Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.

It is a pleasure to be with you all here at the Concordia Summit. My thanks to the Concordia co-founders, Board of Directors, Leadership Council, organizers and staff, as well as to my colleagues at the International Center for Research on Women, Sarah Kambou, and Project Concern International, Carrie Hessler-Radelet.

As everyone just heard rightly declared: “discriminating against women is bad economics”. Instead, investing in women, supporting their agency, and breaking down the barriers that hold women back is essential to a prosperous, modern economy that achieves sustainable inclusive growth. 

This gathering of such a distinguished group of leaders from so many different backgrounds, sectors and geographies is highly illustrative of how broad the effort we undertake - must be - in order to foster women’s economic advancement. We know we are more successful when we act together, in partnership.

In my country Denmark, we have an exceptionally large commitment to promoting policies and programs that eliminate gender disparities and empower women.

We are a long-time champion for gender equality globally and are fully committed to working in partnership with a wide range of actors to challenge injustices and inequities.

Only through collaborative cross-sectoral and untraditional partnerships, and by implementing a whole-of-society approach can we overcome remaining obstacles and fully advance gender equity.

Even in a country, like mine, with structural, societal and legal frameworks to support the full and equal participation of women, challenges remain.  And some of those challenges are in the form of social norms and unconscious biases.

For example, social norms in many ways influence women’s economic opportunities, they frame a woman’s choice of education and career, and they reflect and strengthen discriminating stereotypes, which can affect for example, equal pay and promotion.

We need to become conscious of our unconscious biases and more knowledgeable about the effect they have on our decision-making.  

I say this frequently and yet I find that I cannot say it often enough: achieving gender equity and building equal opportunities for all are some of the most important things we can do to improve our world.

Equity and opportunity are both essential for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals; they are essential for poverty reduction and economic development, and essential for ensuring that men and women can contribute fully at home, at work, and in the public life to the benefit of our societies and economies at large. 

The enormous potential of women as catalysts of economic growth, whether in the formal or the informal sectors, is a business case that is well proven by now.

We know what can happen when you unleash the power of women. And yet, we know from the data we gather and from the stories we hear from across the globe, that challenges persist and there is more that must be done.

We continue to struggle to fully remove the barriers preventing the power held by women and girls from translating into social and economic gains.

Women often not only lack access to economic resources but they are excluded from entrepreneurial opportunities and are unable to exercise their own agency.

To facilitate women doing business in the global economy, they must have equal opportunity for education, training and healthcare; they must be able to access financial services and exert control over their assets and property.

Inequitable norms and discriminating stereotypes must be shifted, the care- burden must be lifted and violence must not be tolerated.

It is important to think about how we lift this task. It must be together. Inequality is not a women’s issues, it is an issue for humankind.

We cannot expect to lift the burden of care or break the cycle of violence without the participation and engagement of women and men.

We are individuals; with different dreams, talents and ambitions. And there should be room for those individual dreams and ambitions to be lived out, without stereotypical judgement. 

Development and equality are about the freedom to choose but, also about having respect for the choices made.  

The factors that support women’s transition from informal to formal work, that enable women entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and contribute to robust and inclusive growth in their communities and nations must be fostered.

In short, we need to eliminate structural, societal and legal obstacles that hinder women’s full participation in the global economy. And we must be aware of the roles that culture and tradition play in our decision-making.

To do so, we must continue to pursue the best practices that we know work, like those outlined by ICRW and PCI, and invest in new research to uncover fresh pathfinding approaches.

It is critical that we prioritize data, allowing it to inform our decision-making and shape our strategies.

Most importantly, we must all be bold and dedicated in taking action together to fulfil the potential of every girl and boy, woman and man. 

I hope the data and evidence you have heard this afternoon solidified for you the case for women’s economic advancement. I hope the stories illuminated for you the faces behind the evidence and connected you with the humanity behind the challenge.

I know that if we continue to work together, if we continue to build upon the great progress already being made, we can make a real and lasting impact.

Thank you.