WUNRN
GENDER EQUALITY & FEMALE
EMPOWERMENT POLICY
Direct Link to Full 20-Page Report:
Gender equality and female empowerment are core development objectives, fundamental for the realization of human rights and key to effective and sustainable development outcomes. No society can develop successfully without providing equitable opportunities, resources, and life prospects for males and females so that they can shape their own lives and contribute to their families and communities. Although many gender gaps have narrowed over the past two decades, substantial inequalities remain across all sectors in which USAID works, particularly in low income and conflictaffected countries and among disadvantaged groups.
The goal of
this policy is to improve the lives of citizens around the world by advancing
equality between females and males, and empowering women and girls to
participate fully in and benefit from the development of their societies. It
will be addressed through integration of gender equality and female empowerment
throughout the Agency’s Program Cycle and related processes: in strategic
planning, project design and implementation, and monitoring and evaluation.
This integrated approach positions the Agency to address gender gaps and the
constraints that hold women back.
Under this policy, USAID investments are aimed at three overarching
outcomes. In strategic planning at the country or project level, these outcomes
will be adapted and translated into specific results with associated targets
and indicators. These outcomes, which are especially important for people who
are marginalized or excluded due to ethnicity, gender identity, sexual
orientation, lack of income, disability or other factors, reflect the gamut of
activities that USAID undertakes across multiple sectors and fields:
■ Reduce gender disparities in access to, control over and
benefit from resources, wealth, opportunities and services economic, social,
political, and cultural;
■ Reduce genderbased violence and mitigate its harmful
effects on individuals and communities; and
■ Increase capability of women and girls to realize their
rights, determine their life outcomes, and influence decisionmaking in
households, communities, and societies.
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