Our Policy

The UK Government's I997 White Paper on International Development says that a commitment to equality between women and men "is an integral and essential part of our approach to development", that it is "..based on principles of human rights and social justice", and that poverty cannot be eliminated "..until men and women have equal access to the resources and services necessary to achieve their individual potential and fulfil their obligations to household, community and, more broadly, society".

The UK's policy directly supports the Global Platform for Action agreed at the 1995 World Conference on Women at Beijing. It recognises that women and men, boys and girls, often have different needs, and that all have the right to share in the benefits of development.

We address gender inequalities across the whole range of our programme, in all sectors and at all levels. Although we support specific initiatives exclusively aimed at meeting women's needs, our "twin-track" approach means we promote gender equality in as many of our mainstream activities as we can. This ensures that a concern for women is at the heart, rather than in the margins, of our programme. Our spending on women's equality is rising year by year.