Focus 2030
Subscribe to our newsletter  |  en  |   | 
en    

Which countries support gender equality in their Official Development Assistance?

Published 24 March 2024 in Facts and figures , Updated 24 October 2025

Special edition on the state of gender inequality around the world in 2025 : 

This overview focusing on the access to contraception around the world is one of the components of a https://focus2030.org/Gender-inequality-around-the-world-in-2025-special-report’>special report dedicated to gender inequalities in the world in 2025.

 

In 2015, all countries in the world committed to achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Among these goals, SDG 5 aims to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls worldwide. However, achieving gender equality requires sufficient investment, especially in the poorest countries.

Official Development Assistance (ODA) from the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) is an important source of funding in this regard. To what extent do DAC member countries take into account the promotion of gender equality in their ODA ? What trend has been observed in recent years ? Analysis.

 

Gender equality, an issue that remains underfunded by donors

 

Monitoring of ODA for gender equality is carried out by the OECD DAC, using the aid policy marker in support of gender equality (see box).

 


Significant objective, principal objective : definitions


As part of the annual reporting of their aid to the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), DAC members are required to indicate for each project/programme whether it targets gender equality as a policy objective according to a three-point scoring system :
 

  • Principal (score 2) : gender equality is the main objective of the project/programme and is fundamental in its design and expected results. The project/programme would not have been undertaken without this gender equality objective.
  • Significant (score 1) : gender equality is an important and deliberate objective, but not the principal reason for undertaking the project/ programme.
  • Not targeted (score 0) : the project/programme has been screened against the marker but has not been found to target gender equality.

Source : OECD (2016).

 

In 2022-23, the 32 OECD DAC donor countries and EU institutions committed a yearly average of $71.9 billion (45.9% of bilateral allocable ODA) to gender equality : $6 billion (3.9%) as a principal objective and $65.9 billion (42.1%) as a significant objective. Meanwhile, they disbursed an average of $58.1 billion per year (40.3% of bilateral ODA) : $6.1 billion (4.2%) as a principal objective and $52 billion (36%) as a significant objective.

Over the same period, DAC members disbursed an average of $55 billion in support of gender equality (39.8% of their screened bilateral ODA disbursements), including $5.8 billion in support of projects with gender equality as a principal objective (4.2%) and $49.3 billion for projects with gender equality as a significant objective (35.6%).

 


Commitments, disbursements : clarification


In addition to the detailed database, the OECD communicates ODA amounts for gender equality and women’s empowerment expressed as commitments, in order to reflect the intentions of donor countries. As these commitments may be made over several years, their total sum may vary significantly from one year to the next without signifying a change of direction, which is why the OECD communicates on the average of two years.

 

 

 

In terms of volume, the largest ODA donors to gender equality are also the largest donors of total ODA (Germany, Japan, USA, France).

However, only the Netherlands has reached the international benchmark of dedicating at least 85% of bilateral ODA to gender equality — and only the Netherlands and Spain allocate at least 20% of their ODA to projects whose principal objective is promoting gender equality.

 

Rising commitments to gender equality, but disbursements have stalled since 2020

 

Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitments for gender equality have followed an upward trend. A temporary decline occurred in 2021, a year after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when donor countries redirected resources toward other priorities related to the health crisis and its economic fallout. This drop was reversed in 2022, when commitments made during the Generation Equality Forum — where international actors collectively pledged USD 40 billion for gender equality — were recorded.

In addition, disbursements for gender equality projects and programs have stagnated since 2020.

 

 

France : a future champion for global gender equality ?

 

France ranks 17th among donor countries for gender-focused ODA, allocating 46% of its bilateral aid commitments to gender equality on average in 2022–2023. Of this, 6% ($0.5 billion) targeted gender equality as a principal objective, and 40% ($3.4 billion) as a significant objective.

On August 4, 2021, France enacted a new law to frame its development aid policy : the Programming Law on Solidarity-Based Development and the Fight Against Global Inequalities. This law enshrines gender equality between women and men, and girls and boys, as a cross-cutting objective of French ODA. It stipulates that by 2025, 75% of projects funded by French ODA should have gender equality as either a principal or significant objective (according to the OECD gender marker), with 20% having it as the principal objective. This commitment could translate into €3.3 billion allocated to the direct promotion of gender equality in 2025, a sum five times higher than that dedicated in 2021. However, since 2024, France has implemented massive cuts to its ODA, making this goal appear unattainable today.
Nevertheless, France stands out for its level of support to women’s rights organizations and movements, as well as governmental institutions, which are an integral part of its feminist diplomacy. On average, in 2022–2023, it allocated $105 million to them, behind Germany, which ranks first with $129 million.

 

 

 

 

Further reading

Oxfam Report: "Are there really gender equality projects?", February 2020

Documents to download

Development finance for gender equality and women’s empowerment: A snapshot Oxfam Report: "Are there really gender equality projects?", February 2020

Further reading