Gender Equality Campaign

Six out of ten of the world's poorest people are women and girls. In many parts of the developing world, women are not afforded the same rights and opportunities as men. They are unable to own property, obtain gainful employment or even pursue an equal education. And too often they are threatened with violence.

But gender inequality affects more than women and girls themselves. It impacts entire countries, creating greater poverty and weaker governance. Yet when given the opportunity, women and girls build better lives for themselves and their communities. Research shows that women in developing countries are more likely than men to use their income for food, health care and education for their children—all of which help lift families and communities out of poverty.

U.S. development dollars and polices have worldwide influence, and therefore should be used to address and remedy gender disparities. AJWS views gender as a cross-cutting issue, critical to eradicating poverty and building civil society. We advocate to ensure that gender is taken into account in both the design and implementation of U.S. development policy and that the needs—and voices—of women and girls are given their due consideration.

• Empowering Girls as Agents of Change
• Empowering Girls as Agents of Change: A Human Rights Based Approach to U.S. Development Policy is the second policy paper to feature the work of AJWS’s partners in India to empower adolescent girls. The paper demonstrates an effective way to achieve development goals and promote gender equality using a human rights-based approach.
• Empowering Girls to End Violence
• Empowering Girls to End Violence: On-the-Ground Lessons from India for U.S. Development Policy highlights the groundbreaking programs of five AJWS grassroots partners in India working within their communities to stop violence against girls, and illustrates how we can support this work globally through U.S. policy.
• AJWS and other members of the Haiti Advocacy Working Group urged Secretary Clinton and Administrator Shah to continue their leadership in Haiti and provide additional assistance to the families of women and children victimized by sexual, gender-based and other forms of violence.
• In a letter to Secretary Clinton, AJWS and over 60 human rights, faith and reproductive rights organizations, asked for specific commitments focused on sexual and reproductive rights and health during negotiations at the United Nations Commission on Population and Development.

• Visit our Action Center and get involved.