No G7 country made fast progress on gender equality in recent years. Here’s how experts think they should flip the script! 

Many women are never asked to inform the decisions made about their bodies, health, or minds, let alone the larger world. But they are the foremost experts and sources regarding their own lives, experiences, and circumstances. They know best what is needed to improve them, and their voices should drive change agendas. Biases and beliefs about women’s knowledge and capabilities run deep. So deep that many of us who want to make things better for women, attempt—both unconsciously and not—to do so with little or no direct involvement from the everyday women impacted by our actions. This is the repeated missing ingredient, the routine diagnosis for failed policies and programs—solutions created and implemented in the absence of women’s voices. 

Currently women make up 70% of the overall health workforce, and 90% of frontline staff worldwide, but occupy just 25% of leadership positions. Supporting women while investing in the health workforce leads to a triple dividend: First, a health dividend, by helping to develop a more effective and responsive workforce to meet growing health care demands and demographic changes. Second, a gender equality dividend: women will gain income, education and autonomy, leading to improvements in education, health, and other aspects of development. Third, an economic dividend: new jobs will be created, fueling economic growth. 

I would like to comment on the recommendation number 3 : Promote the leadership, participation and voice of girls and women. Women’s leadership actually makes structural changes and brings in cultural diversity in every space they occupy. Feminist leadership is key to achieving gender equality and not to mention enhanced and profitable economic activity. However, the truth is that the vulnerable girl from a poor economy doesn’t need to reach her full potential because it will improve her country’s economy, she needs to do so because it is her right. As we see more and more women take ownership, raise their voice and realise their rights, we will begin to transform existing systems of discrimination and power. 

Promoting gender equality is a fundamental human right that can also have important benefits for societies:  

• Gender equality is a better predictor of peace than a country’s GDP or level of democracy;  
• addressing the lack of economic parity between men and women could add $12 trillion to global growth;  
• women’s leadership has been associated with more diverse legislative agendas and lower levels of corruption 
• Women’s political empowerment is associated with a decrease in a country’s carbon emissions. Parliaments with a greater proportion of female members have a higher ratification rate of environmental treaties, and corporate boards with more women disclose more carbon emissions information. 

All G7 nations are miles off target for meeting the existing commitments they have made to achieve gender equality, including as part of the 2030 Agenda. But, we have a ready-made solution for speeding up implementation – promote the leadership, participation and voice of women and girls and invest in, create space for, and listen to feminist organisations and movements. They should be recognised as strategic partners for creating a more gender equal world. 

We believe this is the only viable pathway for G7 leaders to achieve their goals across a broad range of areas. But it can only be done through sustained, regular interactions through which there are clear benefits for those involved such as learning exchanges and access to resources – including funding that is long-term, flexible and accessible. This approach is fundamental for supporting women, feminist organisations and movements to accelerate the change they are already driving forward. 

Many Governments, including those of G7 (and G20) countries, have made commitments in previous years through international Treaties, Resolutions and Agreements to developing a gender equality legislative framework within their countries. This has been done in the knowledge that supporting women to take their equal place as leaders in their communities in partnership with men enhances the economic, social and governance standards in those communities and countries. The data collected through many sources is showing a widening gender gap especially for women in marginalised communities. 

Many of those commitments have yet to be implemented. 

Action is needed now. 

All the six recommendations of EM2030 Blueprint to governments are interlinked and critical for a gender equal and just world. However, the first recommendation, that is : Reform and Apply Equality Laws is key to that vision and achieving the transformative agenda, which got derailed during Covid. All the countries including the G7 consciously agreed to gender as cross-cutting to all the SDGs, in addition to the stand alone goal on Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (SDG5). There is enough evidence in each country to show how Covid disproportionately impacted the lives of women and exacerbated the inequalities. This has had adverse impact on the socio-economic lives of most of the population of the world and derailing, as mentioned earlier, the economic growth and development. This has indeed put in jeopardy the realisation of transformation agenda by 2030. For this very reason the G 7 countries are likely to take on board recommendations one, which is only restating their commitment and now acting for a holistic development and gender just, peaceful and liveable planet.