Gender equality and empowering women are keys to sustainable and socially equitable development. If women are equal participants in the development process, families are healthier and enjoy better nutrition, and their income, savings, and investments increase. Inequality thus not only hurts women, but also has negative effects on the entire society.

For the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the promotion of gender equality and women’s rights is an explicit policy goal. Men and women should participate equally in social and economic development; gender-specific discrimination must be eradicated. In order to achieve this goal, GIZ was commissioned to implement an advisory program for Gender Equality and Women’s Rights.