Leaders of 26 major companies commit to eliminating gender inequality by 2030

On 18 October at the opening of the Women’s Forum 2021 in Milan and ahead of the 30-31 October G20 summit to be held in Rome, 26 leaders of major corporations signed a ‘zero gap’ pact. Through this pact, the leaders of companies such as Gucci, BNP Paribas, Engie, Enel, Publicis, and Microsoft have committed to eliminating gender inequality by 2030 and to ‘putting women at the heart of the economy.’ According to the think tank’s barometer, women represent 52% of the world’s workforce, yet their contribution to economic growth is only 34%. The pact’s signatories promise to train recruitment teams to eliminate gender bias, introduce gender parity in recruitment, implement flexible working hours, and take gender equality into account in succession plans. During the forum, the think tank, chaired by Chiara Corazza, called on G20 leaders “to mainstream a gender dimension in their Agenda and acknowledge women as active contributors in bringing transformative solutions and building back better.” A dozen “achievable, concrete and pragmatic” recommendations were presented to the heads of state. “We are not asking for new financial resources: but rather we strongly believe that existing funds should be reorganised and driven for the better,” stated the Women’s Forum representatives. They suggest, for example, that part of the proceeds of the 15% tax on multinationals be devoted to girls’ education in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering & mathematics).