Representatives of female civil society support G20 process
The Federal Government has asked the National Council of German Women’s Organizations [Deutscher Frauenrat] (DF) and the Association of German Women Entrepreneurs [Verband deutscher Unternehmerinnen] (VdU) to carry out the W20 dialogue on the occasion of the German presidency of the G20 in 2017. W20 stands for “Women 20” and is part of the dialogue process used by advocacy groups of civil society to support the Group of Twenty (G20). The central task of W20 is to permanently mainstream the topic of economic participation and empowerment of women (women's economic empowerment) in the G20 objectives.
Stephanie Bschorr, President of the VdU, welcomes the international networking: “The objective of ‘25 by 25’ which was set by G20 2014 under the Australian presidency is a clever formula, and we now have to wholeheartedly pursue its implementation. Closing the employment gap by 25% by 2025 is feasible. Equal participation in the world of business is the key to women's equality. Germany has many challenges to overcome in this respect as well, and can benefit from the international exchange.”
The President of the National Council of German Women’s Organizations, Mona Küppers, is looking forward to the W20 dialogue process: “It is common knowledge that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is very concerned with the economic empowerment of women. This gives us all the more reason to expect the G20 to finally decide on a consistent gender perspective – with binding and measurable goals. The G20 must set new standards with regard to this issue in the next year under the German presidency. After all, we are not starting from scratch. Binding objectives and recommended actions already exist at international level in the form of the sustainable development goals of Agenda 2030, on the one hand, and the ‘Women's Empowerment Principles’, on the other hand. The G20 should therefore commit itself to these.”
Both associations supported the first W20 dialogue under the Turkish presidency last year as well as this year's dialogue in China. W20 2017 wants to build on these experiences and results to develop a sustainable and democratic dialogue Forum.
The W20 Summit will take place in Berlin in April 2017, the highlight of which will be a scheduled meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is to be presented with the final W20 communiqué as acting President of the G20.
Women 20 (W20) is the official dialogue of lobbyists for women’s policy with the G20. As an integral part of the G20 process, it promotes dialogue between politics, civil society and business at international level. The task of W20 is to support the G20 through specific recommendations for action, consolidated advocacy and expertise. Joint recommendations are drawn up by representatives of women's and social organizations, women entrepreneurs and international organizations from around the world. The topics of W20 include the labour force participation of women, equal pay, women in managerial positions, female entrepreneurship, access to the capital market, the compatibility of family and career and the evaluation of employment and care work.
As the umbrella organization of more than 50 nationwide women's associations and organizations, the National Council of German Women’s Organizations (DF) is the biggest women's lobby in Germany.
The Association of German Women Entrepreneurs (VdU) is a cross-industry trade association which has been representing the interests of entrepreneurially active women in commerce, society and politics for more than sixty years. The VdU currently represents some 1800 women entrepreneurs throughout Germany.
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