Gender equality is recognized as contributing to development by the international community. In 2013, the French Government made the promotion of gender equality a priority, by adopting the French Gender and Development Strategy 2013-2017.

In 2014, AFD defined its Strategy on Gender and the Reduction of Gender Inequalities. It is based on three priorities:

• Prevent gender inequalities in the operations we finance; 
• Promote gender as one of the objectives of our operations;
• Support progress in societies on these issues.

Today, in line with the objectives set by the French Gender and Development Strategy: 

• 100% of our projects are examined on the basis of OECD gender equality standards;
• 50% of the operations we finance are rated 1 or 2 according to OECD standards;
• 90% of AFD’s project managers have been sensitized to the gender issue.

The gender issue is a central theme in AFD’s new strategy for 2018-2020. 
 

Wealth in the world is poorly distributed between men and women: 70% of people living on less than a dollar a day are women and two-thirds of illiterates are women. In certain countries, 50% of women are victims of violence. Women produce 50% of food and two-thirds of global labor, but only earn 10% of incomes, only obtain 1% of credits and only own 1% of property. 

Yet women are recognized as being a powerful and sustainable engine of development. According to a study by ILO (International Labour Organization), gender equality would allow USD 28,000bn to be obtained, i.e. a 26% increase in global GDP by 2025.

Taking gender into account is therefore a powerful tool for scaling up the impacts of our actions.

Our projects:

• Ensure access to high-quality basic services for girls and women;
• Ensure access to training and employment opportunities and increase the formal incomes of women; 
• Combat violence against women;
• Increase the participation of women in the decision-making and governance of institutions and projects.
   

Gender is a crosscutting thematic area, meaning it concerns all our areas of action (poverty, education, water, health, climate, justice, etc.) and all the countries we work with. The gender issue consequently needs to be mainstreamed into all AFD’s activities.
To effectively analyze gender mainstreaming, at every stage of our projects, we have set up a rating system, based on a classification established by the OECD (DAC marker):

To situate the project by asking the following questions:

• Is promoting gender equality a project objective?
• Is it a main objective?
• Is it a significant objective, but not a main one?

Rate projects on a scale of -2 to 3: 

• The lowest rating increases or maintains inequalities;
• A zero rating has a neutral impact;
• Positive ratings reduce inequalities or, better still, make them their main objective.

In 2016, AFD achieved its objectives, as 51.1% of funded operations were rated 1 or 2 (DAC marker), meaning they effectively integrate the objective of reducing gender inequalities.

All AFD’s project managers are sensitized to the issue via documentation by sector and by country (cf. the 8 sectoral toolkits and 48 gender country profiles).

To prevent gender inequalities in the operations it finances, promote gender as one of the objectives of its operations and support progress in societies on these issues, AFD works closely with its partners:

• MAEDI;
• HCE FH;
• Réseau Francophone pour l’Egalité Femme-Homme;
• Coordination Sud Gender Commission;
• Genre en Action;
• Equilibres et Populations;
• CARE France;
• Plan France;
• Le Monde Selon les Femmes;
• Quartiers du Monde;
• Batik International;
• AWID;
• UN Women;
• Alter Egales Réseau CDC.