This week, despite overall cuts to the country’s foreign assistance budget, Australia boosted funding for programs promoting women’s and girls’ equality, a signature focus area under Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
“Gender equality and women’s empowerment is the cornerstone of our foreign policy work,” Australia's Ambassador for Women and Girls Natasha Stott Despoja told Devex during a recent visit to Washington, D.C. Bishop has set a target for 80 percent of Australia’s international development work to address gender equality, Stott Despoja added.
“We’re serious about this. We’ve made women and gender equality a core part of the work that we do,” Stott Despoja said.
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About the author
Michael Igoe@AlterIgoe
Michael Igoe is a Senior Reporter with Devex, based in Washington, D.C. He covers U.S. foreign aid, global health, climate change, and development finance. Prior to joining Devex, Michael researched water management and climate change adaptation in post-Soviet Central Asia, where he also wrote for EurasiaNet. Michael earned his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College, where he majored in Russian, and his master’s degree from the University of Montana, where he studied international conservation and development.
