Fair pay, flexible work for females and the youth on G20's agenda

In France, job postings must now list salary proposals and cannot ask about previous pay.

- Jacqueline Herbst

Being young and female is the worst thing that can happen to you in the labour market.

This is according to the World Bank's opening address on the final day of the G20 Labour and Employment Minister's Meeting (Lemm) held at Fancourt on 30 and 31 July.

The last day of discussions centred around gender equality in the workforce, highlighting the progress made, the barriers that remain and possible solutions to narrow the gaps going forward, and it ended in adoption of the Fancourt Declaration, aimed at ensuring decent work and decent lives for women.

While significant strides have been made towards gender equality in the workforce, women remain underrepresented and earn less money for equal work of equal value as men. Women are also held back by caregiving responsibilities and exclusion from certain key managerial jobs.

Flexible work hours to accommodate care responsibilities, encouragement of men taking parental leave and sharing care duties, investment in child care facilities at work and better maternity leave benefits are just some of the interventions implemented by member states.

Reducing gender gaps in work and wages

Almost all G20 countries have narrowed the labour force participation gap between men and women since 2012.

Australia is the only member state to have achieved the Brisbane Goal of reducing the gender gap in labour force participation by 25%.