Equal Futures Partnership.

What  global advances have there been for women’s opportunities

The kick-off of the Equal Futures Partnership to expand women’s opportunities around the world was hosted today. The event was held in New York City and part of a number of events USAID is participating in during the United Nations General Assembly this week.

• In 2011, women held only 19 percent of parliamentary seats worldwide, while less than five percent of heads of state and government were women.
• While in the past 25 years, women have increasingly joined the labor market, the World Bank’s 2012 World Development Report describes “pervasive and persistent gender differences” in productivity and earnings across sectors and jobs.
• Though women are 43 percent of the agriculture labor force and undertake many unpaid activities, they own just a tiny fraction of land worldwide.

These realities demand an urgent response.

The goal of theEqual Futures Partnership is to realize women’s human rights by expanding opportunity for women and girls to fully participate in public life and drive inclusive economic growth in our countries.

Through this partnership, the countries of Senegal, South Africa, Benin, Jordan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Tunisia, Peru, Denmark, Finland, Australia and the European Union are all making new commitments to action, and will consult with national stakeholders inside and outside government, including civil society, multilateral organizations including UN Women and the World Bank, and the private sector, to identify and overcome key barriers to women’s political and economic participation.  This partnership promises to be groundbreaking not only for the countries involved but also for those who are watching its implementation.

Will this make the promise of development real for everyone–not just a privileged few.