Sun City: Advancing women’s economic empowerment through inclusive financial systems will take center stage this week, as the G20 Financial Inclusion and Women Empowerment Conference 2025 kicks off at the Sun City Resort, in North West Province. Hosted by the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD), the event, taking place from 6 to 9 May 2025, brings together the 2nd Empowerment of Women Working Group (EWWG) and the Financial Inclusion Conference under South Africa’s G20 Presidency.
According to South African Government News Agency, building on the outcomes of Brazil’s 2024 Financial Inclusion and Women’s Empowerment Conference, this year’s gathering aims to influence future G20 policy through the introduction of a Guidelines Framework for Mainstreaming Women’s Priorities, ensuring women’s financial empowerment remains central to global institutional and economic reforms. The initiative aligns with South Africa’s G20 Presidency priorities, including the EWWG Priority 2: Promoting the Financial Inclusion of and for Women. It also supports global and continental development agendas, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the African Union Agenda 2063, and South Africa’s own National Development Plan (NDP) 2030.
The event will bring together a diverse mix of global thought leaders, including international policymakers, researchers, entrepreneurs, and youth delegates. As the Chair of the Empowerment of Women Working Group, the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities has partnered with Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) to advance and strengthen financial inclusion and women’s empowerment agenda under South Africa’s G20 Presidency. ‘The two meetings will further discuss South Africa’s position in reaffirming its commitment to advance the empowerment of women and gender equality, while also exchanging best practices to accelerate outcomes for women and girls’ empowerment in all their diversities,’ the DWYPD said in a statement on Monday.
The key themes to be addressed during the meetings include policy perspectives on the care economy-paid and unpaid care work and household responsibilities, promotion of financial inclusion of and for women, and addressing gender-based violence and femicide. South Africa’s G20 Chairship comes as the global community marks a decade since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals, and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 5 on women’s empowerment and gender equality. SDG 5 aims to ensure women and girls enjoy equal rights, opportunities, and participate fully in all aspects of life, including political, economic, and social spheres. The goal also focuses on eliminating all forms of discrimination, violence, and harmful practices against women and girls.
‘With only five years left to achieve the 2030 targets, the Working Group under South Africa will champion accelerating SDG 5 among G20 members,’ the department said. A key feature of this year’s conference is its Academic Track, which is being led by TUT’s Centre for Entrepreneurship Development. The track is designed to bring together researchers, scholars, and thought leaders in a series of plenaries, policy dialogues, and research presentations, all aimed at driving evidence-based solutions for women’s financial empowerment.
Co-Chairperson of the G20 Conference and Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development at TUT, Dr. Patrick Ebewo, underscored the urgency of dismantling structural barriers that continue to limit women’s full participation in the global economy. ‘This conference offers a unique opportunity for policymakers, academics, and advocates to come together and develop practical strategies for reshaping financial ecosystems, advancing economic justice, and increasing entrepreneurial opportunities for women,’ Dr. Ebewo said.
The key objectives of the academic track include generating evidence-based solutions, integrating policy frameworks, fostering multidisciplinary collaboration, and incorporating regional and global perspectives. These objectives aim to develop innovative, research-driven strategies to support women’s empowerment and financial inclusion, bridge academic insights with real-world policy formulation, promote cross-sector partnerships among academia, government, industry, and civil society, and leverage diverse case studies and best practices, especially from developing economies, to craft scalable and adaptable solutions.