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Gender equality and development

From commitment to action: Priorities for financing gender equality and women’s rights in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals

 

Governments from all regions of the world have placed a high priority on achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls as a central ambition of the post‑2015 sustainable development agenda. Ambitious financing will be needed to turn political aspirations into a reality.

Discussions on a new financing deal to underpin implementation of the SDGs are well‑underway ahead of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa in July 2015. This is an historic opportunity to insist on investments that are gender‑responsive and to shape a financing package that is fit to deliver on both long‑established and newly won commitments on women’s rights.

This brief is a contribution to these debates. It provides an overview of OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members’ aid to gender equality since the MDGs and identifies priorities for financing gender equality in the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda. The figures are based on DAC members’ aid that has been screened using the DAC gender equality policy marker ‑ a statistical tool to measure whether aid activities target gender equality as a policy objective. At present, 92% of all bilateral “sector‑allocable” aid is screened against the gender equality marker.

From commitment to action: Priorities for financing gender equality and women’s rights in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals

 

 

Key messages

  • An ambitious agenda for achieving gender equality and women’s rights must be matched by ambitious resources. All countries, including OECD countries, should establish robust systems to track allocations for gender equality and take action to address areas of underinvestment.
  • The underinvestment in gender equality in the economic and productive sectors is especially concerning and must be turned around. This is a prerequisite for achieving gender equality and building prosperous societies. The post-2015 agenda, with its stronger focus on economic development, is an opportunity to accelerate efforts to empower women economically and shape an economy that works for women.
  • Countries’ own domestic resources, such as taxes, are the most important source of finance for achieving gender equality and must be responsive to women’s needs and priorities. Public spending should be monitored for its impact on gender equality.  
  • Women’s organisations play a unique role in advancing women’s rights. Governments and donors should invest in women’s organisations at all levels and support their effective participation in national planning and budgetary processes.