Statement on Backtracking on Equality

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) reports that the G20 Empowerment of Women Working Group (EWWG) failed to reach a consensus on its final ministerial declaration during South Africa's presidency. Despite broad agreement among 18 member states, one country's sustained reservations regarding gender-based terminology and women's rights framings led to the issuance of a Chair's Statement instead of a joint declaration.

• Under South Africa's G20 Presidency, the Empowerment of Women Working Group (EWWG) focused on three interdependent priorities: the care economy, women's financial inclusion, and the eradication of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). The group produced several knowledge products, including policy briefs on these priorities, a book of abstracts on women's entrepreneurship, and an Action Plan and Measurement Framework (2025–2030) for financial inclusion.
• The G20 EWWG was unable to achieve consensus on its final ministerial declaration because one member state maintained extensive reservations. This country opposed the use of the terms 'gender' and 'unpaid care', requesting they be replaced with 'sex-based' terminology, and rejected established women's-rights framings and UN resolutions. While other delegations had reservations about 'sexual and reproductive health' and 'reproductive rights', 18 of the G20 member states present were generally willing to compromise.
• The failure to reach consensus is attributed to a global backlash from far-right, patriarchal, and conservative movements that frame gender equality as a threat to national identity, tradition, and family. This trend threatens previously established wins such as bodily autonomy, access to sexual and reproductive health, and the recognition of unpaid care.
• Structural barriers continue to hinder women's participation in public and economic life. Globally, women perform 76.2% of unpaid care work compared to 23.8% for men. In South Africa, approximately eight women are unable to participate in the labour market due to unpaid care for every one man in the same position. Additionally, 1.4 billion adults are financially excluded globally, and the WHO reports that one in three women worldwide have experienced physical or sexual violence.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2025). Statement on Backtracking on Equality. https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/statement-backtracking-on-equality/

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. Statement on Backtracking on Equality. 2025. https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/statement-backtracking-on-equality/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=Statement on Backtracking on Equality |date=3 November 2025 |url=https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/statement-backtracking-on-equality/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{instituteforeconomicjustice2025statement, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{Statement on Backtracking on Equality}}, publisher = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2025}, month = nov, url = {https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/statement-backtracking-on-equality/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }