Reducing Poverty Through Growth

Fact Sheet

www.mcc.gov

MCC’s Commitment to Gender Equality

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) recognizes that gender inequality is a significant constraint to economic growth and poverty reduction. 

Consequently, MCC has committed itself to ensure that gender is considered 

in all stages of its work with partner countries. From the selection of eligible 

countries and development and design of its Compact programs, the assessment and implementation of projects funded by the Millennium Challenge 

Account (MCA), the monitoring of program results, and the evaluation of 

program impacts, gender equity plays an important role that has been recognized by the development community and counterparts worldwide. MCC’s 

groundbreaking Gender Policy lays out the MCC’s commitment to this important aspect of its work to reduce poverty through growth.

MCC’s Gender Policy

MCC supports the involvement of women in MCC-funded programs through 

a Gender Policy adopted in October 2006, developed through consultations 

within and outside the organization, and based on international best practices. 

A leading advocacy organization has called it “the best and most practical 

gender policy in the U.S. government,” and MCC has received considerable 

support from the NGO community and Congress for its Gender Policy and 

MCC’s attention to gender equality in the Lesotho compact.

MCC staff and country partners are working to assure that gender analysis both informs and improves the 

outcomes of all MCC-funded projects. While there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that the Gender Policy has 

made a difference in the way that new programs have been developed, MCC is also reviewing programs already 

being implemented to identify promising practices related to gender and to improve those that can be improved. 

The goal is to move forward to ensure that gender analysis becomes standard practice in our work with country 

partners and that women and men are able to fully participate and benefit from MCC investments. 

MCC Compacts and Threshold Programs are already supporting women through a variety of initiatives and 

investments:

“An organization such 

as MCC must have a 

policy that does 

more than define 

what it believes; 

the policy also must 

outline practical ways 

to ensure gender equity 

in our programs.” 

—Ambassador 

John Danilovich 

at the presentation 

of MCC’s 

Gender Policy, 

December 2006

April 11, 2008
Millennium Challenge Corporation

Fact Sheet: MCC’s Commitment to Gender Equality, April 11, 2008 2

Benin 

MCA-Benin is sponsoring training and is helping raising awareness in the design and implementation 

of the four Compact projects: Access to Markets, Access to Justice, Access to Land, and Access to 

Financial Services. The training was designed to increase understanding of the concept of gender, the approach 

to gender and the analysis of gender. For example, the discussion of Access to Land and Access to Financial 

Services highlighted the requirements to specifically notify women of the upcoming project and to provide 

special training to encourage and help women to participate. For these projects the goal is to ensure that women 

are full participants and can receive the benefits associated with obtaining land titles and receiving loans for 

microfinance projects.

Lesotho 

MCC worked with the Government of 

Lesotho to ensure that gender equality in 

economic rights was legally guaranteed before signing its Compact agreement. MCC is continuing its 

support for additional legal reform and is funding a 

training program and a public awareness campaign to 

strengthen women’s rights. The largest component 

of the $363 million Lesotho Compact is aimed at 

strengthening the delivery of essential health services, 

largely maternal and child health and HIV/AIDs prevention and treatment, through human resources investments and public and private health infrastructure 

improvements. In Lesotho, more women than men are 

infected with HIV/AIDS and at a younger age.

Madagascar 

In Madagascar, which has a $110 million 

Compact, the land and property rights 

project includes provisions for the joint titling of both 

husband and wife.

Women in Lesotho: Prior to the passage of the Married Persons 

Equality Act in December 2006, married women were considered 

a legal minor. MCC is continuing to work with the Government of 

Lesotho to assure gender equality in economic rights. In addition 

to assisting the government in policy reform, MCC is funding a 

training and a public awareness activity to make these new rights 

a reality.
Millennium Challenge Corporation

Fact Sheet: MCC’s Commitment to Gender Equality, April 11, 2008 3

Mali 

In Mali, which has a $461 

million Compact with 

MCC, women will have access to 

irrigated agricultural land in two 

ways: through the land allocation 

process that is coupled with land 

rights education and agricultural 

training efforts and through an allocation of market garden plots. Mali 

recognizes the rights of women to 

grow what they choose on these 

lots for home consumption or for 

sale at market.

Nicaragua 

In Nicaragua, which has 

a $175 million Compact, 

women from the Northwest region formed a council to represent the interests of women farmers. As a result, 

MCA-Nicaragua, the entity tasked with implementing the Compact, established a consultative council with 

female representatives to help shape the rural development and land titling components of the Compact. This 

consultative council continues to support implementation and monitoring of progress of the gender integration 

strategy.

Photo by Marc Tkach

Women in Mali.