An update from Pat Black, who the SI Advocacy Team is delighted to have nominated to sit as W7 Gender Equality Advisor to the G7.

“In my previous blog I talked about the work we had done as W7 Advisors in presenting recommendations to this year’s G7 under the Presidency of German Federal Chancellor Scholz. In this blog I would like to update on the response which we had from the G7 meeting in June and ongoing plans.

 The W7 Implementation Plan

This Implementation Plan developed by global W7 Advisors over many hours of discussion set out a more detailed framework for G7 leaders to consider while developing their plans for gender equality across the many issues which women and girls are facing, particularly post COVID-19.

As one of the advisors I was pleased to be able to join with others in highlighting a primary platform of SI advocacy, education and training, as a major area for G7 leaders to address as a matter of urgency, especially as indicated in this part of the W7 Implementation Plan:

1. “Provide education, mentoring and training systems at all levels for women and girls in all their diversity:
   • Commit to the achievement by 2026 of the global SDG4 girls’ education targets to start educating 40 million more girls in low- and lower-middle income countries and to teach 20 million more girls to read by the age of ten, with bold pledges across the G7 to ensure a fully funded global partnership for education.
   • Ensure especial funding for women’s and girl’s education focusing on non-traditional subjects such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and additionally for reskilling and upskilling female workforce members who have been hardest hit by job losses and change during the COVID-19 pandemic.
   • Commit to protecting global education financing from aid cuts and reaching the international standards of 10-15% of ODA funding going towards education by 2030.
   • Promote comprehensive sex education (CSE) for girls and boys in all kinds of schools. Ensure that educational materials are free from stereotypes and that young people are exposed to a diversity of roles for all genders.”

 

What happened at G7?

The first thing which struck everyone when the initial photos of the G7 gathering were published was that not one of the G7 leaders is a woman.  The only female present, and that by special invitation, was EU President Ursula Von der Leyen.  Where was the voice of women and girls in these high-level major discussions which affect so many around the globe?

Inevitably the main discussion points between the G7 leaders at the 26/28 June Summit were dominated by the impact of the conflict in Ukraine, the ripple effect of sanctions and food security and the energy crisis on the global economy.  Soroptimist International supported a strong letter from the Gender Advocacy Task Force to the G7 response in relation to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine including the following:

“Gender Equality: G7 recognition of the need to address violence against women and girls (VAWG) in conflict situations, such as the Ukraine, should be extended to address violence in all forms. Commitments on girl’s education made last year should also be met including access to social safety nets, along with strong language protecting the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights which are under threat globally. G7 COVID-19 economic recovery measures must include: investment in water and sanitation, universal social protection, and investment in health and care services, responding to the priorities of women and girls in all their diversity.”

So what were the outcomes of the global leaders discussions over two and a half days with so much to cover? The G7 Leaders’ Communique addressed many of the global issues as expected. But it was inevitable that the recommendations of all of the Engagement Groups, including W7, would be compressed into a very few words.

In relation to Gender Equality and the requests from W7 we find the first mention in the following paragraph on page 17 in the G7 Communique:

“In the spirit of feminist development, foreign and trade policies and to empower women and girls, we will strengthen the rights, resources and opportunities for women and girls in all their diversity in every sphere. We are deeply concerned about the deepening learning crisis generated by emerging conflicts and chronic emergencies worldwide, particularly for the most marginalised learners, and stand steadfast in our commitment to protecting and prioritising girls’ education.”

So for Soroptimist International at least there is an aspiration to prioritise girls’ education.  It is important to girls in many countries, especially for example Afghanistan, that this promise is delivered. It is important that Soroptimists in every country continue to hold their Government to account.

On page 23/24 of the G7 Communique is a specific paragraph on Gender Equality although this has been described as quite weak by W7 advisors.  A detailed analysis by the Gender and Development Network based in the UK can be found on their website.

The W7 Advisors based in the UK received an encouraging letter from the UK Sherpa – the civil servant responsible for leading discussions on behalf of the UK. (All G7 country leaders have the support of such civil servants known as Sherpas.) He said that our W7 work had contributed to the discussions and to the development of the Communique and was able to outline some specific commitments which the UK Government made during and following the discussions.

As Advisors we hope that the continuing dialogue behind the scenes during the remainder of the year with individual national Governments of the 2022 G7 will enable our recommendations to be considered and, most critically, acted upon.

What next?

Women7 will continuously advocate for the work we have set out within the G7 negotiation framework to ensure that G7 leaders, working groups and ministerial meetings translate the W7 recommendations into action. An event entitled ‘Care to Build Back Better? Anchoring The Gendered Care Economy in The Center of Covid-19 Recovery’ was held alongside the UN High Level Political Forum In July based on the contents of the W7 Communique.

There will be further opportunities during the rest of the year to press for action on all the recommendations.  We must continue to remind G7 leaders (and all other Governments) that the human rights of women have taken a backward step over the last few years so it is now even more critical to see past promises implemented.

‘Time to Deliver’ must remain our mantra for all involved in advancing the lives of women and girls.”