“We want to build consensus at the G20,” says Brazil’s Minister of Women
In this exclusive interview, Brazil's Minister of Women talks about the country’s priorities concerning gender discussions at the G20, and about the need for countries to advance their policies towards equality
On the eve of the first and unprecedented meeting of the G20 Working Group on Empowerment of Women, created in 2023 under India’s presidency, Brazil’s Minister of Women Cida Gonçalves highlights—in this exclusive interview to the G20 Brazil website—the great existing challenges to global gender equality.
Gonçalves has a history of activism in popular movements, and is a specialist in gender issues, notably violence against women. To her, the fight for equality is one of the Brazilian presidency’s priorities for the recently created WG—and Brazil’s Equal Pay Law, enacted in 2023 by President Lula, illustrates this. “The law is a civilizational landmark and cannot be considered merely a women’s issue; it’s an issue that pertains to society as a whole, an economic issue,” she says.
The World Bank's Women, Business and the Law 2023 report corroborates Gonçalves’ statement. Worldwide, eliminating gender inequality in the labor market could increase GDP per capita by almost 20%, on average, across countries. Globally, around 2.4 billion women of working age do not have the same rights as men, according to the report—which also shows that nations harboring laws that ensure equal rights have developed economies and a high quality of life.
The minister also spoke about other Working Group priorities during G20 discussions: the importance of building consensus; the care economy; and the perspective of gender within the debate on climate justice and global warming.
Women's Empowerment GT: the Brazilian presidency’s priorities
We have three priority issues and one of them is equality, which involves equal pay for men and women, and care policy. How are countries advancing to ensure that women are working fewer hours?
The second agenda is confronting misogyny, hatred against women—and also discrimination, prejudice and confronting all forms of violence, including feminicide.
The third agenda is climate justice. Women are the ones who suffer most because of natural disasters, although they are the ones who preserve the environment the most.
Building consensus at the G20
I hope we can achieve something great: building consensus. During the G20 process, we will be working alongside other countries to discuss gender—and we know that there are differences and controversies, but also many things that unite us. So we hope that in November we will have reached specific recommendations, agreed upon by all countries around these three priorities, with a global diagnosis and planning perspective and continuity in the political debate concerning the place of women in the world.
Climate justice for women
We have been working on climate justice from an economic, developmental, and sustainability standpoint—but we must realize that there is a gender to the sustainability of development. When shacks collapse, when the rains come, women are the ones who suffer alongside their children, the most vulnerable people of all.
On the other hand, they are also the ones planting trees, tending the garden, working from the perspective of sustainable development and nature preservation. It is a challenge, but we must include this perspective in G20 discussions.
"But we must realize that there is a gender to the sustainability of development. When shacks collapse, when the rains come, women are the ones who suffer alongside their children, the most vulnerable people of all."
Equal Pay Act
This law is a turning point, as was the Maria da Penha Law. There was a Brazil before and another after the Maria da Penha Law. The Equal Pay Law is just that: a civilizational milestone that cannot be considered a women’s issue alone: it pertains to society as a whole, it’s an economic issue. The GDP improves, the economy improves, companies improve their quality of work, there is a positive impact on professionals…
The challenge is to implement the law in a country this size, with this territoriality. We have already made agreements with several companies, with several industries—and it is a process that needs to be carried out. This discussion will be a challenge at the G20, which at the same time will be a very important and strategic forum concerning this issue. The law addresses autonomy and equality, and we must follow this path. I believe that we will have a Brazil before the Equal Pay Law, and another Brazil after the law's implementation.
Care economy
It is unacceptable that, in most countries, women earn less than men for doing the same work, and still have to take care of the house, the children, the elderly in the family... This is a discussion that we want to have with companies, with society, with men. We have to bring them into the debate: if women have advanced to public life, men can advance into private life. And it's good that this can happen. This is the path to building a civilizing, humane and fair society.
