W7 reactive on G7 Leaders Summit
Banff, 17 June 2025 – As the G7 Leaders Summit comes to an end in Kananaskis, Alberta, the Women’s 7 (W7) is disappointed with the lack of progress on key priorities identified in its Communique. The world needed the G7 to stand up in defense of rights, democracy and peace. Instead G7 leaders demonstrated little vision or ambition to tackle urgent crises.
The W7 is a G7 engagement group that develops recommendations for G7 leaders and officials. Ahead of the summit, it issued an urgent call for action on gender equality, the protection of human rights, the climate emergency, inequality and militarization; yet, G7 outcome statements did not include commitments in these areas.
“At a time when the world is burning and millions of people are barely hanging on to life as a result of conflict and climate change, people around the world are looking to world leaders to take decisive action. But that’s not what we saw here in Banff. The statements shared by the G7 leaders reflect how little consensus there is within the G7 as the major crises of the world remained unaddressed,” said Diana Sarosi, Co-Chair of the W7.
Feminists movements are at the forefront of defending human rights and democracy, yet they remain underfunded and threatened, often working in increasingly restricted and difficult spaces. Instead of acknowledging their leadership and supporting their solutions to the multiple crises, the G7 leaders failed to listen to the concerns and ideas of feminist activists.
“From Afghanistan to Argentina, around the world feminist activists are standing up for democracy, for human rights, and for justice. It is frustrating to see the leaders of the world’s largest democracies not stand with them,” said Beth Woroniuk, Co-Chair of the W7.
The last G7 summits hosted by Canada in 2008 and 2014 led to significant commitments and investments to advance gender equality and support feminist movements. This year’s Canadian Presidency is a stark contrast. With its focus on short issue-specific statements, the G7 was basically silent on gender equality, LGBTIQ rights, and other key issues such as sexual and reproductive rights and the global epidemic of gender-based violence.
Given the clear links between progress on gender equality and progress on peace, security, and sustainable economies, the failure to address human rights is a missed opportunity. Concrete actions on human rights will strengthen democracy around the world – actions that are desperately needed in this moment.
Despite our disappointment, the members of the W7 remain ready to engage in discussions at all levels to advance collective solutions, particularly in the upcoming ministerial meetings.
NOTES
The W7 is an official G7 engagement group focused on gender justice and women’s rights. The W7 brings together feminist activists from across Canada, G7 nations, and the Global South to ensure that gender justice remains a central priority throughout all meetings and theme discussions.
Media Contact:Laveza Khan
External Affairs Specialist, Oxfam Canada
Email: laveza.khan@oxfam.org
Phone: 613-240-4157