In line with the Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 18 for Brasil, a side event promoted by the Think Tank 20 engagement group highlights the urgency of ethnic-racial equality policies and economic empowerment for Afro-descendants.
The fundamental role of banks and financial organizations in fostering the economic inclusion of the Afro-descendant population and the search for effective actions to promote equality and ethnic-racial justice set the tone for the G20 Social side event. The meeting, which took place on Monday (9th) at the headquarters of the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA), was promoted by Geledés (Black Women's Institute), UN Women, Civil 20 (C20), and Women 20 (W20).
"When we talk about the economic empowerment of the black population, we are not talking about an identity agenda, even though it often emerges here. We are talking about a development agenda, and this development agenda exists because there will be no increase in productivity, no increase in engagement if we continue to discriminate against the black population and black women at the bottom of the labor market pyramid," said Luciana Mendes Santos Servo, president of Ipea.
Marcelo Paixão, an economist and professor at the University of Texas (USA), reinforced the idea of implementing practical and structural measures to reverse the disparity situation. "We have a problem with how these financial market agents are trained, how they think, and their worldview. A 'pocket handbook of micro or macroeconomics' will give them information that will tell them that the variables gender, race, and ethnicity are not part of any model. However, we know that information is a central part of economic decisions. If I'm part of a discriminatory society, obviously these preconceived views that people have about others, whoever they are, will be present in decision-making," said the professor.
"Sueli Carneiro reminds us of the need for an economic development program aimed at the Afro-descendant people as a measure of historical reparation. She says Brasil has already promoted social mobility policies for European immigrants financed by the Brazilian state. The same effort is urgently needed for the African-descended people, which is 56% of the Brazilian population, and especially for us African-descended women, who represent 28% of the Brazilian population, the largest population segment in this country," she said.
Sueli Carneiro, founder of Geledés (Black Women's Institute), and economist Marcelo Paixão are the authors of the document "Economic empowerment of Afro-descendants: overcoming challenges and opening up new paths" and, in this sense, the speech of the international advisor of Geledés (Black Women's Institute), Carolina Almeida, was aligned with Paixão's speech, underlining the urgency of gender and race in economic decisions. "Sueli Carneiro reminds us of the need for an economic development program aimed at the Afro-descendant people as a measure of historical reparation. She says Brasil has already promoted social mobility policies for European immigrants financed by the Brazilian state. The same effort is urgently needed for the African-descended people, which is 56% of the Brazilian population, and especially for us African-descended women, who represent 28% of the Brazilian population, the largest population segment in this country," she said.
There was an emphasis on the need to take forward the recommendations of the G20 engagement groups and advance actions that produce changes in labor market access and credit policies. For the panelists, real policies for the economic promotion of Afro-descendant people improve all societies.
Sara Branco, coordinator of the C20 secretariat, believes that "developing countries need to have fairer models of financing, which do not increase indebtedness and instead respond to the need for historical reparations and enable sustainable and inclusive development." One of the Working Group's recommendations was "Inclusive and anti-racist economies," which is unprecedented in the scope of the C20.
José Henriques Júnior, the coordinator of the G20 Finance Track for the Ministry of Finance, highlighted how the federal sectors have been acting in the debate, which has become more evident and a priority within the government. "We have three ministries and Ipea, which have been working together. Many countries and multilateral bodies cannot connect to transfer resources to those in need. The lack of representation in banks results in a lack of attention to the black population, so we see a lot of projects that sometimes don't take a careful look at racial issues," he said.
Black Women's Empowerment and the Economy
Tereza Campello, Socio-Environmental Director of the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), highlighted the bank's recovery after a period of dismantling, emphasizing its central role in fostering the economy and in the debate on the country's strategic development. She stressed the need to transform the economy by including the black population, not only for social justice but as an essential condition for the country's sustainable development.
"Thinking about innovation, industrialization, about which sectors could drive the diversification of industry in Brasil. BNDES has always had this significant role, and today, it is pushing the agenda of empowering the Afro-descendant population to transform the economy in the same way," stated Tereza.
One of the examples was the African Development Bank (AfDB), represented by the chief researcher of Partnerships, Policies, and Resource Mobilization, Cynthia Liliane Kamikazi. "The bank believes that Africa can only reach its potential through the influence of its women, even though this is a marginalized group in most of the continent. We believe a more equitable distribution of power, resources, and regulations between women and men will provide a great path toward an inclusive and prosperous Africa. So, this cannot be achieved if we do not encourage the economic development of African women. The bank, recognizing women's critical contributions and economic growth, has established its gender strategy. Our strategies guide us to see gender equality as a smart economy."
"We believe a more equitable distribution of power, resources, and regulations between women and men will provide a great path toward an inclusive and prosperous Africa. So, this cannot be achieved if we do not encourage the economic development of African women. The bank, recognizing women's critical contributions and economic growth, has established its gender strategy. Our strategies guide us to see gender equality as a smart economy."
Black women are the ones most affected by the lack of access to credit, as stated by Ana Fontes, chair of the W20, a G20 engagement group made up of women in entrepreneurship and civil society. "I bring recommendations from previous administrations because they are still recurrent and necessary. The first is for women entrepreneurs: improving access to capital and access to the market. We know how important it is for women to have their own money and to be able to generate their financial resources. But doing this without support, without structure, is not something that we can do".
Ana Carolina Querino, the acting representative of UN Women Brasil, emphasized the innovative nature of focusing development discussions on the issue of black women's empowerment. "This is an innovation that comes along with other innovations, such as the Brazilian proposal made for SDG 18," she said, recognizing the strength of the theme on the continent. " We hope that this discussion and mobilization will not only involve the countries here in our region of Latin America, but also the UN member states as a whole," she said.
