By Heather Murphy and Anna Clancy, Office of Development Effectiveness, AusAID
Women’s economic empowerment—the ability for women to participate in the economy—is a crucial element of gender equality and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Last year the World Bank declared that promoting gender equality is ‘smart economics’ and argued that greater gender equality will boost a country’s productivity, improve development outcomes for the next generation, and make public institutions more representative.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard echoed this sentiment when announcing the Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development initiative, remarking that ‘gender equality is the right thing to do; it’s also the clever thing to do’. AusAID’s gender strategy, Promoting opportunities for all – gender equality and women’s empowerment, is underpinned by four pillars of action: advancing equal access to health and education; increasing women’s voice; empowering women economically; and ending violence against women and girls.
So, how is the Australian aid program supporting women’s economic empowerment in developing countries? The Office of Development Effectiveness (ODE), AusAID’s independent evaluation unit, is currently undertaking research to answer that question. ODE’s evaluation is looking at Australian programs and policies on a global level, as well as specific country case studies, to draw out development lessons on promoting women’s empowerment.
