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.