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Gender equality—the equal participation of women and men in the development of their societies, and the equal access to the benefits of development—is still out of reach for most women worldwide. Women continue to have fewer rights, lower education and health status, less income, and less access to resources and decision-making than men. Nevertheless, women’s critical roles in food production, income generation, management of natural resources, community organization and domestic responsibilities are essential for sustainable development. If equitable and sustainable progress is to be achieved, women’s status must be improved, their rights must be respected, and their contributions must be recognized.
Equality between women and men helps to
build a developed, just, and sustainable society. |
The international community has made important commitments to women’s rights and gender equality, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action, the Millennium Development Goals, and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
Canada has played an important role in advocating for and implementing these commitments, and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) has been a world leader in integrating gender equality analysis into its programming.
Gender equality will be a crosscutting theme throughout Canada’s development cooperation programming. Gender equality results will be systematically and explicitly integrated across all CIDA programming within each of its five sectors of focus: governance, health, basic education, private sector development, environmental sustainability, as well as humanitarian assistance, and peace and security.
In each area of activity, CIDA promotes women’s equal participation in decision-making, full realization of their human rights, and equal access to and control over the resources and benefits of development.
Related CIDA Sites
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