CARE International UK submission to the International Development Committee

Proposal for an inquiry on gender equality

Information on CARE International UK

CARE is a leading humanitarian organisation working with women to lead the fight to end poverty. CARE works in 109 countries, reaching 167 million people through more than 1,600 projects. We put gender equality and women’s leadership at the heart of everything we do.

We have ongoing engagement with the International Development Committee (IDC) and have submitted to previous inquiries. We would be happy to pitch this proposal to the Committee in person and a senior CARE representative can travel to Westminster and back in the same day.

Proposal for an inquiry on gender equality

CARE proposes the IDC undertakes an inquiry into UK leadership on global gender equality, covering bilateral and multilateral aid investment, programmes, policy, and diplomacy.

Why should the International Development Committee examine this area?

From conflict to climate change, economic growth to education, health to human rights; gender equality is essential to tackling the world’s greatest development challenges. Women and girls are often disproportionally impacted by crises and weak democracies, yet they are often at the forefront of transforming their communities. Gender should therefore be a strategic priority at the heart of UK foreign and development policy, and the IDC’s work.

Why is it the right time for the Committee to examine the area?

Inequality is a major driver of global instability. Gender inequality—by virtue of affecting at least half the world's population—is therefore one of the clearest barometers of stable, peaceful and flourishing societies. Over the past decade, there have been troubling reversals in the progress made toward building more equal societies. The gap between women and men in work is the widest since records began, women's rights are being stripped away from Afghanistan to the US, 80% of those displaced by climate change are women and girls, and violence against women is up as much a 200% in conflict zones.

2025 represents a pivotal year for global action on gender equality. The surge in movements seeking to roll back women’s rights threatens to continue in 2025 with anticipated political changes in the G7 and beyond. As the world marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, concerted UK leadership is vital to protect and advance women’s rights and actions for gender equality.

Why would this area benefit from parliamentary scrutiny?

The IDC has never conducted a standalone inquiry into the UK’s approach to gender equality. There have been two notable inquiries focussed on issues affecting women and girls: the 2013 inquiry on violence against women and girls and the 2024 inquiry on the FCDO’s approach to sexual and reproductive health. However, as a stated priority for successive governments, including the current government, it is notable that concerted scrutiny and recommendations from the Committee have been missing on an issue so crucial to achieving the UK’s stated development, humanitarian and climate objectives.

Cuts to the UK aid budget in recent years have disproportionally affected gender equality programming and support, which has yet to be addressed by the new government. Despite warnings in the Government’s Equalities Impact Assessment in 2021, CARE International’s research found UK aid spending with gender equality aims was nearly halved between 2019 and 2021, while total aid volumes fell by around a third. ODA for violence against women and girls fell by 41%, from £47.2 million in 2019 to £27.7 million in 2021. Support for women’s rights organisations fell dramatically by 66% in 2021, compared to a previous peak in 2017, and dropped 31.1% in crisis contexts. This trend needs to be urgently examined and reversed.

Why does the Government need to act in this area?

As the Government undertakes development reviews, assesses aid spending and establishes its priorities, is it vital that clear plans and commitments are made to prioritise gender and ensure it is meaningfully and effectively integrated across UK development, humanitarian, and climate action.

How could Government policy in this area be developed or improved?

There is a need to dispel the notion that gender equality is solely about women and girls. The Government can be at the forefront of policy to drive more equitable and just societies and systems. CARE has several recommendations for UK policy and action on global gender equality. Critically, an inquiry would enable frontline women's rights organisations from the global south to contribute their expertise, experience and leadership to the Committee’s work.