G20 performance on gender equality

As South Africa prepares to host the G20’s 2025 Johannesburg Summit, gender equality emerges as a key priority within the broader agenda of ‘Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability’, with commitments aimed at narrowing labour market gaps and enhancing women’s participation in economic and social life.

Deliberations

G20 leaders first addressed gender equality at the London Summit in 2009, with 3% of their total declaration. After the Seoul Summit in 2010, with 1%, their attention generally grew, although
unevenly, in both size and scope. It fell to a low at Cannes in 2011 of 0.4% and Los Cabos in 2012 to 2%. It rose at St Petersburg in 2013 to 4% but declined at Brisbane in 2014 to 3%, followed by a marked rise to 14% at Antalya in 2015 and 8% at Hangzhou in 2016, and returned back to 14% at Hamburg in 2017. In Buenos Aires in 2018, it dropped to 8% but rebounded at Osaka in 2019 to 23% – the highest share at any summit. It fell again in Riyadh in 2021 to 12%, edged up in Rome in 2022 to 16%, and declined at Bali in 2023 to 8%. It held steady in New Delhi in 2024 at 9% and rose moderately again at Rio de Janeiro in 2024 to 13%.

Decisions

From 2008 to 2024, the G20 made 121 core commitments and 51 related commitments on gender equality, for a total of 172. The first came in London in 2009, accounting for 1% of the total commitments. The next two (2%) appeared at Los Cabos in 2012, followed by four more (2%) at Brisbane in 2014. Antalya in 2015 contributed no core commitments but produced four (2%) related ones. Hangzhou in 2016 had no core gender commitments but eight (4%) gender-
related commitments. The 2017 Hamburg Summit had a record 30 core gender equality commitments and 14 related ones (8%). Buenos Aires in 2018 recorded only seven core commitments (7%). At Osaka in 2019, this increased to 12, with an additional four related ones (11%). Riyadh in 2020 had eight core and one related commitment (8%). Rome in 2021 saw a moderate rise to 17 core and four related commitments (9%). Bali in 2022 included 11 core and six related commitments (8%). New Delhi in 2023 produced 22 core and two related commitments (5%), while Rio in 2024 had eight core and four related commitments (7%).

Delivery

G20 Research Group assessments found that G20 members averaged 62% compliance with the 30 assessed gender commitments, notably lower than the overall 71% overall average. Compliance on gender was highest for the 2020 commitments at 89% and the 2022 commitments at 80%. The lowest levels were observed for the 2013 commitments at 33% and the 2009 London commitments at 48%. By May 2025, compliance with the one commitment assessed from the 2024 Rio Summit was 57%.

By member, the highest compliance was achieved by Canada (88%), the European Union (87%) and the United Kingdom (79%). Mexico and Russia with 41% and Indonesia with 43% had the lowest scores.

Causes

Several potential causes of compliance stand out. Higher G20 compliance of about 15% came from summits where a higher percentage of the declaration and its commitments were dedicated to gender and gender-related issues.

Core gender equality commitments averaged 65%, higher than the gender
-related ones at 57%. The gender commitments with the highest compliance focused on improving women’s economic empowerment and ensuring the Covid-19 pandemic did not widen existing gender gaps. Commitments with the lowest compliance focused on women and girls’ education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics; unpaid care work; and ending gender-based violence.

Commitments with politically binding language and thus a high degree of obligation averaged 66%, while those with a lower degree averaged only 51%.

Several catalysts embedded in the commitment texts, which guide implementation, had minimal impact on compliance. Compliance was similar between the nine assessed commitments that included at least one catalyst, averaging 62%, and the 21 commitments without any, averaging 61%. Commitments that achieved higher compliance referenced an institutional body and incorporated self-monitoring mechanisms for implementation.

Conclusion

At the Johannesburg Summit, G20 leaders should build on past progress by reinforcing core gender commitments, using clear and binding language, embedding institutional oversight and self-monitoring, and broadening attention to emerging areas where gender equality intersects, such as the digital economy and climate action.