Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls are fundamental human rights, that are essential for sustainable development that leaves no one behind and for economic growth. Development policies and programmes have an impact on gender equality – whether positive or harmful, intended or not – and must be designed to promote transformative change.
Gender Equality and the empowerment of all women and girls: Based on the Development Assistance Committee Guidance (2022) and Recommendation (2024)
Abstract
Gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls are:
fundamental human rights
essential for sustainable development that leaves no one behind, in line with the 2030 Agenda
drivers of economic growth, given that women are more at risk of living in poverty than men
impacted by development policies and programmes.
For these reasons, development partners must design their policies, systems and programmes in ways that contribute to transformative change for gender equality, and other inequalities that intersect with gender, and provide global leadership.
Development policies and programmes have an impact on gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls – whether positive or harmful, intended or not.
A helpful tool for thinking about gender equality and for identifying the possible impact of a development intervention is the gender equality continuum (Figure 2).
Gender equality objectives and impacts are categorised on a scale, from harmful to transformative:
Source: OECD (2022), Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls: DAC Guidance for Development Partners, https://doi.org/10.1787/0bddfa8f-en.
Basic standards for gender equality in development co-operation can be drawn from several agreements and global processes, including but not limited to the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Recommendation on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of All Women and Girls in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Assistance and the OECD DAC Recommendation on Ending Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (see Further information and OECD resources).
The OECD DAC Guidance for Development Partners on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls provides practical guidance on the implementation of the DAC Recommendation on gender equality. It sets out the essential areas and actions needed to ensure that development co-operation contributes to gender equality.
Note: Sections A.1. and A.2 of the OECD DAC Peer Review Analytical Framework also describe the DAC's expectations with regard to gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, including that members' policies set out a clear approach to reducing gender inequalities and leaving no-one behind; and that guidance is provided and used to integrate cross-cutting issues such as gender equality and women’s empowerment into programming.
Source: OECD (2022), Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls: DAC Guidance for Development Partners, https://doi.org/10.1787/0bddfa8f-en.
1. Leadership and policy frameworks (see checklist in the DAC Guidance here). Leadership commitment to gender equality and a sound policy framework that recognises the importance of this issue are cornerstones of an effective development co-operation programme.
The United Kingdom’s International Development Gender Equality Act requires a gender equality perspective to be integrated into all development co-operation and humanitarian response, and also requires reporting on progress on gender equality.
Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is pursuing a feminist development policy grounded in the conviction that all people enjoy the same rights and deserve the same freedoms and opportunities.
The European Union's (EU) Gender Action Plan (GAP) III highlights that, in addition to human rights-based and intersectional approaches, a gender-transformative approach is required to address the root causes of gender inequality, advance the effectiveness of the EU's engagement on gender equality and accelerate progress towards meeting international commitments.
2. Planning: Analysis and design of development programmes (see checklist in the DAC Guidance here). Well-designed programming informed by thorough gender analysis that responds to the context and circumstances of the planned activity, along with indicators and identification of results, form the backbone of effective and impactful programmes.
The EU conducted gender analyses in a range of sectors in Malawi to understand barriers to gender equality within these sectors and more broadly, and to enable vulnerable or marginalised communities to participate in policy development, planning and implementation.
The Mission Strategy of Ireland’s Embassy in Ethiopia used a gender equality theory of change to guide its work on gender mainstreaming and dedicated gender equality programming. This tool helps to build linkages between expected results and the activities that aim to achieve those results.
The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has created a system for designing and reporting results using “basket indicators”. These are selected in the design-stage to enable partners to tailor reporting systems to their own programmes, increasing autonomy for partners, and to capture contextual measures of gender equality while still contributing to the MFA’s evaluation and monitoring framework.
3. Programme implementation (see checklist in the DAC Guidance here). Implementing programmes that accelerate gender equality requires effective partnerships and a twin-track approach involving dedicated support for gender equality together with a holistic approach to gender mainstreaming. This ensures that what is planned at the design stage is put into practice, tracked and adjusted so that the expected outcomes are achieved.
Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy focuses on partnering with local women’s rights organisations for programme implementation. This is carried out through initiatives such as the Women’s Voice and Leadership Program.
EUROsociAL+ is a European Union flagship programme that uses triangular co-operation to improve social cohesion in Latin America, supporting public policies that address inequalities, such as gender inequality.
Belgium maintains that a holistic, multilevel and multi-sectoral approach to gender mainstreaming can help achieve gender equality. It also recommends shifting responsibility from a sole gender expert to all staff. This is set out in their 2019-2023 Gender Strategy Paper.
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Kenya’s National Gender and Equality Commission are jointly strengthening education responses to gender-based violence (GBV) by training teachers, introducing targeted school policies, establishing anti‑GBV committees and safe counselling rooms, and engaging students through clubs and sport‑based prevention.
4. Increasing financing (see checklist in the DAC Guidance here). While not an end goal, financial resources for gender equality are necessary to deliver change, and there are opportunities to increase the quantity and quality of these resources. In this context, the DAC gender equality policy marker is a helpful accountability tool (see dashboard tracking performance of DAC members across sectors, partner countries and themes here).
Sweden’s International Development Co-operation Agency (Sida) applies the DAC gender equality policy marker to all new programmes. The statistics team also checks the marker score is correct. Staff are trained in the DAC markers, and on why reporting is important.
Japan's International Cooperation Agency (JICA) issued a gender bond in 2021, raising USD 181 million to promote women and girls’ empowerment and education. Bond proceeds will be allocated to projects meeting the criteria of the DAC marker.
To address funding gaps, Canada provides long-term and flexible funding to support underfunded Women’s rights organisations (WROs) through the Equality Fund. The Netherlands’ SDG5 fund supports WROs and feminist movements with accessible, flexible and adaptable funding mechanisms, including the Leading from the South programme and the Power of Women grant instrument.
5. Results monitoring and evaluation (see checklist in the DAC Guidance here and OECD Evaluation Criteria on human rights and gender equality lens here). Gender equality change can be measured using existing frameworks and indicators, while maintaining flexibility to track progress and adjust to unexpected or negative outcomes.
Finland, UN Women Nepal and their partners are exploring a mix of tools to better measure and influence change in gendered power relations and social norms through the use of storytelling. This methodology aims to identify and understand pathways for change at the individual and community level.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) uses an Investment Performance Reporting system to assess progress on quality criteria (e.g., gender equality), measure performance and collect project results from delivery partners. This provides DFAT with an overall assessment of the effectiveness of the development programme and informs policy dialogue and planning.
Global Affairs Canada’s uses a feminist approach in its evaluation practices, involving stakeholders and giving the evaluation process itself as much as importance as the findings. It also uses the Gender Equality and Empowerment Measurement (GEM) tool, a feminist methodology for collecting qualitative and descriptive data on gender equality and empowerment outcomes of development programming.
6. Organisational frameworks, human resources and capacity development (see checklist in the DAC Guidance here). The internal set-ups and human resource policies of development partners need to mirror their policy commitments to gender equality. Organisational frameworks that enable staff to work towards gender equality through incentives and accountability systems are essential for transferring those values to development efforts.
Germany’s development agency Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) has an overarching Gender Strategy, linked to the organisation's long-term corporate and human resources strategies, explicitly connecting gender equality to its overall strategic framework. This includes dedicated staff and gender focal points at corporate and country level, digital instruments that promote accountability among staff and provide easy access to company-wide knowledge products and exchange platforms, and incentive mechanisms, such as the Gender Award, to encourage staff contributions toward gender equality.
Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs has a Gender, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (GEDI) Action Plan, integrated in its Human Resources Strategy, to help the Department further develop its systems, policies and practices to embed diversity and inclusion, ensuring a meaningful impact for staff and line managers.
How do we know if DAC Members are moving in the right direction?
Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls are institutionalised in strategic frameworks on development co-operation.
Efforts to achieve gender equality enable long-term and holistic approaches and responses and address root causes of inequalities, especially those intersecting with gender.
When designing and implementing programmes, gender equality goals are clearly set within the political and socio-economic context of both the partner country and relevant sector.
Official development assistance (ODA), and increasingly other official flows (OOFs), are screened against the OECD DAC Gender Equality Policy Marker, and growing shares have gender equality as either a significant or principal objective.
Gender equality is addressed holistically within the institution, as an internal value issue that goes beyond development policy and programming and relates to, for example, human resource policies.
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, United Nations [website].
Beijing Platform for Action (1995), UN Women.
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women - CEDAW (1979), UN Women.
OECD DAC Recommendation on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of All Women and Girls in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Assistance, [OECD/LEGAL/5022].
OECD DAC Recommendation on Ending Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment, [OECD/LEGAL/5020].
Handbook on the OECD DAC Gender Equality Policy Marker, DAC Network on Gender Equality 2025 Edition, OECD Publishing, Paris.
Development Finance for Gender Equality dashboard, OECD [website].
Development Finance for Gender Equality 2024 report, OECD Publishing, Paris.
OECD DAC Guidance for development partners on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls (2022), complemented by series of thematic papers:
Addressing inequalities that intersect with gender in development co-operation (2024), OECD Publishing, Paris.
Gender equality and environment intersection (2023), OECD Publishing, Paris.
Analysis of DAC member’s policies in support of women’s economic empowerment (2022), OECD Publishing, Paris.
Gender equality and fragility (2021), OECD Publishing, Paris.
DAC Evaluation Resource Centre (DEReC), OECD [website].
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