Isabella Lövin, Minister for International Development Cooperation and Climate

Funds totalling SEK 1 billion ( about $118m) will be used to enhance gender equality for women and girls around the world.

This was decided by the Swedish government at its meeting on 12 April. It is the first time that the government has adopted a global thematic strategy for gender equality.

“We are making this investment at a time when gender equality work is meeting resistance in various places around the world. Activists and women’s organisations working for gender equality often face strong opposition in their fight for human rights. The opportunities to work independently are reduced when funding and democratic space shrink,” says Isabella Lövin, Minister for International Development Cooperation and Climate.

In 2018–2022, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) will be tasked with allocating the funds to initiatives in the area of gender equality. These may cover everything from strengthening normative frameworks for gender equality and increasing safety for organisations working with gender equality to better access to sex-disaggregated statistics. Under the strategy, Sida will work on innovative initiatives and with boys and men as actors for gender equality.

The Stockholm Forum on Gender Equality will be held on 15–17 April. It is being organized by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Swedish Institute, in cooperation with Sida and the Folke Bernadotte Academy. The event will take place at the Stockholm City Conference Centre.

Swedish Government