The women behind the G20 dialogue group Women20 can already chalk up a political success even before their summit comes to a close. German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel will take part in the summit sessions a total of three times, before accepting the final W20 Communiqué in her role as the current G20 president.
The organizers of this year’s W20 dialogue under the German G20 presidency – the National Council of German Women’s Organisations (Deutscher Frauenrat) and the Association of German Women Entrepreneurs (Verband deutscher Unternehmerinnen – VdU) – are delighted by the extraordinary level of interest the event has generated, particularly among leading female figures in business and politics. As well as Mrs Merkel, the panel discussions will be attended by Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, First Daughter and Advisor to the US President Ivanka Trump, and the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde, alongside many other high-ranking guests.
In the presence of more than 400 journalists from around the world – a record figure for a W20 summit – the over 100 delegates, international experts and guests will formulate concrete demands for improving the economic participation of women.
The organizers aim to make good use of the high level of media attention. “We are extremely pleased that the Women20 Summit has come into political focus,” said Stephanie Bschorr, President of the VdU. “The fact that Chancellor Merkel is taking part three times is an encouraging sign that we are making real progress. It is time to make use of the potential offered by women’s economic empowerment to bring about sustainable growth.”
“W20 is not a token event. We aim to bring our demands to the G20 negotiating table,” said Mona Küppers, President of the Deutscher Frauenrat. “Women’s economic empowerment and their equal participation must be placed at the heart of the G20 process. Under the German G20 presidency, we expect new standards to be set and new goals to be formulated.”
The W20 Summit will close on Wednesday evening with the handover of the W20 Communiqué. Next year, the W20 process will continue under the Argentinian G20 presidency.
A live stream of the conference can be accessed on www.w20-germany.org and on the official G20 website www.g20.org.
Download Press Release (pdf)