W20 (Women 20) is an official engagement group under the G20 which was established during the Turkish presidency in 2015. Its primary objective is to ensure that gender considerations are mainstreamed into G20 discussions and translated into the G20 Leaders’ Declaration as policies and commitments that foster gender equality and women’s economic empowerment.
W20 India took over the presidency from W20 Indonesia on 12 December 2022. W20, under India’s presidency, is focused on actualizing Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of “Women-Led Development” with a with the vision to create a world of equality and equity where every woman lives with dignity and where every woman gets the opportunity to thrive, transcend and transform their lives and those of others. W20, 2023 is focusing on removing barriers to women-led development and ensure an enabling environment and ecosystem for women to realize their full potential, transforming their lives as well as of others.
The goal that has been set by the W20 2023 is to ensure continuity of the W20 agenda from the past presidencies while establishing a stronger W20 global and national network. These inclusive consultations and actions will be feeding into the W20 Communique and G20 Leaders’ Declaration. W20, 2023 aims to ensure that the W20 communique is representative and comprehensive and will provide solutions to enhance the status of women across the globe.
There are five priority areas of W20 under India’s Presidency which include, Women in Entrepreneurship, Women Leadership at Grassroots, Bridging the Gender Digital Divide, Education & Skill Development and Women & Girls as change makers Climate Resilience Action.
Dr. Sandhya Purecha, Chairperson of Sangeet Natak Akademi is the chair of W20. Other eminent Indian Delegates of the group include, Dr.Jyoti Kiran Shukla, ex-chairperson of the 5th Rajasthan Finance Commission, Prof. Shamika Ravi, Member Economic Council of Prime Minster of India, Ms.Bharati Ghosh IPS (Retd.), Ms.Raveena Tandon, Actor, Ms.Bansuri Swaraj, Advocate, Supreme Court of India and Dharitri Patnaik, Entrepreneur & Philanthropist as Chief Coordinator of W20 Secretariat. W20 has approximately 100 delegates representing the 19 countries and EU which works collaboratively and intensely on the five task forces, the policy recommendations and drafting of the Communique. Since taking over from W20 Indonesia, W20 India has signed more than 15 MOUS with various organizations as knowledge and network partners, conducted 40 Jan Bhagidari programs with thousands of women across 10 states in India.
The Inception Meet at Aurangabad, Maharashtra will be held on 27-28 February, 2023. This will be followed by two other W20 International meets at Jaipur, Rajasthan on 13th-14th April and at the W20 Summit in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu on 15th-16th June.
The city of Aurangabad is all set to host the Inception Meeting of W20. ‘Pursuit of gender equality, equity and dignity for women-led development’ is the theme of the Inception meeting and it envisages discussing, deliberating and developing a cogent strategy to target gender-related issues. The Meeting will welcome International delegates from G20 nations, guest countries and International organizations.
The Inception meeting of W20 will be privileged to have the presence of the Honourable Minister of Women & Child Development and Minority Affairs, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani who will share her valuable thoughts on gender equality and women’s empowerment with the august gathering. Dr. Bhagat Kishanrao Karad, MoS, Ministry of Finance, Government of India and Shri Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister, Government of Maharashtra. will also attend Further, the meeting will be marked by the presence of Shri Amitabh Kant, India’s G20 Sherpa, Dr. Gulden Turktan, Founder chair of W20 and Ms Uli Silalahi, chair of W20 Indonesia 2022.
Various panel discussions during the Inception meeting will deliberate on empowering women in nano, micro & start up enterprises; role of women as change makers in climate resilience action; creating an enabling ecosystem for women leaders at the grassroots; improving access through infrastructure and skill to bridge the gender digital divide; creating pathways for education, skill development and entrepreneurship; and on women led development in India. The stories of unconventional women in India breaking barriers in different fields including in the Indian Navy, in grassroots entrepreneurship, etc., will also be shared with delegates.
In addition, the Inception meeting will have cultural programmes and a visit to the heritage sites of Aurangabad, ancient Ellora caves to showcase the historical and cultural heritage of Maharashtra. Today India is witnessing a rapid transition from women’s development to women-led development. The country is moving with the vision of Hon’ble Prime Minister of a new India where women are equal partners in the sustainable development of the country. India is committed towards nurturing a society where empowered women live with dignity and contribute as equal partners.
W20 meetings are envisaged to play a pivotal role in driving collaboration and providing further impetus to gender equity and women’s economic empowerment.
