Women20 Summit to gather global leaders in Johannesburg to mainstream gender considerations into G20 discussion
Despite progress in recent years, women worldwide continue to face significant barriers to economic empowerment and gender equality. The stark reality is that many women still lack access to financial resources, equal opportunities, and a safe environment, hindering their ability to contribute fully to socio-economic development. This challenge is particularly pronounced in areas such as financial inclusion, gender-based violence, climate justice, and the digital divide.
To address these challenges, women leaders from diverse backgrounds worldwide will converge in Johannesburg for the Women20 South Africa (W20SA) Summit at the Vivari Hotel and Spa from 12 to 14 October 2025.
Women20 South Africa Summit Programme.
Thematic areas
- Financial inclusion and the care economy
- Gender-based violence and femicide
- Climate justice and the environment
- Women; science, technology, engineering and mathematics; and the digital divide
- Health equity for women and girls
- Women, land and agriculture
The Summit’s thematic areas have been informed by extensive consultations with W20 heads of delegation, international agencies, and local stakeholders, aligning with the United Nations sustainable development goals (UN SDGs) and G20 priorities.
Key outputs
Historic first as W20 demands G20 action on modern slavery during South Africa’s host year media statement issued by Walk Free
From Advocacy to Implementation: A Decade of Women20 Influence on Global Gender Policy (2015 – 2024) Harvard Kennedy School Women’s Alumni Network 2025
Read more about the Women20 Summit.
Women20
Women20 (W20) is an official engagement group of the Group of 20 dedicated to gender equality and women’s economic empowerment, annually developing consensus-based recommendations to ensure that gender is mainstreamed and included in the G20 leaders discussions and ultimately the Leaders’ Declaration. The W20SA leadership is under the head of delegation and chair Prof Narnia Bohler-Muller with the support of the Human Sciences Research Council.
Read more about the W20SA activities supported by the HSRC
Women20 (W20) was founded by the G20 with the long term aim of reducing the gender employment gap by 25 percent by 2025 as agreed in the G20 2014 Summit in Brisbane, Australia, often referred to as the Brisbane Agreement. In October 2015 the first working group meeting was held in Turkey under the G20 Turkish Presidency year. The W20 provides specific recommendations for action, consolidated advocacy and expertise to the G20 Member States. These joint recommendations are drawn up by representatives of women’s and social organisations, women entrepreneurs and female economic experts from G20 countries and international organizations from around the world. The aim is to permanently mainstream women’s economic participation and empowerment in G20 objectives and to support existing political declarations, including the UN’s Agenda 2030.