Charlevoix commitment on equality and economic growth

We, the Leaders of the G7, are committed to working together to maximize the economic prosperity of our citizens. In recent years the global economy has strengthened amid rapid technological change, deeper global economic integration and increased job creation. At the same time, too many citizens have not benefited from that economic growth.

A key challenge facing G7 economies is to make sure that every citizen has a real and fair chance to contribute to, and share in, economic success. Inequality can undermine confidence, social cohesion and growth, especially when disadvantaged groups are unable to realize their potential and contribute fully.

While economic growth is fundamental to raising living standards, we recognize that there is a need to broaden how we look at social and economic progress, capturing a more holistic picture of the challenges facing people in their daily lives than we are able to see today through traditional measures like Gross Domestic Product. It is important to consider the broad issues facing each of our economies: whether workers are equipped to keep up with the demands of a changing labour market, whether everyone who wants a job can get it, and whether available work is decent, well-paying and provides equal opportunities for women and men as well as disadvantaged groups and those facing discrimination.

Removing the barriers that keep people from participating fully in the global economy and addressing the root causes of gender inequality is essential to reduce poverty, foster growth and create quality jobs and decent work for all. The creativity and productivity of people who have been economically marginalized, especially women, are important to sustainable and resilient economies.

Putting in place and reinforcing the conditions for economic growth that works for everyone requires cooperation with the private sector, social partners and other key stakeholders, active sharing of knowledge and best practices about innovative approaches and openness to new methods of skill formation and forms of employment, an understanding of the different impacts that policies have on women and men, and a focus on people and the unique and diverse realities they face.

The emergence of new technologies holds the potential to bring us closer together, improve our quality of life and make the world a better place. However, they also present new challenges for promoting growth that works for everyone. We must help ensure that groups often underrepresented in high growth areas like science and technology are fully included, that workers have the skills and training for jobs now and in the future, and thereby our economies are stronger and more competitive.

To address inequalities in society, bolster public confidence and economic integration, and better prepare for technological change, we commit to:

• Consider measures of economic prosperity that reflect broad dimensions of well-being, including:
  • Skills development and training, for example as reflected by the employment to population ratio by skill level.
  • Support for children and families, as reflected by the child poverty rate.
  • Opportunity for all citizens to get ahead, as reflected by the incomes and opportunities for education within families across generations, for example access to early learning.
  • Full economic participation, as reflected by the employment to population ratio; the participation gap between women and men; the incidence of involuntary part-time work; and the gender wage gap.
  • Broader sharing of the benefits of growth as reflected by the level and growth of real median incomes by households and individuals disaggregated by sex and age, as appropriate.
• Promote smart, sustainable and quality infrastructure investments with open access to boost growth and productivity and create quality jobs.
• Adapt labour market policies and programs and share best practices to ensure workers are well prepared for changes in technology and job demands, and are able to access learning opportunities as they need them over their work life. This includes lifelong learning and efforts to further strengthen investments in job training and expanding opportunities for apprenticeship and vocational learning.
• Create an economic environment that is conducive to the private sector, innovation and competition as sources of long-term growth.
• Foster collaboration with businesses, civil society organizations and educational partners, so that education, workforce development and domestic policy keep pace with technological change and follow the changing needs of the labour market.
• Investing in digital literacy, foundational and social skills; as well as consider adapting social protection systems to support those in non-standard forms of work.
• Create or maintain effective and efficient tax systems that reduce inequality and support participation in the labour market.
• Share approaches and support global efforts to make the tax system fair to everyone and facilitate tax collection by addressing base erosion and profit shifting and other forms of tax avoidance and continuing to work on tax capacity building to advance sustainable development. Further, we will promote the global implementation of international standards regarding financial accounts and beneficial ownership in order to fight tax evasion – along with corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing.
• Further support families by promoting high quality childcare that is accessible and affordable, and improve access to child benefits and parental leave.
• Encourage private, state-owned companies and public employers to take measures to facilitate the reconciliation of work and care responsibilities for both women and men, and to increase efforts to reduce the gender pay gap.
• Support gender equality in labour market opportunities and in the distribution of unpaid care work, with measures such as paid maternity leave and parental leave, as well as initiatives to ensure women’s equal access to decent employment opportunities, leadership opportunities, resources and finance.