Make gender equality a global cause

“Women and girls are the first to be affected by poverty, conflict, the consequences of global warming; they are the first victims of sexist and sexual violence, which too often prevents them from moving around freely, working or choosing what happens to their bodies. [...] It’s time our world stopped making women victims and at last gave them their rightful place – the one where they are leaders too!”

Emmanuel Macron, speech at the United Nations General Assembly, on 25 September 2018.

On 9 and 10 May, in Paris, took place the Gender Equality Ministers meeting.

Find out the press pack presenting the objectives of this meeting.

Four goals:

Promoting feminist foreign policy

Combating sexist and sexual violence

Guaranteeing and supporting women’s access to education

Fostering women’s economic empowerment, including in Africa.

A feminist French foreign policy

Implementing an active and determined feminist foreign policy is a French priority.

France has announced that 50% of French official development assistance (ODA) must be allocated to measures supporting gender equality by 2022.

In 2019, feminist foreign policy will be deployed primarily around three key points:

• French action within the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW);
• France’s Presidency of the Council of Europe;
• France’s Presidency of the G7.

Three priorities for the ministerial gender equality meeting:

Combating sexist and sexual violence, with two priorities:

• the fight against genital mutilation and forced marriage;
• the fight against cyber bullying through global action to call out the GAFA (Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple) and social media platforms. Above and beyond the law and sanctions, outreach work is also essential.

Promoting education for women, with two priorities:

• the fight for girls’ access to quality education;
• support for women’s lifelong learning.

Promoting women’s economic empowerment, including in Africa:

• fostering women’s empowerment, particularly in Africa and the Sahel, by supporting them in funding their projects and businesses. A financial institute project will be studied to top up microfinance.

Find out the press release and the Declaration on Gender Equality adopted by G7 Ministers on 10 May 2019.

These priorities will be pursued with the precious assistance of the Gender Equality Advisory Council, which was created under the Canadian G7 Presidency and renewed by France’s President.