This brief, produced by the OECD-DAC Network on Gender Equality (GENDERNET) and the DAC Working Party on Development Finance Statistics (WP-STAT ), provides an overview of official development assistance (ODA) going to women’s economic empowerment. It identifies key trends, financing gaps and priority areas for improving donor support in this area.
KEY FINDINGS
- Aid committed by DAC members to women’s economic empowerment reached USD 8.8 billion on average per year in 2013-14 – a rise from USD 5.2 billion in 2007-08. This is the first upward trend in aid to gender equality in the economic and productive sectors since 2007.
- However, less than a quarter (24%) of DAC members’ aid to the economic and productive sectors targeted gender equality as either a primary or secondary objective in 2013-14. This is much lower than the average of 35% across all sectors.
- Aid targeting women’s economic empowerment as the principal objective remains especially low, at USD 861 million in 2013-14. This is just 2% of the aid going to the economic and productive sectors – a mere drop in the ocean.
- While gender equality is fairly well integrated into donor support to agriculture, and employment, the proportion of aid to other economic and productive sectors remains very small. The gender focus is weakest in the infrastructure sectors such as energy and transport. This is despite strong evidence that women’s access to quality infrastructure is essential for expanding their economic opportunities, reducing unpaid work burdens, and advancing gender equality.
Source: OCDE
