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<p>The UK is using our Presidency of the G7 this year to champion women’s and girls’
rights at home and around the world, with the independent Gender Equality Advisory
Council (GEAC) bringing solutions, expertise and new voices to the heart of G7 discussions.</p><p>The
GEAC presented its recommendations to G7 Leaders at the G7 Leaders’ Summit this month,
with a strong call to action so women can build back better. In the coming months,
the GEAC will produce a report setting out their recommendations in further detail.</p><p>We
have rolled out unprecedented levels of economic support to protect jobs for both
women and men, including the Self Employment Income Support Scheme which has received
nearly 2.1 million claims from self-employed women, as of January 31 2021. As we look
to build back better, we can see that COVID-19 has given us an opportunity to reform
our approach to work, and we are committed to further encourage flexible working and
consult on making it the default.</p><p>We recognise the pressures faced by those
balancing work with caring responsibilities, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic,
and we know that often the majority of these pressures fall on women. This Government
continues to support families with their childcare costs and we have spent over £3.5
billion in each of the past three years on early years entitlements, and last November
the Chancellor announced a £44 million investment in 2021-22 for local authorities
to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers. At the election last year, we
pledged a new £1 billion fund to create more high-quality affordable childcare, including
before and after school and during the school holidays. <br> <br> We will be publishing
a new Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls strategy in 2021 to better target
perpetrators and support victims of these crimes, and appointed Nimco Ali OBE as the
Independent Government Adviser on Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls.</p><p>I
will shortly be saying more about the action the Government is taking to ensure women
can build back better in the recovery.</p>
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