The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has announced a commitment of Ksh. 226.7 trillion ($2.1 billion) over the next 5 years to support women. The announcement was made as part of the Generation Equality Forum convened by UN Women and co-hosted by the Mexican and French Governments.
The pledged support will be used to advance women’s economic empowerment, strengthen women and girls’ health and family planning, and accelerate women’s leadership.
The Generation Equality Forum brings together governments, the private sector, and civil society partners to commit to specific actions to accelerate gender equality and advance women’s rights.
Speaking at the Forum, Melinda Gates, co-Chair of the Gates Foundation said, “The world has been fighting for gender equality for decades, but progress has been slow. Now is the chance to reignite a movement and deliver real change. The beauty of our fight for gender equality is that every human being will gain from it. We must seize this moment to build a better, more equal future.”
The foundation’s multi-billion commitment will advance activity in three areas. These are economic empowerment, health and family planning, and accelerating women in leadership.
“Women and girls already faced unique barriers to their full participation in social and economic life, and the latest data show that the pandemic has only sharpened gender disparities,” said Mark Suzman, CEO of the Gates Foundation.
The Foundation has also been committed to family planning and women’s health since its inception over 2 decades ago. For almost a decade, the Foundation has been supporting partners around the world to break down structural barriers that women and girls face and to advance women’s economic empowerment. Gender equality is core to the foundation’s work, and the Gender Equality division is focused on accelerating progress toward a more gender-equal world.