We work with women and men globally to promote the status of women and their participation in the political, social, economic, cultural and legal structures in their countries. Our work in gender equality focuses on the need to address the barriers that women face in all areas of their lives, which impede their development as individuals and enable them to escape the cycle of poverty in which they are trapped.

How we work

Whilst recognising that men too can be disadvantaged there is overwhelming evidence that women suffer discrimination disproportionately and despite carrying almost exclusively the burden of carers, as well as trying to earn a living, they are still denied access to education and health services, are subjected to violence in their own homes and still regarded as social inferiors in many countries.

Through our work we attempt to mainstream not only gender but other aspects of social diversity as core principles guiding our work, as well as themes in their own right. By working as a team on focused themes we aim to contribute further to promoting equality between men and women irrespective of their diverse backgrounds.

How we promote gender equality

It is our aim to promote gender equality into all our work by:

			Using our funds to support small-scale projects and programmes with local partners overseas which will strengthen organisational capacity and raise awareness of the need to mainstream gender and tackle issues of gender justice
			Supporting key individuals overseas, both men and women to integrate gender issues into policy and planning processes at local and national levels
			Developing networks at regional and global levels to disseminate experiences and learning which help women to tackle barriers of inequality
			Building partnerships between higher education institutions in the UK and overseas to integrate gender into curricula and develop research capacity
			Working across different sectors to promote a better understanding of the need to mainstream gender through all areas of work and experience
			Bringing together men and women from different countries and regions working to improve the status for women eg our international seminars
			Ensuring our own personnel, training and monitoring policies encourage commitment to gender equality

Contact us

For more information on our Gender and Equality work please contact Alison Smith, Gender Consultant