Women’s Economic Security

Economic security is the ability to consistently meet essential needs for oneself and one’s family through quality jobs and dignified, decent work. To be economically secure means having a stable income or enough resources to support an adequate standard of living now, for the foreseeable future, and during times of economic crises. Across the world, women are far less likely to be economically secure than men.

Advancing women’s economic security is both a moral and a strategic imperative of U.S. foreign policy. Women’s meaningful economic participation is integral to achieving greater security and stability around the world. When women are economically secure, they invest in their families and communities, spurring economic growth and creating more stable societies. Advancing women’s economic security is critical to ensuring that all countries can meet their full economic potential and that women are able to fully, meaningfully, and equally contribute to, and benefit from, global prosperity.

The first-ever interagency U.S. Strategy on Global Women’s Economic Security advances four lines of effort that aim to create world in which every person has equitable opportunities for job placement, advancement, quality of life, and leadership:

• Promoting Economic Competitiveness through Well-Paying, Quality Jobs
• Advancing Care Infrastructure and Valuing Domestic Work
• Promoting Entrepreneurship and Financial and Digital Inclusion, Including through Trade and Investment
• Dismantling Systemic Barriers to Women’s Participation

Each of these lines of effort are interconnected, and policy and programmatic actions taken to advance women’s economic security through these efforts will be informed by women and girls’ overlapping and intersecting identities.

Following the Strategy’s launch in January 2023, implementing U.S. government departments and agencies are formulating individual action plans to carry out the Strategy. Implementation is informed by evidence-based, data-informed policy and program development, and involves local partnerships and collaboration across governments, with civil-society organizations, and with private sector partners.

The Office of Global Women’s Issues (S/GWI) also advances women’s economic security priorities and gender equality through our engagement in gender and other workstreams in multilateral fora such as the United Nations, G7, G20, OECD, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). By engaging in these bodies, S/GWI strives through diplomacy and dialogue in formal and informal settings to compel actions and commitments to advance women’s economic security domestically in member countries and/or globally.

The advances economic security for women and girls by increasing their access to resources, services, and leadership opportunities and by addressing the barriers that limit their ability to participate fully in the economy.  Please see the GEEA site for information on the Call for Proposals Process, POCs and resources that will support in the design and management of State programs funded through GEEA resources.

Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI)

Gender equality and equity is a key pillar of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI), which was launched on the margins of the 2022 G7. PGI, and specifically its gender pillar, invests in infrastructure that advances gender equity and equality, such as access to healthcare services, transformative care infrastructure, and gender-equitable climate solutions.

Invest in Childcare: This initiative by the World Bank aims to support countries to design and implement better childcare programs, improve policies, build capacity, generate data, and provide evidence on the impacts of childcare on women’s empowerment, early childhood development, and inclusive economic growth. The United States is investing in care infrastructure with a $50 million contribution over five years (subject to the availability of funds) to the Invest in Childcare initiative, which will expand access to quality childcare and early learning programs globally.

Women in the Digital Economy (WIDE):  This initiative launched by Vice President Harris brings together partners—including governments, the private sector, foundations, civil society and multilateral organizations—to close the gender digital divide and increase women’s economic opportunity through: advancing digital access and affordability, developing relevant products and tools, providing digital literacy and skills training, promoting online safety and security, and investing in sex-disaggregated data and research. The United States is investing $50 million in WIDE, with private sector and philanthropic commitments totaling $400 million.

Women in the Sustainable Economy (WISE): The U.S.-led WISE initiative is a public-private partnership that brings together governments, private sector companies, foundations, and civil society to bolster women’s economic opportunity globally by expanding access to employment, training, leadership roles, and financial resources in the industries critical to our future and the future of our planet—including energy, land, and water use and management. The United States has committed $441 million to WISE, with total investments reaching $1.4 billion.

Women’s Economic Security Councils

The Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues and Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs support public private partnerships (PPPs) to promote women’s entrepreneurship, employment and access to education in countries across South Asia.

To support Afghan women’s economic security inside Afghanistan and countries around the world, U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken launched the Alliance for Afghan Women’s Economic Resilience (AWER), a PPP between the State Department and Boston University, in September 2022 alongside leaders representing Afghan civil society and the private sector.  AWER catalyzes innovative and scalable collaborations between the private sector, civil society, academia, governments and Afghan women leaders in support of women and girls’ access to education, employment, and entrepreneurship.

The U.S.-India Alliance for Women’s Economic Empowerment (Alliance) was launched in India by Senior Official for Global Women’s Issues Katrina Fotovat and Indian Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Irani in March 2022. The U.S. India Alliance will advance three pillars: promote women in India’s corporate workforce, increase women and girls’ participation in STEM, and accelerate women entrepreneurs.  The Alliance is currently being reconstituted, and new anchor partners will be announced this Spring.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardardi celebrated the tenth anniversary of the U.S.-Pakistan Women’s Council (USPWC) in September 2022 at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. A PPP between Texas A&M and the State Department, the U.S.-Pakistan Women’s Council was launched in December 2012 by former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary R. Clinton and then Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States Sherry Rehman.  USPWC is focused on catalyzing private sector, civil- society, and government commitments to advance women’s economic empowerment in Pakistan. The Council consists of U.S. and Pakistani civil society and private sector entities, including major U.S. companies operating in Pakistan.

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