USAID's Approach

Advancing gender equality in politics and governance is integral to USAID’s mission of ending extreme poverty and promoting resilient, democratic societies worldwide. In support of this goal, USAID developed an innovative learning activity - the Women in Power project - that brought together a top notch team of academics, USAID staff and gender experts to take a hard look at what the Agency is doing to advance women’s leadership and political empowerment worldwide.

Background

Gender equality is a basic human right and a necessary condition for sustainable development. Women’s ability to participate fully in the key decisions that affect their lives is essential for creating democratic societies and successful development outcomes. However, around the world today, women face numerous obstacles to running for office, holding office, and even expressing their choices through the ballot box. These barriers include “supply” side factors such as lack of access to education and financial resources, as well as “demand” side issues such as political parties’ exclusionary practices and concerns about women’s “electability.” But these factors are also compounded by pervasive social attitudes which further limit women’s political participation and leadership opportunities.