Government’s International Development Strategy falls short for women and girls

Responding, Rose Caldwell, Chief Executive of Plan International UK said:

“This strategy should offer a vision for how the UK delivers on its commitments to leave no-one behind. However, the strategy’s approach on trade and investment shows little concern for how it will improve the lives of women and girls.

Whilst we welcome that women and girls are one of the stated priorities of the strategy, there is no mention of how the trade and investment agenda will contribute to tackling gender inequality, making it hard to see how the UK will deliver its ambitions in this area.

The lack of any reference to funding for women’s and girls’ rights organisations or funding for local civil society is also glaring gap. For gender equality to be achieved, it must be at the heart of every aspect of the strategy.

We urge the Government to use its upcoming women and girls' strategy to provide greater detail on how it will deliver on gender equality, as well as on its promise to restore the budget for women and girls.”