G20 Meet Goa: Women Delegates Highlight Digital, Financial Inclusion To Bridge Gap

Ahead of the third G20 Development meeting in Goa, several women delegates came together to identify problems and seek solutions that can help bridge the inequality and the gender gap that has long existed in India's economy.

The delegates, headed by the former president of the United Nations General Assembly Maria Fernanda Espinosa, participated in the women-led development discussion seeking to chart out significant goals that can help all stakeholders contribute to bridging the gap that has kept millions of women away from being contributors to the economy.

G20 Meet Goa

According to PTI's report on this crucial meeting, the delegates directed focus towards the digital and financial inclusion of women. Maria Fernanda Espinosa, who headed the panel discussion, highlighted how, unfortunately, women have had to prove themselves at all levels across industries and even in their homes to show how they're not less than men, and that has, in turn, affected the economy as women make half the world's population and keeping them away from economy could be harmful to the cause of humanity and economic progress globally.

As far as women in leadership are concerned, the delegates noted, women leaders have had to constantly prove themselves and fight for their standing given the kind of stereotypes they have had to deal with. Stressing how mentorship can be a great way to bring change, the panel noted that starting now would be a good time to put all hands on deck and empower women from across nations and help them to dream bigger.

How can digital and financial inclusion change the game?

While several women in STEM have proved their mettle, technological barrier and hindrance has always proved to be a roadblock for most women in India and the world. Keeping women away from technology, and working with a stereotype that women are not good with tech is only going to pave the way for challenges that will result in collective harm. The delegates, including Baratang Miya, founder and CEO of 'GirlHype -Women Who Code' from South Africa, noted how tech literacy even in remote regions is the only way forward to bridge the digital gap and help women get an equal platform.

Not just digital inclusion, another important factor is &t=53s">financial literacy which can help bridge inequality and give women the space and authority to make decisions they have always been dependent on. Founder and CEO of Aviom India Housing Finance Kajal Ilmi shed some important facts about the same, highlighting how women in India have always been left out of major financial decisions in their own families, something that has not just shattered their confidence but also stereotyped the notion that women can't deal with financial, which is definitely not true.

India spearheading the G20 Presidency this year can be a game changer if we discuss digital and financial inclusion. With the Digital India campaign, major efforts across sections of society, and uprooting the patriarchal and stereotypical norms, we hope to give women the place in the society they deserve. They get an equal platform to do everything they want to because we may all be for equality and hold as many discussions as we want, but if we're not implying them, there's a bleak chance change will happen.

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