• Gender and the MDGs

Gender and the MDGs

Greater gender equality can help to reduce the root causes of poverty and vulnerability and contribute to sustainable pro-poor growth. This short Briefing Paper discusses how gender relations underpin four clusters of Goals: those on poverty and sustainable development, service access, care and care-giving and voice and agency. The authors look at ways to promote an interlinked gender-sensitive approach to the MDG achievement.

The authors highlight how social protection policies could help to achieve the MDGs in a synergistic and gender-sensitive manner. Aiming to reduce household vulnerability and chronic deprivation, social protection strategies are being put in place across the world to cushion the impact of shocks and help poor households take advantage of opportunities presented by globalisation and economic growth.

Key points raised in the paper include:

• policy dialogue on the MDGs needs to recognise that the gender dynamics of power, poverty, vulnerability and care link all the goals
• the achievement of the MDGs requires a coordinated policy approach that is sensitive to gender-specific discrimination and risks
• gender-sensitive social protection policies offer an opportunity to link gender equality and the MDGs.
  

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