Twenty-four young women－chosen for their experience, ambition and learning ability out of more than 1,700 applicants from the G20 countries－joined this year’s G(irls) 20 summit in Beijing on August 9th.
G(irls) 20, established in 2009, is an organization based in Canada that is devoted to promoting greater female participation in the workforce around the world. Farah Mohamed, head of the organization, said that China stands out internationally for producing impressive examples of women who are in power, particularly in business.
Hong Xinyu, China’s representative at the Summit, told the international gathering that her plan is to open a workshop to help women who were unable to go to college get training in management and leadership. “Chinese women still don’t have enough opportunities to achieve career success” she said. “One important reason is that many of us lack leadership ability and entrepreneurship.”
According to the International Labor Organization, between 1995 and 2015 the proportion of women within the global workforce decreased from 52.4 to 49.6%. Worldwide, the chances for women of participating in the labor market remain almost 27% lower than they are for men, according to the ILO.
The G20 has agreed on a global “gender gap goal” that would translate into more than 100 million new jobs for women across the G20 nations. The tendency of women to undervalue their capacities will be addressed through awareness campaigns, training programmes, mentorship schemes and support networks for aspiring entrepreneurs. This is exactly what G(irls) 20 strives to achieve: cultivating a new generation of young female leaders through entrepreneurship, education and global experience.
