The U.S. Agency for International Development’s new gender equality and women’s empowerment policy is finally out and the agency is starting to use it to help its staff and global programs better tackle issues ranging from gender-based violence to how agriculture programs can improve women’s livelihoods.
The document replaces a version released during the final days of the Trump administration that was condemned by advocates for being vague, politicized, discriminatory, and for eliminating mention of LGBTQI+ people. Some critics described it as “terrible” and “a dangerous setback.”
The final version incorporates some of the suggestions advocates had when the draft was released in September, and makes significant changes to the previous 2020 version.
About the author
Adva Saldinger@AdvaSal
Adva Saldinger is a Senior Reporter at Devex where she covers development finance, as well as U.S. foreign aid policy. Adva explores the role the private sector and private capital play in development and authors the weekly Devex Invested newsletter bringing the latest news on the role of business and finance in addressing global challenges. A journalist with more than 10 years of experience, she has worked at several newspapers in the U.S. and lived in both Ghana and South Africa.
