In 2020 the world is approaching a number of “tipping points” – planetary, economic, social and political – that have deep implications for the future. WPL’s activities strive to ensure women seize the momentum and join pivotal discussions.
The sobering finding of the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2020, reveals that gender parity will not be attained for 99.5 years. WPL’s experience shows that without political representation no goal can be achieved, as clearly pointed out when speaking to G20 Leaders in Osaka in June 2019.
In 2020, conferences and roundtables in different regions of the world will secure a place for women at key tables and to continue to create opportunities for women political leaders to share good practices and challenges that need to be addressed, for better policy making.
WPL intends to make sure that women’s voices will be heard at the tables to mark the United Nations’s 75th anniversary in 2020, when the UN will launch the biggest-ever global conversation on the future we want. 2020 is also the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform on Action, adopted at the Fourth World Conference for Women, and women political leaders cannot be excluded from this conversation. With only ten years left to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, world leaders at the SDG Summit in September 2019 called for a decade of action and delivery for sustainable development, and pledged to mobilize financing, enhance national implementation and strengthen institutions to achieve the Goals by the target date of 2030, leaving no one behind. WPL will continue to remind world leaders about their promises and reignite their commitment through the WPL Summit 2020 and WPL conversations with G20 Leaders.
“For political representation, parity between women and men in politics is the goal. Parity, which mirrors that half of society are women. Whether we talk about health, peace and security, digitalisation and technology, economy and finance, or leadership and development, convening women political leaders who have the drive and the influence can trigger positive change and progress.” Silvana Koch-Mehrin, G20 Osaka, Japan.
