SHRM Presents Policy Recommendations at B20 Summit in Indonesia

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — SHRM (the Society for Human Resource Management) President and CEO Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. and Chief of Staff and Head of Government Affairs Emily M. Dickens joined government and global business leaders at the B20 Summit in Indonesia Nov. 13-14, presenting policy recommendations to reduce the gender gap in the workplace.

Taylor and Dickens serve as co-chair and deputy co-chair, respectively, of the B20 Indonesia Women in Business Action Council. B20 is the business voice of the G20, the multilateral platform connecting the world's major developed and emerging economies.

"G20 governments should give special consideration to supporting strategic and scalable technical and vocational education, digital skills and chances for lifelong learning," said Taylor during a panel discussion at the summit in Bali. "It's crucial to get girls and young women interested in STEM fields of study and training at an earlier age. This calls for sufficient investments in social infrastructure, as well as the creation of flexible formats that can accommodate the complex challenges women across the globe face daily."

The Women in Business Action Council's policy recommendations seek to empower women entrepreneurs, enable women's digital and leadership capabilities and promote safe and equitable workplaces. To advance those efforts, the Action Council recommends developing a global women business network to stimulate cross-border knowledge-sharing and investments in women-led businesses, equipping more girls and women with STEM and digital skills and strengthening skills for women to undertake leadership roles in their organizations.

"These policy recommendations may arguably be the most important recommendations the G20 will receive because they provide actionable steps to bring millions of families out of poverty in a human-centered way that will secure lives and livelihoods for generations to come," said Taylor. "G20 countries can lead in the full participation of all people, including women, in the global workplace and economy. SHRM has shared this message with every congressional office in the U.S. and the Biden Administration. The time is now."

With an average of 1,000 delegates from the G20 countries, B20 accounts for 2,000 participants representing over 6.5 million businesses. SHRM also served as a member of B20's Future of Work and Education Task Force.

B20 Indonesia officially conveyed its final recommendations to the G20 presidency in advance of the G20 Summit Nov. 15-16.

About SHRM

SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management, creates better workplaces where employers and employees thrive together. As the voice of all things work, workers and the workplace, SHRM is the foremost expert, convener and thought leader on issues impacting today's evolving workplaces. More than 95 percent of Fortune 500 companies rely on SHRM to be their go-to resource for all things work and their business partner in creating next-generation workplaces. With 300,000+ HR and business executive members in 165 countries, SHRM impacts the lives of more than 115 million workers and families globally. Learn more at SHRM.org and on Twitter @SHRM.