Equality between Women and Men

Equality between women and men or gender equality includes:

• promoting the equal participation of women and men in making decisions
• supporting women and girls so that they can fully exercise their rights
• reducing the gap between women's and men's access to and control of resources and the benefits of development

Gender equality is still out of reach for most women worldwide.

Women continue to have fewer rights, lower education and health status, less income, and less access to resources and decision-making than men. Nevertheless, women's critical roles in food production, income generation, management of natural resources, community organization and domestic responsibilities are essential for sustainable development.

A man and a woman weaving carpets. Afghanistan.

If equitable and sustainable progress is to be achieved, women's status must be improved, their rights must be respected, and their contributions must be recognized.
The international community has made important commitments to women's rights and equality between women and men, including:

• the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
• the Beijing Platform for Action
• the Millennium Development Goals - particularlyMDG 3 - to promote gender equality and empower women
• the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (PDF version, 35 kb, 4 pages).

Canada has played an important role in advocating for and implementing these commitments, and launched an Action Plan for the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security in October 2010.

CIDA has been a world leader in integrating gender equality analysis into its programs. Equality between women and men continues to be a crosscutting theme throughout Canada's programs. Gender equality results are systematically and explicitly integrated across all CIDA programs.

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