Equitable Youth Engagement and Co-Leadership

Women are powerful agents of change, and the far-reaching benefits of diversity and gender parity in leadership and decision-making are increasingly recognized in all spheres of society. Still, women continue to be vastly underrepresented in decision-making in politics, businesses, and communities. This policy brief explores the benefits, challenges, and opportunities to accelerate women’s leadership. It outlines recommendations to drive progress in women’s leadership and decision-making by 2030.

Educating girls and women is a powerful investment that benefits both individuals and society by unlocking the potential to improve health, nutrition, social justice, democracy, human rights, gender equality, social cohesion, and economic prosperity for current and future generations. This policy brief examines the cross-sectoral interventions that promote gender equality in and through education and support girls to access and complete school.

The full and equal political participation of women is a prerequisite for democratic governance. This policy brief examines various proven solutions to addressing barriers in institutions, sociocultural norms, and individual capacity in order to empower all girls and women and amplify their voices in decision-making processes.

Women’s economic empowerment is a pre-requisite for inclusive and equitable economic growth. Every day, women demonstrate they can build informal and formal businesses out of very little capital, create networks to maximize limited resources, and shoulder disproportionate care-taking responsibilities. Women succeed in spite of laws, policies, social norms, and institutions that hold them back. This policy brief examines opportunities to create an enabling environment for women to thrive economically.

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a phenomenon that transcends social, economic, and geographic borders. GBV is rooted in power imbalances between the sexes and fueled by multiple factors, including cultural norms, social acceptance of harmful practices, and insufficient legal protections. This policy brief discusses several approaches that can help societies step up the prevention of gender-based violence and build a stronger response to violence when it occurs.

Providing quality healthcare and nutritional support for all women and babies is vital for a healthy generation. The interventions discussed in this policy brief not only address the leading causes of maternal and newborn death and disabilities, but they also explore solutions and overall health and wellbeing, encompassing good nutrition and the prevention and treatment of maternal injuries.