Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment

USAID focuses on increasing women’s social, economic, and political status

Mercy Corps

USAID promotes gender equality and women’s empowerment across its portfolio, focusing on increasing women’s social, economic and political status. Programs and capacity building interventions encourage participation of women as beneficiaries, agents of change and project partners. For instance, women are more likely to spend income on the betterment of their families and successfully participate in village savings, loans and trade schemes—however, their access to resources and participation is mediated through men. USAID programs promote women’s decision-making power within households, especially so that they can better influence family nutrition decisions as part of Feed the Future and the Global Health Initiative.

Education programs aim to increase girls’ access to school, retain them in school, and provide support to improve their academic performance. In the health sector, USAID programs will increase access to financial and health services, including nutrition, family planning and reproductive health services. Other programs target gender-based violence and harmful traditional practices that undermine the status of women in Ethiopia. Women’s participation in decision-making bodies is also encouraged, both through literacy and numeracy trainings for women and gender integration awareness training for men.