Gujarat to host G20 ministerial conference on women empowerment

Gandhinagar, the capital city of Gujarat is set to host G20 EMPOWER Summit from 1st  to 4th August and G20 Ministerial Conference on Women Empowerment from 2nd to 4th August at Mahatma Mandir. The themes for these events are Women-Led Development: Ensuring a sustainable, inclusive, and equitable global economic growth, and ‘Women-led Inclusive Development as cusp of Inter-generational Transformation’ respectively. The main event will begin on 1st August with the launch of G20 EMPOWER Digital Inclusion Platform by Smriti Zubin Irani, Union Minister for Women & Child Development, and Minority Affairs, and  Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa.

The Inaugural Ceremony will witness the presence of special dignitaries including Indevar Pandey, Secretary, Ministry of Women & Child Development; Dr. Sangita Reddy, Chair, G20 EMPOWER; Ms. Sima Bahous, Executive Director, UN Women, and Ms. Lakshmi Shyam Sunder, Vice-President, World Bank.This will be followed by an Opening Plenary Session addressed by Smt. Rajashree Birla, Head, Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development, Chairperson, FICCI CSR & Community Development Committee; Sivasubramanian Ramann, Chairman & Managing Director, SIDBI and  Sanjiv Mehta, Former CEO & MD, Hindustan Unilever Limited; and Past President, FICCI.

There will be five panel discussions highlighting topics:Leading the Change: Women Redefining Leadership, Leveraging Digital Public Infrastructure to advance financial equality of women,Closing the gap: Achieving TECHEQUITY for Women, She-preneurs: Harnessing the power of Women-Led Enterprises, Leadership Unplugged: Empowering stories by Inspirational Leaders. These sessions will witness the presence of various dignitaries from different organizations across the world like World Bank, UN Women, SIDBI, FICCI,  Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, HUL, Wockhardt Hospitals, The Female Quotient, BRICS Women Business Alliance, Dept of Economic Affairs GOI, Africa Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, SAP Labs India, TCS, Microsoft India, LinkedIn India, Nykaa Fashion, Da Milano, Safeducate, FICCI Ladies Organisation, Biotique, Grow Supplier ZA, Business in the Community, Bharat Hotels Limited, Kinetic Green Energy & Power Solutions Limited, Former Ambassador of India to the United States.

India’s G20 presidency is prioritizing the shift from Women’s Development to ‘Women-led Development.’ The Women 20 (W20) engagement group aims to create a world where each woman lives with dignity and gets an opportunity to thrive, transcend and transform her life along with others. Gujarat's active involvement in hosting various key events during India's G20 presidency showcases its commitment to global cooperation and sustainable development. From trade and finance to environment, tourism, and urban development, the state has been at the forefront of promoting meaningful discussions and collaborations to address pressing global challenges.