For Immediate Release:	August 1, 2008
For More Information:	Shanta Bryant Gyan, International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), shanta@sbgcommunications.com, (202) 412-4603 Sandra Bunch, The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), sbunch@icrw.org, (202) 742-1240
Sponsor Organization:	ICRW & Women Thrive Worldwide
New ICRW, Women Thrive Worldwide White Paper Supports Foreign Aid Overhaul and Urges Placing Investments in Women at the Core
WASHINGTON, D.C. July 31 – International women’s organizations join the growing call to revamp U.S. foreign assistance from top to bottom, and say aid will go much farther by placing investments in women at the core, according to a new policy paper by the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) and Women Thrive Worldwide, released in advance of today’s Senate and House hearings on reforming aid. In June, The Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (M-FAN), a group of U.S. think tanks, academics and international nongovernmental organizations, launched a proposal calling for a sweeping overhaul of the how the U.S. approaches foreign assistance. ICRW and Women Thrive Worldwide support their recommendations for reform (see below), and have gone a level deeper by putting forward ideas on how a commitment to women and gender equality as a priority of foreign assistance will enhance the impact of our country’s aid. Years of evidence show that investing in women pays huge dividends toward reducing poverty and growing economies, according to the new policy paper, “Value Added: Women and U.S. Foreign Assistance for the 21st Century.” Women in developing countries are the producers and income earners, farmers and entrepreneurs, wage-workers and the self-employed, the report says. In India’s economic transformation of the past 15 years, the World Bank finds that states with the highest percentage of women in the labor force grew the fastest and had the largest reductions in poverty. “Investing in women is smart because it has a multiplier effect,” says ICRW President Geeta Rao Gupta. “Women are half the population, yes. Yet when you invest in women, it benefits whole families and communities – the very people we intend to reach through U.S. development.” "If you care about women living in poverty, you've got to care about fixing U.S. assistance,” says Ritu Sharma Fox, Co-Founder and President, Women Thrive Worldwide. “It's not working like it should for our country or for the very people we're trying to help." “Value Added: Women and U.S. Foreign Assistance for the 21st Century,” builds upon the M-FAN priority actions, outlined below, in order to advance women’s empowerment and gender equality: 1) Develop a national strategy for global development “Value Added: Women and U.S. Foreign Assistance for the 21st Century,” builds upon the M-FAN priority actions, outlined below, in order to advance women’s empowerment and gender equality: 1) Develop a national strategy for global development Value Added: Develop a global development strategy that capitalizes on women’s roles in reducing poverty and expanding economic growth. 2) Reach a “grand bargain” between the Executive branch and Congress on management authorities and plan, design and enact a new Foreign Assistance Act Value Added: Rewrite foreign assistance legislation to ensure that development assistance benefits both women and men. 3) Streamline the organizational structure and improve organizational capacity by creating a Cabinet-level Department for Global Development, by rebuilding human resource capacity and by strengthening monitoring and evaluation Value Added: Streamline organizational structures and improve the capacity to fully promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. 4) Increase funding for and accountability of foreign assistance Value Added: Increase funding for and improve monitoring of programs to address gender inequality and empower women. As congress explores foreign aid reform through hearings, legislative aides and members of the development community have begun to write proposed legislation for a new Foreign Assistance Act. “We have a unique, perhaps unprecedented, opportunity to rethink our entire approach to international development,” says Rao Gupta. “We call upon the U.S. Congress and the broader development community to integrate the recommendations for investing in women into new legislation to strengthen economic growth and poverty reduction in developing countries.” Since its origins after World War II, U.S. foreign assistance has focused on enhancing national security, expanding global economic opportunities – including international development and humanitarian assistance – and promoting U.S. values. The basic legislation has not been updated since its original inception in 1961. About ICRW ICRW’s mission is to advance gender equality, empower women and fight poverty in the developing world. To accomplish this, ICRW works with partners to conduct empirical research, build capacity and advocate for evidence-based, practical ways to change policies and programs. Learn more at http://www.icrw.org. About Women Thrive Worldwide Women Thrive Worldwide (formerly the Women’s Edge Coalition) is the leading non-profit organization shaping U.S. policy to help women in developing countries lift themselves out of poverty. Women Thrive brings together a diverse coalition of over 50 organizations and 34,000 individuals to advocate for policies that foster economic opportunity for women living in poverty. Learn more at http://www.womenthrive.org. ###