Integrating Gender Equality and Female Empowerment in USAID’s Program Cycle

Promoting gender equality and advancing the status of all women and girls around the world is vital to achieving U.S. foreign policy and development objectives. In 2012, USAID adopted several comprehensive and interlinked policies and strategies to reduce gender inequality and to enable girls and women to realize their rights, determine their life outcomes, influence decision-making and become change agents in households, communities, and societies. Together, these policies and strategies provide guidance on pursuing more effective, evidence-based investments in gender equality and female empowerment and incorporating these efforts into our core development programming.