February 2016 — In March 2012, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) released the Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Policy and launched a new era of gender work at the agency. This 2016 assessment is an overview of both USAID-funded and externally funded programs and activities supporting women’s economic empowerment and equality (WE3). Some of the reviewed USAID programs are primarily aimed at achieving WE3, while others target economic development and related technical areas. These areas include agriculture, global health, global climate change, environment, education, and energy, with women’s economic empowerment as a secondary aim.
The assessment provides USAID staff in the Office of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment with an understanding of how implementing partners are prioritizing WE3 and implementing the Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Policy. The authors also highlight programmatic strengths and challenges that can inform future efforts to meet policy goals.
