W20 Highlights Gender Gaps &Calls for Stronger G20 Action

• W20 is a G20-linked group focused on women's empowerment
• Formed in 2015 with the task of promoting gender equality and women's economic inclusion
• Provides advice to governments on how to enhance opportunities for women

The G20-along with the African Union and European Union-has a unique group dedicated to women's empowerment: the Women 20.

The W20, initiated in 2015, promotes gender equality and women's economic empowerment and is one of 13 official engagement groups under the Sherpa track within the G20. It provides recommendations to governments on how to advance these objectives.

Narnia Bohler-Muller is a legal expert and researcher into gender equality who led the South African delegation to the W20 in 2025. She outlined the progress and challenges experienced during South Africa's presidency of the group.

This year, the W20 organized its work around several interrelated themes Women's Entrepreneurship and Financial Inclusion, The care economy, Women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, Health equity, Climate justice, Violence against women and girls

As the first African country to lead the G20, South Africa drew upon a theme from ubuntu philosophy: “Women in Solidarity towards Sustainable Socio-Economic Development.”

Part of this focus included addressing modern slavery in global supply chains and recognizing how forced labor affects the economic empowerment of women.

The W20 estimated that US$468 billion in G20 imports may contain forced labor, while over half of the victims of modern slavery suffer exploitation within G20 countries. It called for a unified international response beyond individual national ones.

The group underscored that women bear the disproportionate burden of unpaid care work, carrying out 76.2 percent of such work globally. Besides, systemic underfunding of research into women's health and the high global rate of maternal deaths were mentioned in a call for health equity.

On climate justice, the W20 called for increased women's leadership both on natural resource management and on climate decision-making at all levels.

For the first time, it also recognized the impact of conflict on women and called for more women's participation in peacebuilding and peacekeeping efforts.

Delegates agreed there was a need to move from discussion to measurable action. For example, there was consensus that gender considerations should be embedded throughout all G20 discussions and not limited to the W20.

The W20 called for monetary policy to consider how its effects differ for women, and for infrastructure planning to pay attention to women's transportation and safety needs. It also declared that at the negotiating table, any new trade policy should work toward the goal of helping women entrepreneurs.