(Bloomberg) -- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said promoting gender equality is even more important during times of crisis caused by war and disease as he took delivery of a new report on the issue from a Group of Seven advisory body on Thursday.

The report -- “A shared vision for gender equality” -- was prepared for the G-7 by 20 experts from 14 nations and includes detailed recommendations covering topics such as funding, data collection, ownership, entrepreneurship, investment, gender-based violence and feminist diplomacy.

“We clearly saw in the pandemic that a lot of the hard-fought progress made on equality was suddenly called into question or even reversed,” Scholz, who currently chairs the club of developed nations, told reporters in Berlin.

“Crises increase existing inequalities because they are often pushed into the background,” he added. “The task of the council is to keep the focus of the G-7 on these issues.”

The council’s recommendations include:

  • Implement gender-responsive budgeting across all domains of government spending
  • Provide direct funding to individuals and organizations focused on women’s rights, equality, gender justice and democracy
  • Institute and fund robust data collection and transparent reporting of financial support for women’s organizations and activities in support of gender equality
  • Promote and create new opportunities for women-owned businesses within and beyond the G-7
  • Leverage public procurement as a tool to foster women’s business ownership
  • Implement new instruments to ensure that women entrepreneurs have equal access to venture capital
  • Ensure and promote inclusive representation in decision-making at all levels

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