Gender Equality Policy

Long-term, sustainable development and religious freedom will only be possible when women and men enjoy equal opportunity to rise to their potential. But today, women and girls continue to face disadvantages in every sector, while in some cases, boys are falling behind.

In agriculture, for instance, women make up more than 40 percent of the labor force, but only represent between 3 to 20 percent of landholders. In Africa, women-owned enterprises make up as little as 10 percent of all businesses – and in South Asia, only 3 percent. And despite representing half the global population, women compromise less than 20 percent of the world’s legislators.

If we can erase these inequities – and put women on equal footing with men – we know that we can unlock human potential on a transformational scale.

While great strides have been made, gender inequality remains a significant challenge across every development initiative worldwide, from education to global health.

The Religious Freedom & Business Foundation is committed to:

• Ensuring all our strategies and programs contribute to reducing gender gaps that impede development, slow progress and infringe on religious freedom;
• Developing frameworks and metrics that measure the gender impact of our program so we can measure women’s participation, priorities, and needs; and
• Ensuring the composition of our work staff reflects our own principles so we reflect our commitment to equality and female leadership.
• Ensuring that every strategy and project is shaped by a gender analysis and establishes common indicators for judging our success.