Why Investing in Equality Helps Progress for the Sustainable Development Goals

If we want to tackle the biggest problems the world faces today, closing the gap between men and women has to be one of our solutions. With conflict, extreme weather, and crises on the rise, the world is facing some of the biggest challenges of our lifetimes. There’s a famine in parts of Sudan, and 282 million people are facing food crisis. 600 million women live within 50km of a conflict.

If you leave out or underestimate half the people in the world, you can’t possibly solve the problems.  But have you ever talked to someone who wasn’t convinced? What do you say to a donor, a politician, or a community member who says, “well, that’s probably good for women, but why does it matter?” Or in the immortal words of an agriculture specialist I talked to one time, “I don’t want to talk about “gender” problems. I want to solve real problems.”

For the last 10 years, CARE’s been investing in high-quality research that gives you answers to share for those who haven’t seen how much difference it makes to focus on equality, instead of looking only at food or health or education. We use tools like Randomized Controlled Trials and Quasi-Experimental Designs to understand what works, and how to invest more. 

A review of our 8 strongest studies shows us that investing in equality isn’t just good for women, or only good for improving equality. Investing in equality helps us deliver many other results—from better diets to higher incomes. It helps achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

What changed?

• We moved towards equality. All 8 rigorous research studies show improved gender equality (SDG 5 and SDG 10). 6 out of 8 showed increases in women’s leadership at the community, and 5 out of 8 showed reductions in Gender Based Violence or Child Marriage. In Somalia, there was a 10 percentage point increase in girls feeling confident to answer questions in class. 40% of adolescent girls in Niger’s IMAGINE program had mobility, compared to only 28% of girls who weren’t in the program. In Burundi, men were twice as likely to reject Gender Based Violence. In Ethiopia, child marriage dropped by 44%.
• People eat more often and have better diets. 4 out of 8 projects showed improvements in food security (SDG 2). In Timor Leste, the number of children who ate at all during the day went up 6 percentage points. In Rwanda, food security went from 17% to 24%. Women in Burundi at more, and more diverse diets.
• Poverty went down, and incomes went up. 3 out of 8 projects showed improvements in income (SDG 1). In Rwanda, women having cash income went from 49% to 68%. In Niger, the number of girls who were earning income in the last year was 56% for girls in the project, and only 44% for girls who weren’t. In Uganda, 72% of women in the project met their financial goals.
• Women got better health services and better health (especially mental health). 3 out of 8 projects showed improvements in health (SDG 3). In Rwanda, women who had depression dropped from 22% to 14%. Women in Uganda showed fewer signs of psychological distress after the program. In Ethiopia, contraceptive use went from 35% to 42%.
• Girls got better education. 3 out of 8 projects showed progress on education (SDG 4). In Somalia, girls literacy went up by 3.7 percentage points. In Timor Leste, learning losses fell by 52%. In Ethiopia, girls were more likely to have gone to school if they were in the program than if they were not.

How did we get there?

• Create space for women and men to talk to each other. These projects used couple’s conversations and household dialogues as ways for men and women to talk to each other about their goals for the future, the barriers they face, and how they can work together to get the best results for everyone. 
• Get communities talking about solutions. Community activities like Social Analysis and Action help whole communities think about the barriers they are facing, and how gender inequality is preventing them from meeting other goals that matter to them. They build action plans to work together to solve those issues.
• Work with men and boys. Working with women is important, but it’s not enough. These projects all focused on ensuring that men and boys are part of the solution, and are actively working towards equality. That means creating activities for men and boys, spending time understanding their perspective, and making sure they know what women and girls are facing.
• Change systems and structures. Individuals can’t achieve these goals alone. Working with community leaders, legal structures, and social norms is critical to ensure that progress can last, and that it reaches many more people than just the project can support. That might mean training teachers, bringing in religious leaders as champions, or working with health workers and local government officials to promote equality.
• Use savings groups. Savings groups feature in almost all of these projects as a platform that brings people together and keeps them coming back. It helps them see progress, income, and solidarity, and is a crucial component to most of this work.
• Build evidence. These projects all invested heavily in research and ensuring that we have evidence to share with others about the differences between investing in gender equality and trying to tackle immense challenges with purely technical solutions.

Want to learn more?

Check out the analysis to see what the evaluations told us.