Focus on the rights of women and girls

CARE International places the specific needs and rights of women and girls at the heart of that all we do.

Our focus on the rights of women and girls

CARE International’s expertise lies in our holistic and inclusive approach to tackling poverty and injustice. While CARE International works alongside people of all ages, backgrounds, and genders, 70% of the world’s poorest people are women. Women and girls experience poverty, hardship, climate, conflict, and health emergencies very differently to men, and require specialized approaches.

Responding to specific needs

While gender inequality is a key driver of poverty as well as one of the most widespread forms of injustice, when women are empowered, our evidence tells us that they bring their whole communities with them.

True gender equality encompasses intersectional issues such as race or disability that can further disadvantage certain groups of women, yet once achieved also leads to more scalable and sustainable prosperity.

CARE International places the specific needs and rights of women and girls at the heart of all we do. It reflects our practical approach to fighting poverty, the specific technical expertise we have gained as a diverse global network and plays a critical part of our identity as an organization grounded in gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Two girls stand in the middle of the road, each holding food in one hand. One of the girls has her arm around the other's shoulders and is resting her head on hers. The second girl is bringing up her hand up to her mouth as she smiles.

How does CARE International focus on women and girls?

Gender equality crosscuts all our developmental programming. Throughout our 75 years of experience, CARE has developed tools and methods to ensure we address the rights and needs of women and girls in all areas of our work.

CARE’s Gender Marker

CARE’s Gender Marker is a self-assessment program quality and learning tool. It measures the integration of gender into programming; from “harmful” to “transformative.”

The Gender Marker enables CARE International to track, improve on, and support more effective, gender integrated programming. It is designed to be used in combination with Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning systems to help our teams reflect and learn from the gendered approach of their work.

Rapid Gender Analysis

In times of crisis, women and girls face specific risks due to gender inequities that can be exacerbated at times of instability.

The Rapid Gender Analysis is used in crisis situations, where time is of the essence and resources are scarce. They are built up progressively, using a range of primary and secondary information to understand gender roles and relations and how these may change during a crisis. It informs practical programming and operational recommendations to meet the different needs of women, girls and other vulnerable groups.

Rapid Gender Analysis in Syria

CARE’s Rapid Gender Analysis helps further understanding of the evolving situation in Syria, improving humanitarian and resilience programming and informing the wider humanitarian community.

Read the RGA

Engaging men and boys

Working to achieve gender equality implies that there must be a shift in gender norms and structures. This cannot be done without engaging men and boys. We bring men and boys together to reflect on gender relations and empower them to be active participants in promoting gender equality. CARE International’s approach to working with men and boys for gender equality is strongly grounded in local contexts and rights-based approaches.

Meaningful engagement with men and boys is critical for dismantling the social and gendered norms that reinforce patriarchy and inequality.

Community microsavings groups

The Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) is a successful practice implemented across CARE International programs that stimulates the creation of saving groups within communities. Savings groups are self-managed groups of 15 to 25 people who meet regularly to save their money in a safe space, access small loans, and obtain emergency insurance. The VSLA model can also be adapted for emergencies which, when combined with cash and voucher assistance, can support improved outcomes for crisis-affected populations.

A Cambodian girl setting at a desk smiles widely. The picture is taken from outside, and she is by an open window.

Focusing on gender equality

CARE International works to increase gender equality in over 100 countries. We focus on amplifying rights and opportunities for women and girls using tried and tested approaches.

Read more about our gender equality work

Stories about our focus on women and girls

Read recent news and stories about our work to achieve gender equality.

5 Min Inspiration: Making climate change responses better for everyone

CARE's research shows that extreme weather events threaten food security for up to five years, disproportionately affecting women. Through partnerships, CARE has empowered over 5 million people to prepare for climate change, promoting long-term, equitable disaster response.

COP29: Only 8 out of 78 world leaders attending are women 

Women and girls bear the brunt of the climate crisis and often design the solutions, yet only 8 out of the 78 world leaders participating in COP29 are women: while the Conference of Parties (COP) strive to be an inclusive summit, the negotiation table remains far from diverse.

Fields of tea in Tanzania, figures of women carrying tea

5 Min Inspiration Story: Her Money, Her Life

Women Farmers are Cultivating Equality and Economic Growth in Tanzania’s Tea Industry with support from the Her Money, Her Life program.

Women searching under the rubble, destroyed house

Resilience amid ruins: Afghan women one year after the Herat earthquakes

One year after the devastating Herat earthquakes, Afghan women continue to face significant challenges, including trauma and economic instability, despite some progress in rebuilding.

forest, rocks, typhoon, water, muddy area

Typhoon Yagi : Women remain most vulnerable as Southeast Asia reacts

Over the past weeks, Typhoon Yagi, Asia's strongest storm in 2024, has ravaged Southeast Asian countries, affecting millions and causing more than 600 casualties. The severe flooding and destruction have overwhelmed vulnerable communities, with women and girls bearing the brunt.

Dried up maize farm in a farm in Mozambique. The sand has dried and sky is clear.

Mozambique: Women face conflict and climate change effects

The humanitarian crisis in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado is worsening due to conflict and climate change-induced drought, affecting millions, especially women and children. With severe food insecurity and underfunded humanitarian response, CARE urges donors to increase aid and prioritize gender equality in climate policies to support vulnerable communities.

Six women leaders on staying safe and supporting women and girls in a humanitarian crisis

As we mark World Humanitarian Day, we put the spotlight on six women aid workers who are bringing desperately needed relief to people facing crises, especially women and girls.

Three years On: Afghans are paying the price for the world’s neglect

In one of the world's largest and most complex humanitarian crises, millions of Afghans continue to struggle, three years after the change in power. Without sustained support and engagement from the international community, it is at risk of becoming a forgotten crisis.

Burundi flood victims wade through submerged village near Lake Tanganyika.

Burundi: women and girls most affected by escalating flood crisis

The severe impact of prolonged El-Nino rains in Burundi has caused extensive flooding and displaced over 239,000 people. The crisis has particularly affected women and girls, who face heightened health risks, loss of income, and increased vulnerability to gender-based violence.