
Governments must do more to criminalize cyber violence and formulate
policy to minimize its growth. In addition to legislation, government should
work with leading companies in the ICT sector, including social media companies, to introduce standards and regulations that can prevent online harassment, online threats, and the spreading of video and imagery that associates sex with violence. As hybrid work models accelerate and more womenfind themselves online in a digital economy, ensuring that they are safe fromharm in an online world should be an increasingly important focal point for
both businesses and governments alike.
Develop and implement gender-sensitive ethical guidelines for media
and publishing sector to eradicate gender stereotypes
The portrayal of women in publishing, entertainment and the media often
serves to perpetuate gender stereotypes. The Beijing Platform for Action¹⁹⁵ called for an increase of women in decision-making positions and for thecontent produced by relevant organizations to do more to present women as
leaders and role models.
A good example is "50:50 The Equality Project", started in 2017 by the British
Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) as a way to increase female representation
on news programs.¹⁹⁶ A number of other media organizations have adopted
the methodology – which covers data collection, setting parameters of control
and not compromising on quality – including ABC News (Australia), Deutsche
Welle (Germany), Folha de Sao Paulo (Brazil) and La Nacion (Argentina).¹⁹⁷
Governments should also work with the publishing sector to remove genderstereotypes in both educational (see Policy Action 2.1) and other books andmaterials they create. The "Let Books be Books" campaign has called on publishers to avoid labelling titles as either "for boys" or "for girls".¹⁹⁸
G20 member countries should therefore:• Deliver comprehensive social education campaigns focused on reducing
gender-related bias, discrimination, harassment and violence• Encourage and support employers to adopt tools to give women greater
confidence in reporting unethical behavior• Work with internet providers, social and traditional media and publishingcompanies to reduce the discrimination and abuse of women¹⁹⁴ European Institute for Gender Equality. “Cyber violence against women”; https://eige.europa.eu/gender-basedviolence/cyber-violence-against-women¹⁹⁵ United Nations, 1995. “Report of the fourth world conference on women”; https://beijing20.unwomen.org/~/
media/field%20office%20beijing%20plus/attachments/beijingdeclarationandplatformforaction-en.pdf#page=104¹⁹⁶ BBC. “50:50 The equality projct“; https://www.bbc.co.uk/5050¹⁹⁷ BBC. “50:50 The equality projct“; https://www.bbc.co.uk/5050¹⁹⁸ Let Toys Be Toys; https://www.lettoysbetoys.org.uk/about/letbooksbebooks/

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Recommendation 3: Grow: Smooth the road for
women into business leadership and ownership
The G20 should mitigagte the barriers that limit the ability of women to advance, lead and start businesses.
Policy Actions
3.1 Target gender parity in senior decision-making positions – Advocate
for and eliminate barriers to women reaching senior decision-making
positions, with a focus on comprehensive collection of sex-disaggregated data.
• The G20 should develop and fund comprehensive programs to eliminate regulatory, legislative, and socio-cultural barriers to women’s career progression• The G20 should develop incentive schemes for organizations that
achieve gender parity in decision-making positions or within their supply
chain• The G20 should bring together all relevant parties to set ambitious
national goals for gender representation in senior decision-making positions and measure and report on progress against those goals over time
3.2 Enhance the entrepreneurial potential of women – Build the aspirations and capacity of female entrepreneurs and actively support the starting, financing, scaling, and sustainability of women-owned businesses.
• The G20 should improve women’s access to credit and financial products and provide business development resources that empower women to start and scale their businesses• The G20 should invest in closing digital inclusion gaps and help build
women’s capacity to lead businesses underpinned by technology• The G20 should design incentives for investing in female-led companies and for venture capital firms to meet gender-specific targets for
executives/partners
Proposed KPIs
The B20 Women’s Empowerment Taskforce proposes that current and future
G20 processes monitor the progess of the percentage of women in seniorand middle management. Specific targets for these KPIs are proposed in the
Annex, with ambitions for 2024. We also encourage that current and future
G20 processes monitor progress on KPPIs relating to the Total Entrepreneurship Activity (TEA) ratio for men and women. More information on thisindicator can be found in the Annex.

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SDG impacted - 5: Gender Equality - Recommendation 3 is primarily aligned to SDG5, particularly SDG5.5 ‘Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making
in political, economic and public life...’; SDG5.c ‘Adopt and strengthen soundpolicies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality andthe empowerment of all women and girls at all levels.’ and SDG5.1 ‘End all forms of discrimation against all women and girls everywhere.’ 4: Quality Education - And it resonates with SDG4.4 ‘Substantially increase the number ofyouth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational
skills, for employment...’ In addition to SDG4.5 ‘...Ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training...’ 10: Reduced Inequalities - It also
supports both SDG10.2 to ‘Empower and promote the social, economic andpolitical inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin,religion or economic or other status.’ As well as SDG10.3 ‘Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard’ 9: Industry, Inno- vation and Infrastructure- The policy actions strongly contribute to acheiving SDG9, especially SDG9.B‘Support domestic technology development, research and innovation in developing countries‘, and SDG9.5 ‘Enhance scientific research, upgrade thetechnological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, in particulardeveloping countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per
1 million people and public and private research and development spending.’
G20 Italy's priority impact - People: Recommendation 1 supports the Italian G20 Presidency priority theme of ‘People’, particualrly in the ambition
to shape a “sustainable, just, inclusive and resilient recovery” by “promoting
women’s empowerment” and “ensuring universal access to education”. Prosperity: It also supports ‘Prosperity’ 1 in terms of “reducing the digital divide,promoting infrastructural developments able to guarantee universal internet
access and achieving adequate and widespread digital literacy” and “exploiting the full potential of the technological revolution to concretely improve
the living conditions of citizens all over the world, in every aspect of their lives”.

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Policy Action 3.1: Target gender parity in senior decision-making positions
Advocate for and eliminate barriers to women reaching senior decision-making positions, with a focus on comprehensive collection of sex-disaggregateddata.
Context and COVID-19 Impact
In 2012, then United States Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton said: "Womenare the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world. It is past time forwomen to take their rightful place, side by side with men, in the rooms where the fates of peoples, where their children's and grandchildren's fates, aredecided.”¹⁹⁹ Yet, nearly ten years later, it is clear that women continue to beunder-represented in senior decision-making roles across both the private
and public sectors at every level.
The ILO notes that women hold only 27% of managerial positions globally—apercentage which has hardly shifted over the last 30 years.²⁰⁰ That figure
drops to 25% for women with children under 6 years of age, compared to
31% for women without young children.²⁰¹
And the gender gap increases with senioity. As of 2020, for example, only
9% of global enterprises had female chief technology officers, while only 14%
had female chief information officers and 16% had female chief digital officers at the helm.²⁰² Although women are said to hold approximately 20% of
CEO positions, this drops to just 16% in large enterprises.²⁰³ Just 2.6% of Fortune Global 500 companies are led by women (all of them caucasian).²⁰⁴ The
pandemic has compounded the problem: The proportion of women CEOs
hired has declined 6% over the last year.²⁰⁵
Female representation on corporate boards is similarly discouraging. Approximately 4% of board chairs are currently occupied by women across 44
countries studied by the ILO, and only 15% of board seats are held by women.²⁰⁶ The silver lining is that policy change is already creating significant
impact in places. For instance, France, Germany and Italy, which all have government-mandated quotas for female representation on corporate boards
have the best representation of women on boards across all G7 countries.²⁰⁷¹⁹⁹ Combe, R, 2012. “At the pinnacle of her career“, Elle; https://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/interviews/
a12529/at-the- pinnacle-of-hillary-clintons-career-654140/²⁰⁰ ILO and UNWomen, 2020. “Empowering women at work”; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/--ed_emp/---emp_ent/-- -multi/documents/publication/wcms_756721.pdf²⁰¹ ILO and UNWomen, 2020. “Empowering women at work”; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/--ed_emp/---emp_ent/- --multi/documents/publication/wcms_756721.pdf²⁰² Bokil, S., 2020. “CTO gender gap-gartner recommends tips for IT leaders”; https://enterprisetalk.com/featured/cto-gender- gap-gartner-recommends-tips-for-it-leaders/²⁰³ ILO, 2020. “The business case for change“; Women in Business and Management: Sectorial snapshots (ilo.org)²⁰⁴ Hinchliffe, E.,2020. “A new low for the Global 500: No women of color run businesses on this year’s list,“ Fortune; https://fortune.com/2020/08/10/a-new-low-for-the-global-500-no-women-of-color-run-businesses-onthis-years-list/²⁰⁴ Masterson, V., 2020. “Fewer women CEOs have been appointed since the start of the COVID-19 crisis—here’swhy,” The World Economic Forum; https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/12/fewer-women-ceos-covid-gender-gap/²⁰⁶ ILO, 2019. “Improving gender diversity in company boards”; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/--ed_dialogue/--- act_emp/documents/briefingnote/wcms_754631.pdf²⁰⁷ ILO and UNWomen, 2020. “Empowering women at work”; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/--ed_emp/---emp_ent/-- -multi/documents/publication/wcms_756721.pdf

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTAnd equal representation on corporate boards can spark a domino effectdown the chain of command: ILO analysis suggests that male- dominatedboards are associated with fewer women in middle management, while companies with women as board chairs are more likely to have greater gender
parity across middle management.²⁰⁸
Gender inequities in senior positions of the corporate world are mirrored toan extent in the public sector. According to the WEF’s latest Global GenderGap report, women represent only 26% of parliament seats and just 23% ministerial positions globally. Sectoral segregation persists even at these levels,with the five most common portfolios for female ministers reflecting genderstereotypes.²⁰⁹
Longitudinal data shows that female political representation is growing at aslow pace and isn’t always linear. The WEF’s "political empowerment sub-index", which indicates the extent of gender equity across politically appointed
positions, declined by 2.4%, falling back to 2014 levels. The main cause is areversal in progress for several large countries.²¹⁰ Australia, for instance, has
fallen from 15th to 50th in the world for paliamentary gender diversity overthe last 20 years, with men constituting 80% of its majority parties.²¹¹ Yet atthe same time, policy change is turning the tide in other countries. According
to UNWomen, across 19 countries which reached or surpassed 40% female representation in national parliament, more than two-thirds had applied
gender quotas to achieve such milestones.²¹² An additional four countries
have reached at least 50% female participation parliament.
When COVID-19 struck, the lack of women at the top of key health and political roles left female voices conspicuous by their absence. For example, W20
analysis found women heavily underrepresented on pandemic advisory teams
and among G20 health ministers.²¹³ And a study of 200 of the largest healthorganizations in the world found that 73% of the "executive heads" were men
and that just 28% of senior management teams had reached gender parity.²¹⁴²⁰⁸ ILO, 2020. “The business case for change“; https://www.ilo.org/actemp/publications/WCMS_742697/lang-en/index.htm²⁰⁹ The five most common portfolios for female ministers are family/children/youth/elderly/disabled, social affiars, environment/natural resources/enegy, employment/labor/vocational training, and women affairs/genderequality according to a 2020 Inter-Parliamentary Union and UN Women Report;Women in politics 2020 map.
²¹⁰ World Economic Forum, 2021. “Global Gender Gap Report 2021”, https://www.weforum.org/reports/global-gender-gap- report-2021²¹ Cave, D., 2021. “The most unsafe workplace? Parliament, Australian women say,” The New York Times; https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/05/world/australia/parliament-women-rape-metoo.html²¹² UNWomen. “Facts and figures: women’s leadership and political participation“; https://www.unwomen.org/en/
what-we- do/leadership-and-political-participation/facts-and-figures#_edn10²¹³ W20 Saudi Arabia & Accenture, 2020. “If not now, when?”, https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF-147/
Accenture- W20-2020-Final-Report-If-Not-Now-When.pdf²¹⁴ Global Health 5050, 2020. “Power, privilege and priorities”; https://globalhealth5050.org/2020report/

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Exhibit 7
Female share of employment inmanagerial positions (%)

Source: ILOSTAT, 2019. https://ilostat.ilo.org/topics/women

Exploration of Action Areas
Develop and fund comprehensive programs to eliminate regulatory,
legislative, and socio-cultural barriers to women’s career progression
Identify key barriers to the progression of women into senior leadership,and design tailored, mitigating interventions
Laws which establish that women and men have equal rights are the basis
for demanding and achieving equity within the workplace. Foundationally,
discriminatory laws against women and girls must be repealed and barriers
to specific occupations or types of participation in the workforce must be
lifted. Going one step further, laws that actively promote equality can further accelerate progress.²¹⁵ For instance, enforcing gender quotas for specificpositions and across select types of organizations have continuously provento be effective at changing the balance of power. Governments should also
develop mentoring schemes, to guide women past common socio-cultural
hurdles that stifle progression.
However, interventions need not only be policy driven from government. The
Australian Human Rights Commission prompted the establishment of MaleChampions of Change (MCC) in 2010 with 21 CEOs, department heads andnon-executive directors from across business and federal government. The
aim of the program was to increase the number of women in leadership positions through influencing and mobilizing senior male leaders to dismantle
barriers, disrupt the status quo, and create greatrer accountabilty.²¹⁶ Since
its establishment, 27% of MCC corporations achieved gender balance acrosstheir key management personnel and 91% exceeded the benchmark for theirindustry. Beyond their own walls, they have driven change across Australianbusinesses, in part by lobbying the ASX Corporate Governance Council (which sets the governance principles for the 2,000 public companies in Australia) to adopt a new reporting approach that includes gender diversity.²¹⁷²¹⁵ ILO, 2019. “A quantum leap for gender equality: For a better future of work for all”; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_674831.pdf²¹⁶ The Commonwealth, 2015. “Strategies for increased participation of women in leadership across the commonwealth”; https://thecommonwealth.org/sites/default/files/inline/Women%20in%20Leadership%20Discussion%20Paper.pdf²¹⁷ The Commonwealth, 2015. “Strategies for increased participation of women in leadership across the commonwealth”; https://thecommonwealth.org/sites/default/files/inline/Women%20in%20Leadership%20Discussion%20Paper.pdf

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Advocate for gender parity in decision-making, drawing on research which outlines the moral and commercial case
The business case for gender parity at senior levels of organizations is strong.
A large number of studies have documented the link between diversity andfinancial performance; for example, an IMF study of companies in Europe
found that replacing a male leader with a female leader was associated witha 8–13 percentage point increase in return on assets.²¹⁸ However, alone such
evidence is insufficient to drive change; diversity champions, role models, andsneior leaders are key agents of change who can amplify the commerical caseand influence peers.
The Business Roundtable earlier this year partnered with the Women Business Collaborative (WBC). They called on US public companies to consider
diversity when selecting board members, to measure progress in increasing
diversity and to support voluntary public disclosure of key diversity metrics
on indicators such as board diversity, senior executive diversity, and workforce diversity overall.
Develop incentive schemes for organizations that achieve gender parity in decision-making positions or within their supply chain
Provide incentives for employers and government agencies that achieve
gender parity in senior decision-making positions
A number of companies have started linking executive compensation to gender diversity goals to satisfy the interests of their shareholders and other stakeholders. Some of these programs specifically link incentives to advancing
women in senior decision-making positions. For example, two of the world’s
biggest asset managers, managing almost $5.5 trillion, have linked bonuses of
top-level employees to the number of women those employees help to bring
into senior roles.
In government, financial penalties are sanctioned to provide disincentives fornon- compliance with legislated gender quotas. In Portugal, parties can lose
between 25%- 80% of their public funding for non-compliance, while in Ireland, 50% of funding is at stake if parties include less than 30% of either gender. In Italy, public funding to parties is reduced in proportion to the numberof candidates exceeding the maximum percentage allowed for each gender;
the sum is then re-distributed to parties adhering to the law.²¹⁹
Provide incentives for employers and government agencies who source goods and services from women-led business and/or suppliers withstrong gender-equity profiles
Providing incentives to companies to purchase from women-owned businesses and companies with strong gender-equity profiles can help to support gender parity across supply chains. In turn, companies themselves canuse supplier sustainability awards, long-term contracts and preferred status
strategies as incentives for their suppliers to meet specific gender-equity
targets and conditions.²²⁰²¹⁸ Catalyst, 2020. “Why Diversity and Inclusion Matter: Financial Performance”; https://www.catalyst.org/research/why-diversity- and-inclusion-matter-financial-performance²¹⁹ OECD, 2015. “OECD toolkit for mainstreaming and implementing gender equality”; https://www.oecd.org/gov/
toolkit-for- mainstreaming-and-implementing-gender-equality.pdf²²⁰ Villena, V., and Gioia, D., 2020. “A more sustainable supply chain,“ Harvard Business Review; https://hbr.org/2020/03/a- more-sustainable-supply-chain62

B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Policy intervention, however, can elevate such efforts. In South Africa, forexample, The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (“BBBEE”) Act,awards points to companies with black female directors and sets compliancetargets for 30% of senior management to be Black women. Any company
seeking government contracts, whether on the provincial or federal level, isevaluated on the basis of its score on Black Empowerment Code measures.²²¹
Such action can be taken at individual corporate level as well. For instance,
one of Austrlia’s largest multinational banks introduced a change to its supplier conditions, including equal pay and parental/carers’ leave and developed a database of women- owned business from which to facilitate increased procurement.²²²
Bring together all relevant parties to set ambitious national goals forgender representation in senior decision-making positions and measure and report on progress against those goals over time
Set targets to achieve greater gender equity for executive level and publicboard positions of publicly listed companies and similarly, in government
and policymaking bodies at the domestic, national and international levels
Many studies have been conducted examining the impact of setting targets
and quotas to bring more women into positions of leadership. A 2015 meta-review of 200 studies showed that not only are quotas very effective, butalso, that greater female membership on boards resulted in better financial
performance. Quotas associated with penalties were more effective thanthose with limited or no penalties (including comply-or-explain policies).²²³
Fortunately, many governments have been catching on over the last 10 years.
In 2011, France passed its Cope-Zimmerman Law; by 2017 this mandated aquota of at least 40% of women (and men) on company boards for all publicly traded companies, or those with more than 500 employees and €50 million in revenues. In 2012 and 2014, this legislation was extended to leadershipin governmental bodies, social security organizations, and the cultural andsports sectors. As a result, the proportion of women on the boards of France’s largest publicly listed companies increased by almost 32% between 2010
and 2018 and France now boasts the highest proportion of women serving on
company boards across the EU.
The Golfo-Mosca law implemented in 2012 in Italy helped to achieve thesame, increasing female representation on corporate boards from 5.9% in2011 to 36.4% in 2019 and initiating close to 400 administrative proceedings
against noncompliant companies. Similar to France, Italy has also introduced
gender quotas across local and federal government, along with its representation in the European Parliament. Accordingly, in 2020, the Italian legislature had the highest representation of women parliamentarians in Italy’s history (35.7%), having doubled over the last ten years.²²⁴, ²²⁵²²¹African Development Bank, 2015. “Where are the women: inclusive boardrooms in Africa’s top listed companies?“; https://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Publications/Where_are_the_Women_Inclusive_Boardrooms_in_Africa %E2%80%99s_top-listed_companies.pdf²²² The Commonwealth, 2015. “Strategies for increased participation of women in leadership across the commonwealth”; https://thecommonwealth.org/sites/default/files/inline/Women%20in%20Leadership%20Discussion%20Paper.pdf²²³ Kronfol, H., Nichols,A., and Tran, T., 2019. “Women at work: how can investment incentives be used to enhance
economic opportunities for women?,“ The World Bank Group; https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/
handle/10986/32055/WPS8935.pdf?sequence=6²²⁴ ILO, 2019. “Improving gender diversity in company boards”; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/--ed_dialogue/--- act_emp/documents/briefingnote/wcms_754631.pdf²²⁵ OCED, 2020. “Policies and practices to promote women in leadership roles in the private sector“; https://www.
oecd.org/corporate/OECD-G20-EMPOWER-Women-Leadership.pdf

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Encouragingly, advancing women’s representation on boards and within government is something that can be accomplished quickly through targets andquotas. For instance, as President Joe Biden took office and sought to fulfill
his campaign pledge to appoint a gender-balanced cabinet, the number ofwomen cabinet members rose from 17% to 47% within weeks.²²⁶
Gender quotas not only change the gender composition of the organizations
which they target, but also, there is a ripple effect, often changing social norms and influencing policy in other areas. In Canada, for instance, after thecountry’s first gender-balanced cabinet was announced in 2015, it was foundthat gender equality was “the single most acted-on SDG in Canada in 2017.”
The Canadian federal government also incorporated gender-equality indicators and goals into its core budget documents for the first time that year.
Develop regulations for public sector and large public enterprises to publicly report on current gender-composition across levels and changes
over time
Providing greater transparency on gender composition across public and private organizations has evolved significantly over the last decade. Increasingly, companies have voluntarily reported on gender metrics, often as part ofbroader Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance reports.
For example, the 'Champions for Change' program, for instance, includes 70
global companies, with over 10 million employees and representing over $3
trillion in revenue, that have publicly pledged to advance more women into
senior positions and share their data on women’s advancement within theirorganizations.²²⁷
Policy intervention is also supporting more transparency. In the UK, for instance, the government introduced legislation in 2013 requiring companies
to annually disclose the number of female and male board directors, senior
managers and total employees in their organizations to the public.²⁸ The Canadian government passed similar legislation, requiring all companies governed by the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) with publicly tradedsecurities to provide shareholders with information on corporate policies
and practices related to diversity on their boards and across senior management, as well as the percentage of board members and senior management
who are women.²²⁹
G20 governments should encourage all organizations to publish data key
metrics – such as the proportion of women in STEM roles, and in senior management – alongside ambitious, yet realistic targets. This should be supported by providing clear guidance, including sector-specific remedial actions,for organizations on how to improve.

²²⁶ Vogelstein, R., and Fliegauf, E., 2021. “Women’s power index: find out where women lead—and why it matters,“
Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.cfr.org/blog/womens-power-index-find-out-where-women-leadand-why-it-matters²²⁷ Catalyst. “About Catalyst CEO champions for change“; https://www.catalyst.org/champions/about/²²⁸ ILO, 2019. “Improving gender diversity in company boards”; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/--ed_dialogue/--- act_emp/documents/briefingnote/wcms_754631.pdf²²⁹ Jeffery, J., MacDougall, A., and Valley, J., 2019. “Canada is the first jurisdiction worldwide to require diversity disclosure beyond gender”; https://www.osler.com/en/resources/regulations/2019/canada-is-first-jurisdiction-worldwide-to-require-diversity- disclosure-beyond-gender-diversity-disc64

B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

G20 member countries should therefore:• Develop and fund comprehensive programs to eliminate regulatory, legislative, and socio-cultural barriers to women’s career progression• Develop incentive schemes for organizations that achieve gender parity
in decision-making positions or within their supply chain• Bring together all relevant parties to set ambitious national goals for gender representation in senior decision-making positions and measure and report on progress against those goals over time65

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Policy Action 3.2: Enhance the entrepreneurial potential of women
Build the aspirations and capacity of female entrepreneurs and actively support the starting, financing, scaling, and sustainability of women-owned businesses.
Context and COVID-19 Impact
Entrepreneurship is recognized as an important driver of economic growthand development. Though female entrepreneurs significantly contribute tosuch growth, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), finds that womenare pursuing work as entrepreneurs at three-quarters the rate of men andthat the gender gap is higher on average across high-income countries.²³⁰
Empowering women entrepreneurs and supporting female entrepreneurship in high- growth sectors has the potential to increase incomes, create
jobs, and lead to greater economic and social transformation. However, significant factors inhibiting women’s ability to start, fund, and grow their businesses currently work against much of their success.
One of the greatest challenges is that women face higher barriers to accessfinancial capital. A recent study by Accenture for the W20 found that 97%
of prospective female entrepreneurs require funding to set up their business,and 45% of them expect this to be a major challenge.²³¹ That sentiment is indeed well-founded: Analysis from the European Investment Bank shows that
US-based and EU-based start-ups founded exclusively by women entrepreneurs received only 2% and 11% of overall venture capital, respectively.²³² Additionally, in a number of countries, legal and institutional barriers keep womenfrom owning or inheriting assets and accessing formal financial infrastructure.
Social norms and bias also impact the success of female entrepreneurs. In
many cases, social norms dictate the sectors in which women work, leading
many to start businesses in service sectors with low productivity and lowgrowth potential. Additionally, venture capital and private equity firms continue to be predominantly male, with only 10% of decision-making positions
held by women.²³³ Academic studies have shown repeatedly how strong gender bias has played out in VC decisions over time, in part due to a lack ofgender-diversity on their executive teams. ²³⁴
Commensurate with the heavy toll of COVID-19 on women in general, its impact on female entrepreneurs has been severe. In Accenture’s study, almost
three-quarters of self-employed women report that COVID-19 has had a negative impact on their working lives (72%) and their personal earnings (74%).
Additionally, 46% of self- employed women say they feel “insecure” about
their job/income, up from 13% pre- pandemic. The analysis suggests that women who are self-employed have lost 33% of their incomes on average since
the pandemic started, compared with 8% for women employed full-time.

²³⁰ Analysis is based on total entrepreneurial activity across 59 countries. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, 2019.
“2018/19 Global Report”; https://www.gemconsortium.org/report/gem-2018-2019-global-report²³¹ W20 & Accenture, 2020. “If not now, when?”, https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF-147/Accenture-W20-2020-Final- Report-If-Not-Now-When.pdf²³² European Comission and European Investment Bank, 2019. “Why are women entrepreneurs missing out on
funding?”; https://www.eib.org/attachments/thematic/why_are_women_entrepreneurs_missing_out_on_funding_summary_en.pdf²³³ ILO and UNWomen, 2020. “Empowering women at work”; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/--ed_emp/---emp_ent/- --multi/documents/publication/wcms_756721.pdf²³⁴ Hassan, K, Varadan, M, and Zeisberger, C., 2020. “How the VC pitch process is failing female entrepreneurs,”
Harvard Business Review; https://hbr.org/2020/01/how-the-vc-pitch-process-is-failing-female-entrepreneurs

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Exhibit 8
Total Entrepreneurial Activity (%)

Note: Total Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) represents the percentage of the adult working-age population (18–64) who are either nascent or new entrepreneurs
Source: Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2018/19 Women’s Entrepreneurship ReportThat said, there are pockets of hope. A W20 survey fielded in August 2020
found that two in five women in seven G20 countries would like to start abusiness in the next five years.²³⁵ Also, as of December 2020, although morethan a quarter of small businesses were shuttered in the United States, there
were more than 1.5 million new business applications, up 82% compared withthe same time last year. Data from Linkedin found that part of the increase
may be attributed to women—the share of female entrepreneurs on its platform grew 5% year-over-year, from March to November 2020, more thandouble the pre-pandemic average.²³⁶
In the latest WEF report on the future of jobs, entrepreneurship appears in
the top 15 "specialized skills" of the future.²³⁷ This confirms that supporting
female entrepreneurs should continue to be an integral part of business andgovernment strategies to achieve gender parity.

²³⁵ W20 & Accenture, 2020. “If not now, when?”, https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF-147/Accenture-W20-2020-Final- Report-If-Not-Now-When.pdf²³⁶ Zimmerman, E., 2021. “The pandemic has been an economic disaster for women. Some took advantage of it”
The Washington Post; https://www.washingtonpost.com/road-to-recovery/2021/01/21/female-entrepreneurs-coronavirus/²³⁷ World Economic Forum, 2020. “Future of Jobs Report”; http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_
Jobs_2020.pdf

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Exploration of Action Areas
Improve women’s access to credit and financial products and provide
business development resources that empower women to start andscale their own businesses
Offer incentives and targeted programs to increase the number of women-owned and women-led companies
Government intervention is essential for advancing women’s entrepreneurship and improving their access to capital and resources. The removal of
discriminatory finance and property rights – and building tax systems which encourage entrepreneurship – are critical first step. Incentives to banks
to promote financial access for women should also be explored by governments in countries where necessary. Yet, those are the basics. Countries andbusinesses must do more to increase the quantity of financing available tofemale founders, as well as the establishment and enhancement of programs
that support women to start and scale a business. They can do so through a
combination of women-focused funds, incubators and accelerators and integrated programs.
Fortunately, we have witnessed several recent efforts to increase the quantity of financing available to female entrepreneurs. India, for instance, offers
a number of credit subsidy programs to promote female entrepreneurship.
The programs are financed through banks and subsidized by the government,with many targeting marginalized women. NGOs also play a part by helping
women to file their subsidy requests.²³⁸ On the corporate side, Goldman Sachs, announced it’s "Launch with GS" fund in 2018, which backs private, late-stage women-led copmanies. Along with its clients, it has raised $500M
to lead institutional funding rounds for women-driven companies and seedfemale investment managers launching their own funds.²³⁹
Integrated programs that combine access and control of resources together
with training and support are particularly effective.²⁴⁰ One strong example is
the European Community of Women Business Angels for Women Entrepreneurs. Created in 2017 and funded by the European Parliament, their aim isto support women seeking alternative sources of funding by increasing awareness among business angels, training would-be angels, and coaching women entrepreneurs in pitching their ideas to potential investors.²⁴¹²³⁸ Fruman, C., 2017. “incentivizing equality: investment-led development as a win-win for all,” The World Bank;
https://blogs.worldbank.org/psd/incentivizing-equality-investment-led-development-win-win-all²³⁹ European Comission and European Investment Bank, 2019. “Why are women entrepreneurs missing out on
funding?”; https://www.eib.org/attachments/thematic/why_are_women_entrepreneurs_missing_out_on_funding_summary_en.pdf²⁴⁰ ILO, 2021. "Government laws and policies for gender equality“; https://www.ilo.org/empent/Publications/
WCMS_773233/lang--en/index.htm²⁴¹ European Comission and European Investment Bank, 2019. “Why are women entrepreneurs missing out on
funding?”; https://www.eib.org/attachments/thematic/why_are_women_entrepreneurs_missing_out_on_funding_summary_en.pdf

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTProvide tangible financial support, such as grants and tax relief measures, tohelp women scale their businesses, particularly through international trade
Across the world, women-owned businesses are awarded approximately 1%of the funds that large corporations and governments spend on products
and services. Changes in policy related to procurement could significantly
cause this to shift. By prioritizing women-led businesses when awarding contracts, facilitating women’s access to more lucrative contract opportunities,
and extending financial support of different forms, governments and businesses can help to level the playing field. ²⁴²
There are a number of aspects that policy can and should focus on in thisarea. Providing female founders with equal access to resources, credit, legal
protection and the capital to start and expand a business beyond national
borders is critical. In 2018, the European Parliament found that only 20% of
EU trade agreements mentioned women’s rights, causing them to adopt a
resolution to give more consideration to gender equality in trade agreements.²⁴³ In June 2021, the G7 committed to review trade policy to ensure it supports women’s economic empowerment.
Providing incentives to companies to purchase from women-owned businesses and gender-conscious enterprises is another way that governments
can support female founders. In addition, setting national gender goals on
procurement, international trade and ecommerce as well as reporting out on
progress over time can also be an incredibly effective strategy. In the UnitedStates, for instance, federal law requires all federal agencies to set targets toaward contracts to female-owned small businesses. The Small Business Association is responsible for establishing new annual targets with each federal
agency.²⁴⁴ Research also shows that enabling more female founders to participate directly in contract bidding can help them to secure a greater share of
public contracts.
The Trade Commissioner Service in Canada has established a number of programs to help businesses owned by under-represented groups achieve success in exporting. For instance, the "Business Women in International Trade"
program, created in 1997, connects women-owned businesses with private
and public-sector partners and trade commissioners in 160 cities around theworld. The program offers resources to assist women in penetrating the global
market, such as webinars, information on existing trade deals and a LinkedIn
group for networking. Despite the number of women-owned SMEs not changing significantly between 2011 and 2017, the proportion of women- owned
SME exporters doubled from 7.4% to 14.8% in large part due to this initiative.
Finally, to build on the gender goals being set by governments and businesses,organizations such as trade unions, boards of trade, employer organizations,
economic and social councils, and labor advisory boards, should be encouraged to do the same. As women are under-represented in these arenas, they areunable to adequately inform national social diaglogue and represent women at
the collective bargaining table. Indeed, data from 2018, indicates that female
membership in national social dialogue institutions ranged from 20% to 35%.²⁴⁵²⁴² ILO and UNWomen, 2019. “Empowering women at work: government laws and policies for gender equality”; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---emp_ent/---multi/documents/publication/wcms_773233.pdf²⁴³ ILO and UNWomen, 2019. “Empowering women at work: government laws and policies for gender equality”; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---emp_ent/---multi/documents/publication/wcms_773233.pdf²⁴⁴ Kronfol, H., Nichols,A., and Tran, T., 2019. “Women at work: how can investment incentives be used to enhance
economic opportunities for women?,“ The World Bank Group; https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/
handle/10986/32055/WPS8935.pdf?sequence=6²⁴⁵ ILO, 2019. “A quantum leap for gender equality: For a better future of work for all”; https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_674831.pdf

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTInvest in closing digital inclusion gaps and help build women’s capacity
to lead businesses underpinned by technology
Develop and fund programs targeted at raising the digital inclusion of women, with a focus on boosting access, affordability, confidence and skills
Closing the digital inclusion gap is of paramount importance to support
more female entrepreneurs. The idea that "every business is a digital business" is widely accepted, and so, ensuring that women are digitally fluent andhave access to technology provides them with significant opportunities. Today, women are behind in aggregate in terms of their digital fluency and theirlikelihood of founding digital-based companies. For instance, it is estimatedthat women accounted for only 15.6% of digital start-ups in 2018 across theEU.²⁴⁶ Of equal concern, a recent WEF study found that women are under-represented in six of the eight fastest growing professions of the future. Developing targeted programs to direct more women into high-growth areas andsupport their success is critical.²⁴⁷
There are several strong models of digital inclusion programs focused on
women. For example, UNESCO and the Women in Africa Initiative (WIA)
came together with partners from the public and private sector to develop
an open online course to promote African women’s digital entrepreneurship and digital literacy in the field of AI. Indepedent initiatives have also hadstrong impacts. All Raise, for example, started by a group of female investors
in the US, seeks to support women in the funding, founding and scaling of technology companies. Since its establishment in 2017, All Raise has supported
5,500 female founders and funders with nearly 30,000 hours of mentorshipand coaching.²⁴⁸
Nurture women’s participation in innovation ecosystems through financial support, training, and other programs to build women’s capacity
Connecting female founders to business associations, innovation ecosystems,
and trainng and coaching can act as a powerful catalyst to build women’s capacity and their social capital. Although businesses and boards of trade cantake action unilaterally to support this, policy initiatives clearly help to pave
the way for action on a broad scale. The European Commission’s Small Business Act for Europe and its Enrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan, for instance,
helped to instigate the establishment of a number of programs and networks
to support female founders. For example, the European Network of Female Entrepreneurship Ambassadors, started in 2009, has held more than 650
national meetings, reaching more than 61,000 would-be women entrepreneurs. It has also supported the founding of over 250 new women-led ventures and started 22 networking and business support clubs for women.²⁴⁹²⁴⁶ OECD, 2019. “The missing entrepreneurs 2019: policies for inclusive entrepreneurship”; https://www.oecd- ilibrary.org/sites/28e047ba-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/28e047ba-en²⁴⁷ Zahidi, S., 2019. “We are 100 years from gender equality-how can we change that?” The World Economic Forum; https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/12/how-to-close-gender-gap-2020s/²⁴⁸ Kostka, P., 2020. “All Raise attracts fresh funding to build a more equitable tech ecosystem”; https://medium.
com/allraise/all- raise-attracts-fresh-funding-to-build-a-more-equitable-tech-ecosystem-a844e2a2ba32²⁴⁹ European Comission and European Investment Bank, 2019. “Why are women entrepreneurs missing out on
funding?”; https://www.eib.org/attachments/thematic/why_are_women_entrepreneurs_missing_out_on_funding_summary_en.pdf

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Simiarly, the European Network of Mentors for Women Entrepreneurs, founded in 2011, was set up to advise and support women entrepreneurs on starting, managing, and scaling their businesses specifically from the second to
the fourth years of operation.²⁵⁰
Incubators and accelerators can also support female entrepreneurs in thisarea. The Founder Institute, for instance, with 4,500+ portfolio companies
and operations in 200+ cities globally, formed The Female Founder Initiative in 2016. This provides scholarships for top female applicants across every
global chapter. At the same time, female mentors and local leaders in theinstitute’s programs provide coaching and mentorship; they also host female
entrepreship-focused events around the world. The goal of the program is toleverage the institute’s network to make the global technology sector moregender-balanced. As a result of this initiative, approximately 40% of companies which the institute helps to realize are women-founded, compared toroughly 20% prior to starting the initiative.²⁵¹
Design incentives for investing in female-led companies and for venture
capital firms to meet gender-specific targets for executives/partners
Design incentives for firms to broaden the number of female investment
partners, including business loan officers, angel investors and venture capitalists
Ensuring that more women are at the table to make investment decisions in
new businesses is critical for advancing female entrepreneurship. Despite anumber of venture capital firms being established in recent years with a distinct purpose of investing in female founders, the majority of investors anddecision-makers on investment teams are men. In the US, for instance, recent
research shows that roughly four out of five VC firms have never employeda woman in a senior investment role, and less than 9% of venture capitalists
are women.²⁵² At the same time, research also shows that investment firms
with women partners are more than twice as likely to invest in women-led
enterprises and more than three times as likely to invest in enterprises withwomen CEOs.²⁵³
There is a highly compelling business case for gender parity among investors
as well. First, more gender-diverse VC teams are more likely to demonstrate superior financial returns and exits compared to non-gender-diverse
teams.²⁵⁴ Secondly, they are more likely to invest in founding teams that include men and women—a characteristic that is known to be associated withstronger valuation growth compared to all-male founding teams. Yet despite
a plethora of research demonstrating such findings, we haven’t seen meaningful change in terms of the number of women investment partners. Sincechange isn’t happening organically, incentives can help.

²⁴⁶ European Comission and European Investment Bank, 2019. “Why are women entrepreneurs missing out on
funding?”; https://www.eib.org/attachments/thematic/why_are_women_entrepreneurs_missing_out_on_funding_summary_en.pdf²⁵⁰ Ibid.
²⁵¹ Founder Institute, 2020. “Female founder initiative impact report“; https://fi.co/insight/female-founder-initiative-impact-report²⁵² European Comission and European Investment Bank, 2019. “Why are women entrepreneurs missing out on
funding?”; https://www.eib.org/attachments/thematic/why_are_women_entrepreneurs_missing_out_on_funding_summary_en.pdf²⁵³ Ibid.
²⁵⁴ Gompers, P. and Kovvali, S., 2018. “The other diversity dividend,’ Harvard Business Review; https://hbr.
org/2018/07/the- other-diversity-dividend71

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Incentives can be provided in a number of forms. Publicly sharing data on
venture capital firms and accelerators is one way to influence change. Founders for Change, for instance, has worked together with partners like Crunchbase to provide a list of venture capital investors based in part on whichfirms have diverse teams, including which have a strong mix of female andmale investors. The more information like this is shared, the more pressure
may increase for all-male firms to become more inclusive.²⁵⁵
Government tax incentives could also be introduced to put further pressure
on firms to change the gender composition of their teams. These should place particular focus on helping women entrepreneurs who struggled during
the pandemic to return to the market.
Educate and incentivize the investment community to incorporate a gender lens into decision-making to increase women’s access to capital
Female-led venture-backed companies enjoy higher exit rates in terms ofdeal value than those that are led by male-exclusive teams.²⁵⁶ Similarly, global
performance per median revenues by stage shows that companies with atleast one female executive outperform start-ups without female executive
presence.²⁵⁷ In fact, according to Morgan Stanley, seizing opportunities to invest in underrepresented founders in the U.S. alone could generate over $4.4
trillion.²⁵⁸ Yet, how many VC investors know this? Based on how funds are currently being directed, it appears not enough.
Targeted gender-specific programs, such as those discussed above, shouldn’t
be limited to aspiring female entrepreneurs. Indeed, developing a two-pronged approach and developing targeted training programs for investors canalso help to further advance the number of female founders and their success. Research has shown, for instance, that investors require gender-bias
training on the questions that they pose to aspiring entrepreneurs.²⁵⁹ Similarly,
many require training on how to track and monitor their investments througha gender lens as well as reviewing in-house processes to identify where gender bias may be creeping in. Some organizations are already making inroads.
Diversity VC and Diversio, for instance, help venture capital firms identify
strategies to improve their diversity practices. Launched in September 2020,
their "Diversity VC Standard", has already provided certification to 40 VC
firms across Europe and Canada, ensuring that they have the tools and are
implementing recommended practices to make funding available to underrepresented founders.²⁶⁰²⁵⁵ Founders for change; https://www.foundersforchange.org/diverse-investors-list²⁵⁶ European Comission and European Investment Bank, 2019.
“Why are women entrepreneurs missing out on funding?”; https://www.eib.org/attachments/thematic/why_are_women_entrepreneurs_missing_out_on_funding_summary_en.pdf²⁵⁷ Ibid.
²⁵⁸ Morgan Stanely, 2018. “The trillion-dollar blind spot”; https://www.morganstanley.com/ideas/trillion-dollarblind-spot- infographic²⁵⁹ Kanze, D., Conley, M, and Higgins, T., 2016. “We ask men to win and women not to lose: closing the gender gap instartup finding,” Academy of Management; https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/amj.2016.1215²⁶⁰ Diversity VC; https://www.diversity.vc/the-diversity-vc-standard/72

B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

G20 member countries should therefore:• Improve women’s access to credit and financial products and provide
business development resources that empower women to start their own
businesses• Invest in closing digital inclusion gaps and help build women’s capacity tolead businesses underpinned by technology• Design incentives for investing in female-led companies and for venture
capital firms to meet gender-specific targets for executives/partners

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B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Annex
Key Performance Indicators
This paper cover two types of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
1. KPIs that are currently collected by international institutions for some G20
countries, but that we propose should be collected and tracked across theentire G20. We refer to these indicators as Key "Pilot" Performance Indicators (KPPIs), highlighting the need to track these measures where they areavailable and also to target their wider collection across the G20. We also
urge future G20 and B20 processes to define relevant targets for these KPIs.
The KPPIs highlighted in this paper are:
Recommendation 1:• Proportion of females graduating in subjects related to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) – and the rate of attrition. Thisdata is currently collected by international institutions, but not in a globallycomparable way that covers all G20 countries. We also specifically urge government to increase the number of female STEM graduates.
• Percentage of women employed in STEM. This data is currently collectedby a variety of different organizations. However, again there is no universal
definition of STEM occupations, making comparisons between countries difficult. We urge government and ecosystem partners to find consensus on adefinition for this KPI and to track it over time accordingly.
• Percentage of women researchers. Organizations, such as UNESCO, havemeasured country performance on this KPI in the past, yet the data is notcollected on a regular basis.
Recommendation 2:• “Job quality” KPIs refer to multiple aspects of employment that contribute to the well-being of workers; for example, earnings quality, labor market
security and quality of the working environment. Such data can provide insights into the potential for job disruption, safety and inclusion in the workplace and earning potential. We urge the G20 to begin collecting this valuable
data across all G20 countries to track and set targets against accordingly.
Recommendation 3:• Total Entrepreneurship Activity (TEA) ratio for men and women. Thisdata is collected by a variety of different organization, but not in a globallycomparable way that covers all G20 countries.

2. KPIs that are currently collected by international institutions for which thetaskforce has proposed specific targets for 2024. The KPIs highlighted are:74

B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Recommendation 1:• Female labor force participation rate. This is collected by the OECD. We
have analyzed the data and propose specific targets for 2024 below:
2024 targets have been set for the Share of Women Participating in
the Labor Force
Current Baseline* and 2024 Targets**
Countries in the Top (1st) Quartile (highest participation rate):• Baseline:• 2024 Target:

76.4%
81.1% or higher

Countries in the 2nd Quartile:• Baseline:• 2024 Target:

71.8%
76.4% or higher

Countries in the 3rd Quartile:• Baseline:• 2024 Target:

66.6%
76.4% or higher

Countries in the Bottom (4th) Quartile (lowest participation rate):• Baseline:• 2024 Target:

52.5%
66.5% or higher† Data source is OECD. Analysis by Accenture. Latest data is from 2019, except for India (2018). Data covers
G20 countries except Argentina, China and Saudi Arabia.
* Baseline figures are a simple average of the participation rates for each quartile, using the latest data.
** 2024 Target for 1st Quartile is based on the rate of the highest performer.
2024 Targets for 2nd and 3rd Quartiles are based on the average of the 1st Quartile.
2024 Target for 4th Quartile is based on the average of the total sample.

75

B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Recommendation 2:• The gender gap in unpaid work between men and women. This data iscollected by the OECD. We have analyzed the latest available data and propose specific targets for 2024 as outlined below:
2024 targets have been set for closing the gender gap in unpaid work
between men and women
Current Baseline* and 2024 Targets**
Countries in the Top (1st) Quartile (closest to parity):• Baseline:• 2024 Target:

59.5%
56.3% or lower

Countries in the 2nd Quartile:• Baseline:• 2024 Target:

63.5%
59.5% or lower

Countries in the 3rd Quartile:• Baseline:• 2024 Target:

67.8%
59.5% or lower

Countries in the Bottom (4th) Quartile (furthest from parity):• Baseline:• 2024 Target:

78.7%
67.6% or lower† Data source is the OECD. Analysis by Accenture. Latest data from 2020. Data covers 31 countries from the EU
and G20 .
* Baseline figures are a simple average of the participation rates for each quartile, using the latest data.
** 2024 Target for 1st Quartile is based on the rate of the highest performer.
2024 Targets for 2nd and 3rd Quartiles are based on the average of the 1st Quartile.
2024 Target for 4th Quartile is based on the average of the total sample.

76

B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Recommendation 3:• The percentage of women in senior and middle management. This datais collected by the ILO. We have analyzed the latest available data and propose specific targets for 2024 as outlined below:
2024 targets have been set for the percentage of women in middle andsenior management roles
Current Baseline* and 2024 Targets**
Countries in the Top (1st) Quartile (highest participation rate):• Baseline:• 2024 Target:

40.6%
43.5% or higher

Countries in the 2nd Quartile:• Baseline:• 2024 Target:

35.0%
40.6% or higher

Countries in the 3rd Quartile:• Baseline:• 2024 Target:

31.8%
35.0% or higher

Countries in the Bottom (4th) Quartile (lowest participation rate):• Baseline:• 2024 Target:

23.5%
34.1% or higher† Data source is ILOSTAT database (indicator: SL.EMP.SMGT.FE.ZS). Analysis by Accenture. Latest data from2019, except U.S. (2020). Data covers all G20 countries with data availability.
* Baseline figures are a simple average of the participation rates for each quartile, using the latest data.
** 2024 Target for 1st Quartile is based on the rate of the highest performer.
2024 Target for 2nd Quartile is based on the average of the 1st Quartile.
2024 Target for 3rd Quartile is based on the average of the 2nd Quartile.
2024 Target for 4th Quartile is based on the average of the total sample.

77

B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTAcronyms
ILO

International Labor Organization

AI

Artificial Intelligence

WHO

World Health Organization

UK

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

US

United States of America

STEM

Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics

R&D

Research and Development

ITU

International Telecommunication Union

Schedule of Taskforce Exchanges#

Date		

Location

Theme1
17/03/2021							Conference Call I2
23/04/2021
						Conference Call II3
28/05/2021
						Conference Call III

4
30/06/2021
						Conference Call IV

5
28/07/2021							

B20 - G20 SIWE
Global Dialogue

Distribution of Members

78

Country#Country#Country#Country

#

Italy

41

South Africa

4Turkey2Australia

1

USA

9

Argentina

4

Tunisia2

Indonesia

1

UnitedKingdom

6

Global4

Russia2

Netherlands

1France5

Mexico3

Jordan

1

China

1

Switzerland

5

Germany

3

Singapore

1

Ghana

1

Saudi Arabia

5

Spain

3

Canada1

Belgium

1

Brazil

4

Japan

2

South Korea

1

United ArabEmirates

1

B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

NameCompany/Organization

Country

DeputyChair
Diana Bracco

Bracco Group

Italy

Gaela
BerniniName/SurnameCompany

Title

Country

CEO

Ghana

Members
Isaac Aggrey

African Social
Entrepreneurs Network

Nissren Al Bakri

Bupa Arabia

Manager- Asset
Saudi Arabia
Management andTreasury Operation

Anoushka
Alexandre

Deloitte

Senior Manager
Innovation

Italy

Faisal Alfadl

UN for Saudi Green
Building Forum

Secretary General

Saudi Arabia

Tala Al Jabri

HOF Capital

General Partner

United ArabEmirates

AlanoudAlqahtaniFixtagChairman & CEO

Saudi Arabia

Hessa AlSheik

Raidah Investment
Company RIC

Director,
International Fixed
IncomeSaudi Arabia

Hana AlSyead

Wujud

Founder & CEO

Saudi Arabia

Susanne Andeae

World Economic ForumHead of Health &Healthcare Industry

Switzerland

Emanuela Angori

WeBuild

Group Head of Corporate and InternalCommunication

Italy

Arianna Antezza

Antezza GroupRS Manager

Italy

Judit Arenas
Licea

APCO

Senior Director &Senior Adviser

MexicoMarina Babich

Suek

Head of Regulatory
Requirements
Accounting
Compliance Service

RussiaRodophe Baron

Medef

Direction
International

France79

B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTName/SurnameCompany

Title

Country

Members
Soni K. Basi

AIG

Global Head of
TalentUnitedKingdom

Emma Beccio

Gala

General Director

Italy

Barbare Beltrame
Giacomello

Beltrame Group

Head of Marketing &Communication

Italy

Pietro Bertazzi

CDP

Global Director,
Policy Engament

Netherlands

Marta Blanco

CEOE

President

Spain

Bettina Bossert

World Employment
Confederation

President

Switzerland

Rosita Calabrese

Angelini PharmaCountry Manager
Italy

Italy

Elena Canale

French Insurance
Confederation

International Affairs
ManagerFranceIsabel Cane

Organisation for Economic
Co-Operation andDevelopment

Head Trust in
Business

Global

Sabis

Senior Counsel

UnitedStates ofAmerica

Vittoria Carli

ISED spa

Partner S&I Controllingshareholder
ISED Group

Italy

Cecilia Carrara

Legance

LawyerUnitedKingdom

Carolina Castro

Industrias Guidi

HR & CSR Director

Argentina

Antonella Centra

Guccio Gucci

EVP GeneralCounsel, Corporate
Affairs &Sustainability

Italy

Yean Cheong

SGTechExecutive Director

Singapore

Michelle
Chivunga N.

Global Policy HouseCEO

UnitedKingdom

Danielle Cannata

80

B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTName/SurnameCompany

Title

Country

MembersMarìa HernandezEvershed Sutherland
Compliance

Member of the
Women Leaders of
the Americas
Committee

Spain

Dominique HoganDoran

Australian Bar

Senior Counsel

Australia

Haya Imam

Hikma Pharmaceuticals

Group Compliance
Officer, Global
Operations

JordanAngela Joo-Hyun
Kang

Global CompetitivenessEmpowerment Forum

Founder & Executive South Korea
President

Horie Junichi

Advantage Partnership
Lawyers

International
ArbitrationCounsellor

Japan

Shinta Kamdani

Sintesa GroupCEO

Indonesia

Anna Kompanek

Center for International
Private Enterprise

Director, Global
Programs

United Statesof America

Ludovica Landi

GradedCEO

Italy

Stefania Lazzaroni

General Director

Valeria Leone

Pirelli

EVP Investor
Relations,Competitive,
Business and Value
Insight,
Micromobility
Solutions

Italy

Martina Lorusso

Bawer s.p.a.

Project Manager

Italy

Beatrice Lucarella

S.A.M Srl

Foreign Relations
Manager

Italy

Anna Chiara
Lucchini

Assicurazioni Generali

Group Leadership
Development &AcademyItalyAlexsandra
MachadoDiageoPublic Affairs Senior
Manager for Latin
America andCaribbeanBrazilGlobal Apprentiship
Network

Executive Director

Switzerland

Nazrene Mannie

81B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTName/SurnameCompany

Title

Country

Members
Elena Mannucci

Termisol Termica

Legal, Compliance &CSR Manager

Italy

Giorgiana
Martínezgarnelo
and Calvo

Jovenes x Mexico

President

MexicoMaria Rosa Molino

HSBC Italy

Head of Regulatory
Compliance

Italy

Naadyia Moosajee

WomHub

Co-FounderSouth Africa

Innocentia Motau

The Young Entrepreneur
South Africa

President

South Africa

Boutiba Mrad
JiheneBusinessmed

Secretary General

Tunisia

Futhu Mtoba

International Women
Forum South Africa

Non-Executive
Director

South Africa

Carmen Muñoz
Pérez

RepsolCorporate Directorof People &Organization

Spain

Karen Nahum

Il Sole 24 Ore

Director of
Publishing & Digital

Italy

Ambre Naija

The Sperkling Agency

Founder & CEO

FranceNokia

Head of Bid
Management South
East Europe

Italy

Susan Neely

American Council of Life
InsurerPresident & CEO

United Statesof America

Constanza Negri
Biasutti

CNI National Confederation of Industry Brazil

Trade Policy Head

BrazilPaola Olivieri

Fameccanica

Head of Business
Development

Italy

VeroniqueOrmezzano

BNP Paribas Group

Head of Group
Regulatory Affairs

FranceBRF

Global Corporate
Affairs, Chair of
Women Business
Alliance of the BRICS

BrazilCarla Napolitano

Grazielle Parenti82

B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTName/SurnameCompany

Title

Country

Members
Rosa Cocozza

Università degli Studi diNapoli Federico II

Ordinario di
Economia degliIntermediariFinanziari,
Presidente del Fondo
Pensione di Ateneo Dipartimento di
Economia,Management e
Istituzioni

Cristina Cofacci

Leonardo

Head of Industrial
Relations

Italy

Antonia Consorti

ENEL Group

Head of Audit Global
Procurement

Italy

Chiara Corazza

Women’s Forum for the
Economy & SocietyManaging Director

GlobalMaria Criscuolo

Triumph Group International

Chairwoman &Founder

Italy

Tamara Dancheva

GSMA

International
Relations Manager
Government andRegulatory Affairs

UnitedKingdom

Fanny Dastugue

Confederation ofInternationa Contractors’
Association

Director General

FranceCristina
De Berardinis

Confindustria

Director of Industrial
Policy Area

Italy

Jahni De Villliers

IBC & ILO

Italy

Industrial & Labour South Africa
Relations Expert

Daniela Delledonne

Becton Dickinson & Co.

Country General
Manager ItalyGreece

Emily Dickens

Society for Human
Resource Management

Chief of Staff, Head United Statesof Governmentof America
Affairs & Corporate
Secretary

Chiara Dorigotti

SEA Prime

CEO & General
Manager

Italy

Sucharita Eashwar

Catalyst for Women
Entrepreneurship
ENI spa

Founder

India

Italy

83

B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTName/SurnameCompany

Title

Country

Members

84

Marwa Elhakim

ENI spa

Responsible Diversity& Inclusion

Italy

Elisabetta Fabri

Starhotels Group

President & CEO

Italy

Lucia Fioravanti

Sogei

Director of Finance &Corporate Affairs

Delia Raquel Flores

GEMA

President

Argentina

Monica Flores

ManpowerGroup LATAM

President

MexicoJohanna FriedlNadere

BiogenPresident Europe,
Canada & PartnerMarkets

Switzerland

Alessandro
Gasparetto

IQT Consultig spa

Chairman

Italy

Paolo Gasparetto

IQT Consultig spa

Vice President

Italy

Bettina Geissler

Geissler Law

Owner

Switzerland

Alessandra Gelera

Boston Scientific Italy

Head of Public
Affairs Health
Economics & Market
Access

Italy

Daniela Ghezzi

Leonardo Computational
R&D

DeputyItaly

Rossella
Grattagliano

FATER

Corporate
Communication &SUstainabiliy
Executive Director

Italy

Anna Gubina

RSPP

Expert of theCenter for
Multilateral
Cooperationand EurasianIntegration

RussiaSaibe Gül Ertuğ

Ford Otosan

Director,
Innovation & New
Ventures

TurkeyB20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTName/SurnameCompany

Title

Country

Members
Marco Pérez

Alliance for Intgrity

GenderCoordinator

Germany

Alice Pilia

Conde Nast

Senior Adviser Responsible for
global public policy,social impact andsustainability

UnitedKingdom

Monica Poggio

Bayer Italy

CEO

Italy

Lidia Preyma

Bank of Montreal

Director,
Global AML Risk
Managmen

CanadaEnrique Prini
Estebecorena

Allende 6 Ferrante
Abogados

SR of Counsel
Compliance,
Sustainability &EnergyArgentina

Roberto Race

Borsa Italiana

Senior Advisor

Italy

Ursula RadekePietsch

Siemens

Global Head of
Strategic Projects &Finance

Germany

Rossana RevelloChiappe RevelloSole Administrator

Italy

Lamia Riabi

Attijaribank Tunisia

Patrizia
Rutigliano

SNAM

Director Executive
Vice President Institutional Affairs, ESG,
Communication &Marketing

Italy

Eleonora Santi

Philip Morris Italia

Director of External
Affairs

Italy

Luisa Santos

BusinessEurope

Deputy Director
GeneralBelgium

Donatella Sciuto

Politecnico di Milano

Professore Ordinario

Italy

Adriana Silvia
SartorElectrotec srl

Sole Director

Italy

Afke Schaart

HuaweiSVP Global
Government Affairs

China

Lisa Schroeter

DOW

Global Director of United States
Trade & Investment of America
PolicyTunisia85

B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTName/SurnameCompany

Title

Country

Members
Martha Schultz

Eurochamber

Co-chair Skills
Committee,
Vice President ofAustrian Federal
Economic Chamber

Austria

Ingrid Sinclair

Sims Lifecycle Services

Global President

United Statesof America

Simona Sinesi

Never Give Up Onlus

Vice President,
Founder,
Communication &Strategic Growth
Director

Italy

Margaret-Ann
SplawnClimate market andInvestment Association

Executive Director United Statesof America

Julie Sweet

Accenture

CEO

United Statesof America

Ilaria Temporini

Intesa Sanpaolo

Project Finance

Italy

Silvia Tenazinha

Santander

Commercial Director
Argentina “Women
Banking”

Argentina

Denise Terrer

SENAI Brazilian
National Service ofIndustrial Training

Collaborator

BrazilLuisa Todini

Comitato Leonardo

Chairman

Italy

Laura Tosto

Datacontent s.r.l.

President & CEO

Italy

Anna Tunkel

APCO

Head of Global
Strategi Initiatives &Partnerships

GlobalPastora Valero

Cisco System

Senior Vice
United States
Presidentof America
Government
Affairs, Europe
Middle East Africa
and Russia

Teruko Wada

Keidanren

Director,
International Affairs
BureauJapan

Henry Wang

Gate International

President & CEO

Hong Kong

Patricia Whiting

86

Senior International United States
Policy Analystof America

B20 POLICY PAPER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENTName/SurnameCompany

Title

Country

Project Specialist,
Transparency &Accountability,
Governance Team

GlobalMembers
Liviana Zorzi

UNDP Bangkok Region

Coordination Group
Name

Function

Company/Organization

Stefania Rossi

B20 Secretariat

Confindustria

Francesco Iervolino

B20 Secretariat

Confindustria

Martina Scalera

B20 Secretariat

Confindustria

Marcella Murru

Advisor to the TF Manager

Gruppo Bracco

Fabrizio Gabrielli

Knowledge partner

Accenture

Francesca Paola
De Prisco

Knowledge partner

Accenture

Dominic King

Knowledge partner

Accenture

Sarah Berger

Knowledge partner

Accenture87

An initiative byKnowledge partners

88