Sida's work with gender equality
Gender equality is about the equal rights, opportunities and responsibilities of women, men and non-binary people to shape society and their own lives. Gender equality is a human right and a prerequisite for eradicating poverty. For Sida, gender equality is a prioritised issue and permeates all work.
Why do Sida work for gender equality?
When gender equality increases, poverty decreases
More women than men live in poverty in the world. This is because girls and women have less access to education, labour and other resources that provide economic opportunities and development, compared to boys and men. Strengthening the rights and equal opportunities of girls and women is key to reducing poverty.
Women’s economic empowerment benefits everyone
In a world where women participate in the economy in the same way as men, global gross domestic product would increase by SEK 297 billion annually. With their own income, women are more likely to take control of their lives: leaving abusive relationships, saving for retirement, participating in politics, owning land and paying for education for themselves and their children. Society as a whole benefits when women earn money and have access to financial services.
Equal societies are more peaceful
In societies where women and minority groups are oppressed, violence against them is often justified. There is often a perception that men using violence is something positive and natural. Societies that are more equal are more peaceful.
Examples of what Sida has contributed to
Gender equality increases when everyone participates
Through Sida’s work, the human rights of women and girls are strengthened, economic equality and justice increase, more women can participate in politics and gender-based violence is counteracted. To increase gender equality, power structures between women and men and social gender norms need to be changed. Everyone needs to participate in the work and start from the reasons that lead to an unequal distribution of power between men and women. Women’s rights organisations and feminist movements are key actors in gender equality work as they drive gender equality issues forward locally, nationally and globally.
Contributes to increased economic empowerment for women
Sida strengthens women’s economic empowerment: increases their access to, and control over, economic resources, which leads to greater opportunities to influence their situation and society at large. Supporting women’s economic empowerment paves the way for greater gender equality and economic justice.
When girls go to school, gender equality increases
Education for girls and women is crucial for increasing gender equality and reducing inequalities. Sida helps ensure that more girls can go to school. This increases their participation in the labour market, improves their health and reduces the likelihood that they will be married off at a young age. Separate toilets for girls and boys and increasing the number of female teachers are simple and effective ways to get more girls to start, stay and finish school.
Sida's work with gender equality
There is a growing resistance to gender equality and women’s and girls’ rights globally, which is closely linked to the resistance to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and LGBTI rights. This resistance is part of the global democratic decline. This affects not only women, girls and non-binary people’s rights, as gender equality is needed to achieve a more just and sustainable society for all people. Fair and sustainable global development depends on equality between women and men, girls and boys.
Poverty affects the lives of both women and men, but it hits women and girls hardest. To reduce poverty, society’s resources need to be redistributed more fairly from a gender perspective. Only when women have equal access to education, health care, opportunities to earn a living and participate in decision-making – both in the home and politically – will world poverty decrease.
The cooperation with women’s rights organisations is central to Sida’s work for increased gender equality. They advocate for gender equality and hold decision-makers accountable for the fulfilment of national gender equality goals.
Sida’s work for increased gender equality is based on analyses of the situation of women and girls and men and boys, as well as discrimination against other groups in society.
Across the world, women earn less than men, and also take the greatest responsibility for unpaid work in the home. Women also have lower wages and poorer working conditions than men. In addition, many countries’ laws restrict women’s access to work or give men the right to decide whether their wives can work.
More women than men lack a bank account, which is a prerequisite for taking out a loan or starting a business. It also prevents women from engaging in trade or inheriting land. Women are more likely to work in the informal economy without security or the possibility of a pension. Ensuring that women have equal opportunities in the labour market is a prerequisite for more long-term sustainable development.
One in three women working in the textile industry in Bangladesh have experienced violence or discrimination in the workplace. Sida supports the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) training programme for workers in the textile industry. The aim is to improve working conditions and strengthen the role of women in the factories.
Among indigenous women in rural Guatemala, violence is part of everyday life. Sida supports the organisation Helvetas, which gives women the tools to make a living from farming and get away from violence and economic dependence on men.
In Zambia and ten other African countries, migrant women are being trained to improve their economy and run businesses, through a programme run by the UN migration agency, IOM. The programme works to strengthen the health and rights of migrants.
In low-income countries, only 35% of people have access to the internet. The World Wide Web Foundation works to reduce the digital divide between men and women. When the internet is accessible to everyone, people can more easily learn and meet across borders, promoting both democracy and women’s power over their own lives, including their economic empowerment.
Armed conflict increases the vulnerability of women and girls, but women’s involvement can contribute to peace and reduce the risk of conflict. Support to displaced people is still often targeted at male heads of household and excludes women. Peace negotiations, peacekeeping operations and interventions in conflict zones often lack a gender perspective and the participation of women. Women’s rights organisations in conflict areas are left behind when international organisations withdraw if the conflict escalates and often lack funding.
Sida supports women’s rights organisations in conflict-affected areas. Here are some examples of programmes and projects that Sida supports:
Sida cooperates with the Global Fund for Women (GFW), which works for freedom from violence by supporting women’s leadership in crisis and conflict situations in terms of reconstruction and peace efforts. People who live in exclusion and are particularly vulnerable are highly prioritised. GFW, along with 15 other women’s rights funds, has increased its funding to organisations working in crisis and conflict situations.
Around one third of women worldwide are estimated to have experienced physical or sexual violence in intimate relationships in their lifetime. Women and girls are particularly affected in crises, wars and conflicts. Men and boys are also victims. Violence is increasingly digitalised.
Gender-based violence includes:
- Domestic violence: physical, sexual, psychological or economic violence or the threat of violence.
- Sexual violence: sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment.
- Human trafficking for sexual purposes
- Child and forced marriages
- Honour-based violence and oppression
- Female genital mutilation
To effectively combat gender-based violence, it is crucial to use knowledge of the situation where the violence occurs. Sida therefore cooperates with SVRI, a global research institute, to support research in low- and middle-income countries. The research develops methods based on the situation in the country in question. This ensures that anti-violence programmes are based on local knowledge and really make a difference.
Sida works with civil society organisations to combat gender-based violence. Here are some examples of programmes and projects that Sida supports:
Preventing and combating harmful practices is important in the fight against gender-based violence. In Ethiopia, Sida has contributed to a plan to eradicate female genital mutilation and to the provision of care and counselling for thousands of girls who have been subjected to it. In Burkina Faso, an estimated 175,000 girls have escaped genital mutilation thanks to active monitoring of girls at risk. Nearly three million people in the region have been engaged and actively opposed to female genital mutilation.
About the programme against female genital mutilation on the UNFPA website
One in five girls around the world are married off before the age of 18. Sida supports Plan International, which works to reduce child marriage. In Bangladesh, half of all girls are married off before the age of 18. There, Plan International organises youth groups and engages fathers in gender equality work.
About the work in Bangladesh on the Plan International website
If women and men are to have the same power and opportunities to shape their lives, men need to be committed to gender equality. By involving men and boys in the work for gender equality, harmful norms of masculinity that affect both women and men and girls and boys can be changed.
Here are some examples of programmes and projects that Sida supports:
In the Middle East and North Africa, UN Women, the UN agency for women’s rights and empowerment, is working to engage men and boys in gender equality issues and in changing norms. One example is the Because I’m a man campaign, which has had a major impact in Egypt, Morocco and Palestine.
Another programme that engages men and boys in gender equality is carried out in cooperation with the global network MenEngage Alliance, which has over 1000 member organisations in 84 countries. MenEngage Alliance’s mission is to promote gender equality by changing harmful norms around masculinity and ‘being a man’. They also conduct campaigns and advocacy work to change unequal policies and laws.
Men’s violence against children is a terrible crime that affects both girls and boys, but most interventions for survivors of sexual violence are aimed at girls and women. Sida’s partner ECPAT International is active in 120 countries and has, through cooperation with Sida, increased its focus on boys as survivors of sexual exploitation and highlighted the need for targeted efforts to better reach these boys. Research has been conducted and national studies have been carried out that have led to greater understanding of both prevalence and survivors’ needs.
In 2021, Sida disbursed SEK 1.6 billion to projects in the area of gender equality, which corresponds to 6 % of Sida’s disbursed funds. The percentage has remained constant since 2019. Of all Sida’s disbursed funds, 80 % had gender equality as a main or sub-objective. Regardless of the subject area, we work with gender equality in all the projects we support, in line with Sweden’s feminist foreign policy.
The focus of Sida’s work on gender equality is guided by the Government’s strategy for global gender equality and women’s and girls’ rights.
- Maternal mortality on WHO’s website
- The impact of the pandemic on poverty on World Economic Forum’s website
- The impact of the pandemic on gender-based violence, on UN Women’s website
- Violence in the textile industry in Bangladesh on the APO website
- Percentage of women who have been subjected to physical or sexual violence in intimate relationships
- Number of girls married off before the age of 18 UNICEF’s website
- Women in parliament 2022 on IPU Parline – global data on national parliaments
- Percentage of least developed countries with access to the Internet on the World Bank website
- Gender gap in internet access on the World Wide Web Foundation website
Updated: November 16, 2023