HELVETAS operates in over 30 countries in Africa, Asia, the Balkans & Eastern Europe, Latin Central America, and the MENA region. In many of them, civic space is obstructed or closed. In parallel, the latest Global Gender Gap Report shows slight progress in women’s (girls’) Health and Survival and Education. However, Economic Participation and Opportunity have declined, and the largest disparity remains in Political Empowerment at just 22.1% bridged. The two potential areas granting women (girls) more influence and agency are regressing or persistently out of reach. This raises the question: is there a cause-and-effect interdependence between shrinking space for civil society & shrinking space for women?
In recent years, the surge of authoritarianism and conservatism has posed significant challenges to gender equality, safety, & the well-being of women and girls. Despite being the caregivers both in our households and on the front lines, women don’t benefit from the rights and treatment they deserve. Statistics reveal that women represent 60% of the world’s undernourished, half of those living under the poverty line, and women’s unemployment rates are 50 to 100% higher than those of men. Additionally, about one-third of women and girls report experiencing some form of gender-based violence or harassment.
Such challenges, exacerbated by global crises such as pandemics and climate change, are not only lived by women from the Global South but also in industrial countries. Climate change will contribute to preventing at least 12.5 million girls each year from completing their education, and 80% of people displaced by climate change are women.
HELVETAS is dedicated to achieving gender equality & social equity, viewing these as prerequisites and solutions for addressing the world’s greatest challenges. Through its Voice, Inclusion & Cohesion projects, the organization supports women’s participation, representation, & leadership in local governance, elections, and mediation for cohesion and peace. HELVETAS also carries out Skills, Jobs, & Income projects, aiming to advance women’, girls’ & youth’s access to responsive education, employment & financial services. As part of its Water, Food & Climate projects, HELVETAS enhances women’s safe & inclusive access to water, participation in climate-smart food systems, circular economies, & fair value chains.
However, this is easier said than done. To increase the probability of positive impact, HELVETAS invests in gender & social equity within the organization and with its partners. The organization allocates substantial resources to understand the contexts it engages in, to apply a gender & social equity lens, and to analyze the political economy and power dynamics, and strives to develop do-no-harm intervention strategies. For this purpose, HELVETAS targets women and engages men, families, community leaders, government, academia, business, media, and civil society. It facilitates multi-stakeholder collaboration to enhance inclusive systemic change, ensuring that women’s voices and priorities are heard and their rights respected to their benefit and that of the societies they are part of.