The G20 Labour and Employment Ministerial Meeting ended on 24, June in Catania, Italy with the approval of a final Declaration that verges on three topics that the Italian Presidency has placed at the core of the debate for this year: women’s employment and gender inequality in the labour market, the adaptation of social protection systems to the ongoing labour market transformations, and the regulation of rapidly spreading forms of employment such as work performed remotely or through digital platforms. And the future work of G20 Entrepreneurship Research Center on G20 Economies is mentioned in the final Declaration and more researches on women’s entrepreneurship in the digital economy are encouraged.

More and better and equally paid jobs for women. This is the principle embodied in a Declaration that goes beyond the goal of reducing labour market participation gaps by 25% by 2025, as set in Brisbane in 2014 by G20 Leaders. Regarding social protection, the crisis following Covid-19 has highlighted that still too many groups do not have an adequate safety net against the risk of unemployment and income loss: temporary workers, low-income self-employed, but also informal workers and migrants. In order to make social security systems more responsive and flexible in case of a crisis, but also sustainable, adequate and accessible to all, the Labour Ministers have agreed upon the need to expand the current contributory system coverage but also to strengthen social protection floors, with the aim of reducing persistent economic and social inequalities and strengthening social cohesion. Smart working has allowed many economic activities to survive and continue throughout the crisis, both in the public and private sector. The Labour Ministers have acknowledged its potential, in particular regarding the possibility for workers to better reconcile work and private life, but have reaffirmed the need to guarantee the same protection and opportunities as in-office workers, and especially the so-called right to disconnect. Finally, concerning work performed through digital platforms, the Ministers have underlined the need to continue in the exchange of best practices and in the efforts to avoid that a misclassification of workers’ employment status might prevent them from accessing the same protections and rights of employees.