New York, 28 August 2019 –Women Deliver, a global advocate for gender equality and the health and rights of girls and women, applauds President Emmanuel Macron for the strong emphasis on gender equality during the French G7 presidency. All of the G7 nations—plus Australia, Chile, India, Senegal, and Rwanda—committed to various legal actions to support girls and women, and some countries committed finances to support female entrepreneurs in Africa and to a fund for survivors of sexual violence. We encourage the G7 and all nations to do more—to join the Biarritz Partnership, to make bold commitments, and to contribute specific funding commitments, as well as to align around specific accountability mechanisms that ensure continued progress.
“The French G7 gave world leaders an opportunity to really step it up,” said Katja Iversen, President and CEO of Women Deliver. “We welcome the political and economic commitments made by several G7 countries and other world leaders at the G7 Summit. But we know that these countries are able to, and need to do, more to move the needle on gender equality—at home and abroad.”
The G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council, founded by Canada and renewed by President Macron—on which Iversen served—presented a report and set of recommendations that lay out gender equality as a crosscutting issue. The report outlines the economic and political benefits of gender equality, and lists a set of 79 laws and policies to guide and inspire G7 and other nations toward gender equality.
“The world needs leaders to take action and make investments,” said Iversen. “A gender equal world is healthier, wealthier, more productive, and more peaceful. We ask leaders to ditch gender discriminatory laws, pass progressive legislation, and invest programmatically, politically, and financially in girls and women—and the organizations who represent them. We got some of the way at this G7, and look forward to what more will come over the next months and year.”
Women Deliver and the Council worked alongside the Women 7 civil society organizations and other partners for more deliberate action, including encouraging the G7 countries to apply a gender lens to economic development, health, education, climate change, technology, and other issues.
The G7 summit came at a critical time in global development. 2020 marks the beginning of the UN’s Decade of Progress and the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration—the world’s groundbreaking commitment to gender equality and women’s rights.
“In a world where pushback on women’s rights is becoming commonplace, now is the time to stand up for gender equality and the rights of girls and women, including their sexual and reproductive rights,” said Iversen. “We urge world leaders to join us and affirm their commitment to safeguarding human rights and advancing gender equality. Not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because in a gender equal world, everybody wins.”
For more information, please contact media@womendeliver.org or +1 646-695-9100. Additional information about documents coming out of the G7 can be found here.
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About Women Deliver: Women Deliver is a leading global advocate that champions gender equality and the health and rights of girls and women. Our advocacy drives investment – political and financial – in the lives of girls and women worldwide. We harness evidence and unite diverse voices to spark commitment to gender equality. And we get results. Anchored in sexual and reproductive health, we advocate for the rights of girls and women across every aspect of their lives. We know that investing in girls and women will deliver progress for all.
About the independent Gender Equality Advisory Council to the G7 Presidency: The Gender Equality Advisory Council (GEAC) was created by Prime Minister Trudeau during Canada's G7 presidency in 2018. French President Emmanuel Macron renewed it in 2019 by renewing its members and its mandate.
The 2019 Council is composed of 35 members, including three Nobel Peace Prize laureates, representatives of international and French NGOs, international organizations and private companies, government representatives[1], journalists and artists.
The Advisory Council met four times in Paris in 2019. President Macron initiated the work of the Council in February; the Council then met in May on the margins of the meeting of the G7 Ministers for Equality between Women and Men and in July and in August. In addition, Council members participated in most G7 ministerial meetings and Sherpa and Sous-Sherpa meetings, thereby strengthening the place of gender equality on the G7 agenda.
[1] The Council is an independent body. Government representatives recognize the inherent challenge of both advocating and receiving recommendations in their dual roles as members of the Council and the G7, and do not take this report to be a government document of endorsed recommendations.
