On Friday, Women and Gender Equity Minister Mónica Zalaquett participated in the “Jobs Reset Summit” organized by the World Economic Forum to address issues of equity, inclusion and social justice in the workplace.
During her presentation, Minister Zalaquett emphasized the importance of promoting empowerment of women from a collaborative perspective, incorporating the private sector as a strategic ally. Chile was invited to the event as a global pacesetter because it has the world’s largest network of companies allied with the Gender Parity Initiative (GPI), with over 180 members.
“At the Women and Gender Equity Ministry, we believe that decreasing the gaps between men and women is the only way to achieve development and sustainable growth. We must work with the private sector as one of the key stakeholders in society in order to achieve this goal.”
In this context, the minister noted the importance of making every effort to reincorporate the 900,000 women who have left the labor force due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which would boost the Chilean GDP by 6.5% according to Latin American Center for Economic and Social Policies (CLAPES UC). “In order to achieve that objective, there is an urgent need to accelerate digitalization of women and move towards comprehensive care systems, among other things,” Minister Zalaquett noted.
The conclusions reached by the panel she participated in include that companies that wish to ensure their survival will have to make inclusion the norm.