Pretoria - The gathering of women from twenty countries within the G20 formation have concluded their meeting which discussed gender issues.
South Africa was represented in the meeting which was held under the theme “Equal participation and innovative development,” by International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane. The meeting was took place in China’s Xi'an province.
This body was launched in 2015 in Turkey as a stand-alone outreach group to support G20's efforts to achieve inclusive growth and raise the profile of gender issues with the core objective of promoting global gender-inclusive economy growth.
“The W20 meeting discussed various issues ranging from gender equality perspectives in global economic governance, women's employment, entrepreneurship and social protection, women's role in the digital economy and interconnected and innovative women's network,” Dirco said on Thursday.
Minister Nkoana-Mashabane confirmed during the W20 meeting that South Africa has made strides in closing the gender inequality gap and according to the World Economic Forum, South Africa is ranked number 17 out of 142 countries on women's equality.
“In all the policies produced by the country, women's rights remain a cornerstone of the legal framework such as the National Development Plan, which is in line with the African Union's Agenda 2063 vision, outlining that there be gender equality and women empowerment in all spheres of life,” Dirco said.
A joint communique was adopted and will be presented to G20 in September.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Minister Nkoana-Mashabane held a bilateral meeting with both the President of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), SHEN Yueyue and the Vice President of the all-China Women's Federation and member of the secretariat, MENG Xiaosi.
In both the meeting they shared information on ways each respective country deals with issues of women empowerment and gender equality to ensure that gender parity is linked to economic prosperity.
These leaders agreed that women's advancement and leadership are central to both countries.
Both countries also agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on various aspects of development for women such as women cooperative training.
Dirco says the signing of the MOU will advance the strong bilateral relationship, which are already in existence between the two countries.
Minister Nkoana-Mashabane was accompanied by the Minister of Social Development Bathabile Dlamini; Deputy Minister of Land Affairs and Rural Development, Cadith Mashego-Dlamini; as well as senior government officials from the Department of Women. - SAnews.gov.za
