icon icon icon icon icon icon icon

UNGA: CARE pledges to economically empower 30 million more women by 2020

Women’s economic empowerment critical for achieving gender equality 

NEW YORK (September 25, 2015) — As world leaders convene in New York to discuss the agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), CARE International announced today its own ambitious goal to economically empower 30 million more women by 2020.

“We hope CARE’s commitment will help drive the investments and efforts made to accomplish the SDGs. As world leaders lay the groundwork for how we will achieve these global goals, they must recognize that economic empowerment of women and girls will have a transformative impact on progress towards the goals for gender equality, sustainable economic growth, and ensuring no-one is left behind,” said Michelle Nunn CEO of CARE.

CARE plans to achieve this goal through influencing corporations on how they do business and scaling up programs like increasing the 4.5 million people already enrolled in CARE’s Village Savings and Loans Associations. VSLA members deposit their savings in a group lockbox at weekly meetings and earn interest on loans to group members who take out money to start businesses, improve their farms or make other investments in their futures.

“We want to ensure that women have the educational, economic tools and the full rights of participation to be successful in the economic marketplace. We do this by connecting people, challenging and shaping corporate strategies, piloting new initiatives, and standing up for women’s rights,” said Nunn.

This commitment is one of several commitments being made today at a high-level UNGA side event on women’s economic empowerment hosted by CARE International, DFID, UN Women and Vital Voices with speakers Justine Greening, the British International Development Secretary, and Hailemariam Desalegn, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia.

This week the SDGs are being officially adopted at the 70th UNGA Summit for Adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda where world leaders are committing to 17 goals to end extreme poverty, fight inequality, injustice and the impact and trends of climate change by 2030.

“CARE welcomes the new SDGs, which include stand-alone goals on both climate change and gender equality, a commitment to reproductive rights and to ending hunger and malnutrition. However, there is a lot of work to do before the SDGs can truly transform the world and that starts this week at the UNGA,” said Kathleen Hunt, UN Representative at CARE International.

Resources

Localization Capacity Statement

In the context of CARE’s focus on impact at scale and USAID’s

Read More

Healthy Moms, Healthy Societies

Issue Brief 2015

Read More

Learning Tours By the Numbers

An infographic showing how the trips add up

Read More

CRITICAL DIAGNOSIS

The Case for Placing South Sudan’s Healthcare System at the Heart of the Humanitarian Response

Read More

Learning Tours Fact Sheet

Read More

Learning Tours Journalist Fact Sheet

Read More

2014 Election Toolkit

2014 MID-TERM ELECTIONS: Use Your Voice to Send a Powerful Message

Read More

Finding Local Solutions for Food Insecurity in Guatemala and Honduras

Findings from CARE’s Learning Tour to Guatemala and Honduras - April 21-25, 2014

Read More

The Syrian Humanitarian Crisis

Read More

Healthy Mothers, Healthy Families

Access to education about contraceptive methods and tools empowers women and men to plan their families, educate their children, and...

Read More

CARE’s 2014 Advocacy Agenda

Read More

Issue Brief 2014 Bringing an End to Gender-Based Violence

Read More

Food and Nutrition Security for All

A 2014 issue brief addressing the need for food and nutrition security for all. Hunger is a complex problem and calls for a comprehensive approach that addresses all aspects of hunger and malnutrition, from emergency to long-term food and nutrition needs.

Read More

Fighting Child Malnutrition: The Investment of a Lifetime

Among women participating in the program, average incomes more than doubled.

Read More

Student Action Toolkit

The CARE Student Action Toolkit is the first step to getting involved with CARE.

Read More

Empowering Girls Through Education

An educated girl is more likely to delay marriage and childbirth, enjoy greater income and productivity, and raise fewer, healthier and...

Read More

Child Marriage: A Promise of Poverty

Not every marriage lasts forever, but early marriage has lifelong consequences for girls.

Read More

Foreign Assistance: A Smart Investment for Global Stability

As a global humanitarian organization working in 80 countries around the world, CARE knows firsthand how critical United States foreign...

Read More
Back to Top