European Year for Development 2015 : women and girls.
Date: 2016-06-17
Institutions: Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development
Subjects: children's rights, development policy, gender equality, position of women, public awareness campaign

2015
European Year
for Development

Women and girls

The year 2015 is a landmark for international aid and 
development cooperation as the millennium development 
goals (MDGs) come to their conclusion. Based on these, 
the world will come together to agree on a new course 
of action and a post-2015 development agenda. Each 
month, the EYD2015 is focusing on a different development 
theme to raise awareness of the benefits of the EU’s 
development cooperation in that field and to encourage 
direct involvement, critical thinking and active interest of 
EU citizens.

MARCH, THE MONTH OF WOMEN AND GIRLS 

It is widely acknowledged that gender equality is not 
only crucial in itself but is a fundamental human right and 
a question of social justice. Furthermore, gender equality 
is essential for growth and poverty reduction, and it is key 
to reaching the MDGs.

Women are at the centre of sustainable social and 
economic development, poverty reduction and 
environmental protection. It is estimated that 
empowering women would, among other things, 
increase global GDP by nearly 12 % by 2030 (an increase 
of USD 8.2 trillion).

When women and girls have equal access to education, 
and go on to participate fully in business and economic 
decision-making, they are a key driving force against 
poverty. Women with equal rights are better educated, 
healthier and have greater access to land, jobs and 
financial resources. Their increased earning power in 
turn raises household incomes. By enhancing women’s 
control over decision-making in the household, gender 
equality also translates into better prospects and 
greater well-being of children, reducing poverty of 
future generations.

Almost all Europeans (94 %) agree that equality 
between men and women is a fundamental right. A 
large majority of EU citizens (76 %) believe that tackling 
inequality between women and men should be a 
priority for the EU.

EU AND WOMEN AND GIRLS

Recognising that empowering women can significantly reduce 
poverty through increased production, rising household 
incomes and improved child health and education levels, the 
EU firmly supports gender equality and empowerment of 
women worldwide.

our world
our dignity
our future

EYD2015 AND WOMEN AND GIRLS
Visit the official EYD2015 website   
https://europa.eu/eyd2015/ and find out more 
about events, initiatives and activities organized 
by EYD partners. 

THE EU, THROUGH ITS INTERNATIONAL 
DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION, WORKS 
COLLABORATIVELY TO:

 ■ include gender equality in planning, budgeting, 

and policymaking processes in a meaningful way; 
 ■ promote women’s and girls’ economic rights and 

opportunities;

 ■ address the gender dimensions of HIV and AIDS; 
 ■ strengthen the collection and analysis of sex-

disaggregated data;

 ■ ensure that essential public services like health 

and education benefit women, men, girls and boys 
equitably.

EYD2015 — WOMEN AND GIRLS

The EU formally committed to promote these values in 2000 
when it joined 189 world leaders in a pledge to achieve the 
eight MDGs by 2015 at the United Nations Millennium Summit. 
The third MDG is: Promote gender equality and empower 
women. 

Various projects and programmes supported by the European 
Commission and the EU Member States have contributed to 
supporting greater gender equality. 

THEMATIC MONTHS

Each month during the campaign will focus on a different 
theme involved in development around the world.

M
N

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A
O
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5
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3
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E
N

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January 

EUROPE IN THE WORLD

February 

EDUCATION

March 

WOMEN AND GIRLS

The EU is striving to meet its gender equality targets by 2015 
but, in recognition that further advances still need to be made, 
the EU is currently involved in global discussions on a new 
development agenda. 

April 

May 

June 

HEALTH

PEACE AND SECURITY

 SUSTAINABLE GREEN GROWTH,  
DECENT JOBS, BUSINESSES

The new sustainable development goals to be agreed at the 
United Nations must include strong commitments on gender 

FACTS & FIGURES

Thanks to European Union support:
•  enrolment in primary education rose from 80 % 
to 90 %; equivalent to 13.7 million new pupils, 
half of them girls between 1990 and 2011;
•  300 000 new female students enrolled in 

secondary education between 2004 and 2012; 
•  12 994 female students have enrolled in Erasmus 
Mundus and other student mobility schemes 
since 2004;

•  736 civil society organisations working on 

gender equality were supported since 2004.

As a concrete example of the EU’s direct assistance, 
women were helped in 60 rural villages by 
addressing the basic food needs and the negative 
effects of volatile food prices, across four districts 
in the Shinyanga region of Tanzania through the 
Food Facility. Support was given to help at least 
10 000 smallholder women farmers.

July 

CHILDREN AND YOUTH

August 

HUMANITARIAN AID

September  DEMOGRAPHY AND MIGRATION 

October 

FOOD SECURITY

November 

 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT  
AND CLIMATE ACTION 

December  HUMAN RIGHTS AND GOVERNANCE

equality. The EU will keep on working hard to have gender 
equality both as a stand-alone goal and as a key element for 
the achievement of all the other goals. In practical terms, this 
means ensuring that girls and women have full and equal 
access to education, healthcare, sanitation and employment 
possibilities and do not suffer from discrimination, whether 
it be institutionalised or derived from the traditional role of 
women in their cultures and societies.

SPREAD  
THE  
WORD!

Join the EYD2015 campaign online!
Join the EYD2015 campaign online! Stay up to date with 
information and news on the official campaign website, 
join the conversation on Twitter (#EYD2015) and have your 
say on Facebook.

Infographics, online banners, campaign trailers and 
more materials can be downloaded from the EYD2015 
website. You can also join the group ‘European Year for 
Development 2015’ on capacity4dev.eu to join the debate 
and get the latest news.

To get more involved, you can join us at events across the 
EU, as well as spreading the impact of the campaign by  
co-branding with the EYD2015.

europa.eu/eyd2015

facebook.com/EuropeanYearForDevelopment2015
 @EYD2015 
#EYD2015