G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council membership announced

Date: Friday, 9 April 2021

CERN Director-General Dr Fabiola Gianotti, former Foreign Minister for Australia, the Hon Julie Bishop, and Harvard Professor Iris Bohnet join Professor Sarah Gilbert and Chair Sarah Sands on the Council
Council to convene for first time next week (12th April)
Members will produce an independent report with actions to advance women’s empowerment globally.

Minister for Women and Equalities, Liz Truss, has today (9 April) announced the full list of members for the newly formed Gender Equality Advisory Council (GEAC), which will ensure women are at the heart of the build back better agenda as we recover from COVID-19.

World-leading experts including scientists, vaccinologists and business leaders will join the GEAC, including Professor Sarah Gilbert, Dr Fabiola Gianotti and Professor Iris Bohnet.

Members have been selected from each of the G7 countries and beyond, united by their commitment to democracy and women’s empowerment. In total 19 representatives have been appointed to the Council by Truss in her role as the Ministerial Lead for the GEAC, including the Chair, Sarah Sands, who was announced on International Women’s Day.

The council will build on work done by former G7 presidencies and champion the core principles of freedom, opportunity and dignity for women and girls around the world. It will produce an independent report and set out recommendations on how the G7 should work together to ensure that women across the globe are at the forefront of our pandemic recovery as we build back better.

With the UK's vaccine development and rollout highlighting the enormous contribution of women in science, tech and engineering, those from these sectors have been selected to sit on the GEAC to showcase the benefits of careers in STEM, as part of Government work to see more girls taking up related subjects at school.

Minister for Women & Equalities, Liz Truss, said:
“The UK has a proud history of championing the rights of women and girls both here and across the globe.

“I’m pleased that we are using our presidency of the G7 to put women at the heart of our recovery from Covid. We will see a brilliant group of people come together to help us break down barriers for women and girls – empowering them and boosting opportunity.

“Women are rightly at the forefront of our recovery from COVID-19 and the work of the G7, and the Gender Equality Advisory Council will advance these efforts on a global scale, helping women across the globe build back better everywhere.”

Chair of the Gender Equality Advisory Council, Sarah Sands, said:
“The Gender Equality Advisory Council meets at a crucial time for women around the world, as everyone seeks to recover from COVID-19 and seize the opportunity to deliver real change.

“At the very least, women deserve to be valued, with access to education, to skills, to capital, to trade and to respect.

“I’m delighted that so many strong leaders have been appointed to the Council, and I look forward to working with them to hold our decision makers to account, ensuring that they are taking meaningful action to overcome the challenges that we all face.”

The Council is set to meet for the first time on 12 April, with members now actively engaging across the breadth of the G7’s work.

The government is determined that gender equality is viewed as vitally important throughout this year’s presidency, which is why GEAC members will report to G7 Leaders and engage across all seven G7 ministerial tracks to integrate gender equality in all their actions.

Full list of members:

Sarah Sands (Chair), former editor of the Evening Standard and BBC R4’s Today programme
Alice P. Albright, CEO of the Global Partnership for Education
Jutta Allmendinger, President of the WZB Berlin Social Science Centre and Professor of Sociology at Humboldt University Berlin
Hon Julie Bishop, Former Foreign Minister for Australia
Iris Bohnet, Academic Dean, Professor of Public Policy and co-director, Women and Public Policy Program, Harvard University
Ursula M. Burns, former CEO of Xerox and leader of the White House STEM programme
Dr Fabiola Gianotti, physicist, Director-General, CERN
Sarah Gilbert, Lead researcher at Oxford University for the coronavirus vaccine
Isabelle Hudon, Canada’s Ambassador to France and Monaco
Dr (H.C.) Ritu Karidhal, Deputy Operations Director to India’s Mars Orbiter Mission, Mangalyaan
Bogolo J. Kenewendo, Economist and former Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry in Botswana
Reiko Kuroda, Professor of Chemistry & Biology at Chubu University and winner of the L’Oreal-UNESCO award for Women in Science
Dr Dambisa Moyo, Global economist and co-principal of Versaca Investments
Dr Denis Mukwege, gynaecologist, human rights activist and Nobel Peace laureate
Marie-Christine Saragosse, President and CEO of France Médias Monde
Emma Sinclair MBE, Tech entrepreneur and CoFounder of EnterpriseAlumni
Dr Aldijana Šišić, Chief of the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Women)
Dame Rachel de Souza, Children’s Commissioner for England
Jessica Woodroffe, W7 Co-Chair and Director of Gender and Development Network

Further Information

Council members were selected based on the wide-ranging experiences and perspectives on gender equality they can bring to the G7 Summit themes: COVID-19 response and recovery, prosperity and trade, climate and environment, and global values.
Further information on the GEAC can be found on the G7 website g7uk.org
Follow the G7 on Twitter and Instagram @G7
For any media queries please contact the G7 media team on g7media@cabinetoffice.gov.uk or call 0207 2769 797