Photo:Xinhua

Thousands of prominent women from around the world met on Wednesday in Paris at a global forum aimed at increasing female empowerment and inclusion in such areas as climate change, AI, business and health.

This year's global meeting of the Women's Forum for the Economy and the Society, which runs till Friday, will see discussions involving more than 2,000 invited guests set to tackle the theme "Taking the Lead for Inclusion: Accelerating Impact."

The three-day conference will feature dozens of various political leaders, influencers and major players in increasing diversity and inclusion in different sectors.

Mostly composed of women, those outstanding figures include the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet and Tunisian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wided Bouchamaoui.

Oscar-nominated British-French actress Dame Kristin Scott Thomas serves as this year's honorary president.

On the importance of underlining female roles, Women's Forum Managing Director Chiara Corazzo said more gender equality and diversity would add trillions of US dollars a year to countries' GDP.

"We cannot waste all this potential, and if you don't believe in gender equality only because it's fair, then we have to think that it's really clever," she said.

Corazzo said women's presence in politics and in business has traditionally been downplayed. She cited the fact that among the world's 100 most notable cities, only 25 have female mayors, and that 95 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs are men.

A more female perspective in various fields would broaden people's horizons and bring a different dimension into political and economic debates, she said.

This year, the Women's Forum has taken steps to prove its commitment to promoting gender equality in global decision-making.

In August, forum leaders delivered recommendations to G7 decision-makers ahead of their summit to encourage and engage people of all genders, generations and backgrounds for inclusion.

The Women's Forum also published its Charter of Engagement for Women and the Climate in July with the goal of achieving gender parity in environmental decision-making by 2030.

With rapid and disruptive changes in society brought about by technological progress and climate change, Corazzo said the forum's focus has been adapting.

The group now aims to encourage young girls and female students to embark on the traditionally male-dominated technology field, considering how the job market would evolve in the next years, Corazzo said.

Corazzo, who has been working with Chinese women in her earlier career, said China is a "very good role model" when it comes to women's roles in society.

"China really has an advantage because you have a lot of women that are very active in businesses and also very active in family activities," she said.

Chinese women have a role in building bridges between Europe and China as major players in business, Corazzo said.

Corazzo saluted China's role in establishing the Beijing Platform for Action convention, which is committed to specific actions to promote the civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights for women and girls. The convention was the fruit of the United Nations' fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995.

The Women's Forum plans to hold an event in Paris in July 2020 to celebrate the convention's 25th founding anniversary.