Gender equality is an indispensable tool for lasting and deep social transformation. CARE International works towards this purpose in everything we do.
Gender equality is CARE International's central organizing principle. We cannot achieve women’s economic justice, climate justice, health equity, the right to food, water, and nutrition, or equal access to humanitarian assistance without addressing gender inequality.
By 2030, CARE International seeks to support 50 million people to experience greater gender equality in their lives.
Women and adolescent girls are CARE International’s primary impact population. With our partners, we pay particular attention to how our programming, advocacy and partnerships include, enable, and impact women and girls.
COVID-19 has exacerbated existing inequalities, underscoring society’s reliance on women on the front lines and at home, while exposing structural inequalities that are setting women and girls back.
The secondary impacts of COVID-19 include a shadow pandemic of gender-based violence (GBV), declines in mental health, economic recession, job losses, and hunger and food insecurity. An anti-feminist backlash is occurring globally as extremist governments seek to instrumentalize gender stereotypes and control women’s bodies for their political agendas and roll back the progress of recent decades. Although many donors have identified gender equality as a key factor of development, aid reaching women’s organizations remains negligible.
Gender discrimination also significantly harms people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. CARE International recognizes that gender is not binary and has expanded and adapted our work with LGBTIQ+ communities.
CARE International has wide-ranging gender experience. In all our focus areas – from humanitarian assistance to food and water security – we have learned that our gender perspective is among our greatest added value proposition to the development and humanitarian sectors.
CARE International’s gender equality work focuses on improving the rights of women, adolescent girls, and marginalized groups in three sub-programs:
Read our Vision 2030 Impact Area Strategy for Gender Equality here.
CARE has a vision. We seek a world of hope, inclusion, and social justice where poverty has been overcome and all people live with dignity and security and we put women and girls in the center, at the heart, in all that we do. To learn more, watch the video.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
Women Farmers are Cultivating Equality and Economic Growth in Tanzania’s Tea Industry with support from the Her Money, Her Life program.
One year after the devastating Herat earthquakes, Afghan women continue to face significant challenges, including trauma and economic instability, despite some progress in rebuilding.
This Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) applies a gender lens to better highlight the specific needs, priorities, and barriers to services and life-saving assistance available to war-affected people in Ukraine.
The report outlines CARE's contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) between 2015 and 2024.
The unsung heroes of crisis, women are grossly overlooked when it comes to dialogue and decision-making. This report by CARE, based on a survey conducted since 2020, highlights women’s experiences in conflict and how their leadership is critical for surviving a crisis.
In FY2023, CARE worked around the world, contributing to saving lives, fighting poverty, and increasing social justice.
