Call for Projects Equality between Women and Men

Call for Projects Equality between Women and Men

France's commitments in favor of gender equality
Equality between women and men is a priority for the French government. The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) carries this commitment internationally through its feminist diplomacy .

In its advocacy in international forums for equality between women and men, France strives to ensure that this objective is integrated into all foreign policy issues: reduction of inequalities and sustainable development, peace and security, defense and promotion of fundamental rights, climate and economic issues.

France has also committed to ensuring that by 2022, 50% of its official development assistance will be allocated to projects with gender equality as a significant or main objective.

Even today, women and girls are often more affected than men by poverty, conflict and climate change. They face difficulties and discrimination in all areas and in all countries, as the COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated with cruel acuity.

France considers women, in the same way as men, as actors in sustainable development and the proper functioning of societies or – in countries emerging from crisis – in peace negotiations and reconstruction. Their representation in all decision-making bodies must be guaranteed.

The achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and in particular SDG 5 on gender equality and the empowerment of women , respect for the fundamental rights of women as affirmed in the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (CEDAW-1979), are a French priority.

It is in this capacity that France co-chaired with Mexico in 2021 the Generation Equality Forum(FGE), organized by UN Women. Held online from June 30 to July 2, 2021, the FGE was the largest global feminist gathering since the 4th International Conference on Women, held under the auspices of the UN, in Beijing in 1995.

For 3 days, a digital platform hosted 100 events, gave the floor to nearly 650 speakers and more than 50,000 people were registered. French local authorities had their place there: they were strongly encouraged to get involved in coalitions of actors to carry out commitments or to organize specific local events which were labeled "FGE" and a specific conference was dedicated to the role of local governments in favor of gender equality.

The GEF ended with the announcement of bold commitments and the launch of a “Global Acceleration Plan for Gender Equality” , a five-year international action trajectory aimed at accelerating achieving gender equality by 2026, with nearly $40 billion in confirmed investments.

Decentralized cooperation as a lever for gender equality in the world
Local authorities around the world were on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating effects on our societies as well as our economies.

They were also at the forefront of witnessing the impact of this crisis on women and girls: it has exposed and accentuated the structural gender inequalities that exist in everything from health and the economy to security and social protection, illustrating how much the functioning of societies depends on the formal or informal work of women, whether on the front line, in the care professions in particular, or within the home.

The hard-won achievements in terms of women's rights are also under threat. The response to the pandemic is not only about rectifying long-standing inequalities, it is also about building a resilient world for the benefit of all , where women are at the center and help in recovery.

In this respect, local authorities around the world, as the level of proximity par excellence and in addition to the action of States, have an essential role to play. Decentralized cooperation is a tremendous lever for developing committed local public policies responding to the challenges of equality between women and men, by sharing experience and expertise.

Equality between women and men is a lever for the sustainable development of territories. The integration of gender equality objectives and the cross-cutting consideration of gender issues are real factors for the long-term success of projects, whatever they may be.

Acting for greater equality between women and men means working for the economic and social empowerment of women, decent living and working conditions, ensuring ensuring and strengthening access for women and girls education and vocational training, sexual and reproductive rights and health, and thus contribute to the economy and development of their territory, is to ensure that they take part in decisions and thereby participate in local democratic life in a full and complete way.

Actions to move towards equality must be multi-actor and multi-scalar. local authorities are key players.

Through its mission of supporting and advising French local authorities in their international action, the DAECT has a role to play in:

Recalling the essential consideration of the gender factor in decentralized cooperation projects;

Guaranteeing real involvement of communities for gender equality in their project proposals, going beyond merely symbolic measures.

This call for projects is an expression of France's commitments in favor of equality between women and men and feminist diplomacy supported by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

Its vocation is to support the joint commitment of French metropolitan and overseas local authorities and their counterparts abroad to make gender equality and the fight against gender-based violence a lever for development. sustainable territories and participate in the fight against global inequalities in this area.

Issues and objectives

This call for projects aims to:

Support international partnerships between communities and the development of actions aimed at achieving equality between women and men at the local level;

Highlight equality between women and men as a factor in the development of territories and the implementation of the SDGs;

Maintain the momentum and the level of collective commitment made during the FGE in favor of equality between women and men;

Promoting French territorial expertise in matters of equality between women and men.

Its ambition is to support projects corresponding to a level of commitment of “gender markers 2” according to the OECD classification, ie projects dedicated to equality between women and men.

How to Apply

For more information and job application details, see; Call for Projects Equality between Women and Men