Ardern calls for women, indigenous inclusion in post-Covid-19 recovery

Sydney, Australia, Nov 11 (EFE).- New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern urged political and business leaders Thursday to promote the inclusion of women and indigenous people in post-Covid-19 recovery plans, to achieve a strong, equitable and sustainable economy in Asia Pacific.

“They have been disproportionately affected by the effects of the pandemic, but they are a committed and productive workforce that has a lot to contribute,” Ardern said told executive directors in her opening speech of the two-day Forum of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation virtual summit.

Ardern, who announced in 2019 that her budget would measure her population’s well-being, said world GDP would increase by about $ 13 trillion by 2030 if governments and companies adopt measures in favor of workplace gender parity, according to consulting firm McKinsey.

“This would be equivalent to adding an economy like China to the weight of our world economy,” the leader said in her speech at the meeting, a prelude to the world leaders’ regional forum summit.

Ardern asked those responsible for designing public policies and business practices to seek women’s participation to benefit from the post-Covid-19 recovery, given the pandemic has caused a hit of $ 1 trillion by the exit of the active women population from the labor force.

The prime minister, whose government says it is trying to close the gap with its Maori population, recalled that the 270 million indigenous people living in the region have also been disproportionately affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The business summit in New Zealand focuses on post-Covid-19 economic recovery, digitization of the economy, free trade, green energy and climate change, as well as sustained growth and food security among other issues.

This event is a prelude to the forum’s leaders summit that represents 60 percent of world GDP and more than half of global trade, forms a market of some 2.85 billion consumers – 40 percent of the world population – and aims to establish a free trade zone between the 21 member economies.

The economies that make up the forum, founded in 1989, are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, South Korea, USA, Philippines, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. EFE

wat/lds