Aid in Support of Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment: Statistical Overview - Chapter 1
This statistical overview examines data on OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) member aid flows that explicitly target gender equality and women's empowerment.
The data are drawn from donors' reporting on bilateral official development assistance (ODA) commitments to the DAC Creditor Reporting System (CRS) Aid Activity database and, in particular, their use of the geneder equality policy marker to identify targeted aid activities. This paper is complemented by the yearly publication of "Aid in Support of Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment" based on DAC members' reporting on the Gender Equality Policy Marker.
DAC members' aid flows in support of gender equality amounted to around USD 25.3 billion per year in 2009-10. This represents 31% of total bilateral aid allocated by sector.
Gender equality focussed aid is concentrated in the social sectors of education, health and governance.
More than 50% of aid to the education and health sectors combined targets gender equality. Aid to the economic and productive sectors has a marginal focus on gender equality.
International targets for gender equality in education have been effective in focussing donor efforts on reducing enrolment gaps between girls and boys. Similar global commitments targeting gender equality in the economic and productive sectors could help intensify donor efforts in these critical areas.
Countries with high levels of gender inequality tend to receive relatively high shares of aid focussed on gender equality, though this is not the case across the countires.
The percentage of aid which is assessed by DAC members agaisnt the gender equality marker has risen from 65% in 2005-6 to 76% in 2009-10.
It is difficult to determine the gender equality focus of budget support using the gender equality marker. More methodological work is needed to find an appropriate approach.
Aid targeting gender equality and women’s empowerment
31% of total bilateral aid allocated by sector targeted gender equality as a principal or significant objective. This is equivalent to the USD 25 billion per year commited by DAC members in 2009-10. 69% of the aid screened against the gender equality policy marker did not target gender equality.
