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Equality between women and men. To have a voice. To have a choice.

February 5, 2007

By pwrdf

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International Development Week, February 4 – 10, 2007

International Development Week (IDW) is a unique opportunity for the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and partners to share their challenges and successes in international development with Canadians. This year, the 17th annual IDW runs from February 4 – 10, 2007 and will focus on equality between women and men being fundamental to sustainable development.

Why focus on equality between women and men?

The equality between women and men—the equal participation of women, men, girls and boys in the development of their societies, and their equal access to the benefits of development—contributes to economic growth, poverty reduction, and sustainable development.

Gender inequalities intensify poverty, perpetuating it from one generation to the next. Gender inequalities limit a country’s ability to govern effectively, to grow sustainably, to reduce poverty, and to provide for peoples’ well being. They also dramatically affect the health of societies’ populations, especially the poor. In Africa, 75 percent of young people (15 to 24) living with HIV are young women. Despite a marked increase in primary school enrolment rates, some 770 million people, two-thirds of them women, still cannot read or write.

CIDA and equality between women and men

In a speech delivered during International Cooperation Days in late October 2006, Minister José Verner stressed the importance of equality between women and men: “In many developing countries, experience has shown that in order to reduce poverty, create wealth, and safeguard human rights, nothing is more effective than concrete actions that permit women to take advantage of their great potential. That is why we need programs and funding that specifically target support to the economic and social development of women.”

CIDA considers equality between women and men fundamental to fulfilling CIDA’s mandate of poverty reduction and sustainable development. As a recognized world leader in equality between women and men programming, CIDA promotes women’s equal participation in decision-making, full realization of their human rights, and equal access to and control over the resources and benefits of development.

PWRDF and CIDA

The Primate’s Fund has been a trusted parter with CIDA since the 1980’s and receives an annual grant for our development and public education program.

More Information

Check out CIDA’s Youth Zone. As a teacher, visit the CIDA Teacher Zone for new ideas to help bring international development into the classroom and motivate students to become active global citizens.

CIDA IDW calendar of events CIDA Teacher ZoneCIDA Youth Zone
PWRDF Stories of women and developmentPWRDF Gender and Development Policy

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