President’s FY23 budget requests $2.6 billion

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The White House today announced a landmark budget request of $2.6 billion to advance gender equality through U.S. foreign policy for FY23, the highest amount ever requested. The request doubles the administration’s budget request from last year and reverses a trend of declining investments in gender equality programs since 2014. The funds would go to support programs including those that advance women’s economic security and address gender-based violence globally.

“This historic funding request is the robust investment in gender equality that advocates have tirelessly worked to achieve for years,” said Gayatri Patel, vice president for external relations at the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC). “WRC applauds the Biden administration for taking this significant step forward in advancing the rights of women, girls, and other marginalized populations around the world.”

In October 2021, more than 60 organizations, including WRC, wrote to the administration asking for a significantly increased FY23 budget request for gender equality, noting that this would be an “investment not just in saving lives, but in building a system with wide-ranging impact for women and girls, communities, nations, and the global community as a whole.”

The funding will help the Biden administration meet commitments it has made to advance gender equality globally, including priorities highlighted in the U.S. National Strategy for Gender Equality and Equity released in October 2021.

The National Strategy — the first of its kind in the United States — lays out the U.S. government’s focus on issues such as addressing gender-based violence; meeting women’s and girls’ health needs and rights, including sexual and reproductive health; and overcoming barriers to economic equality and security.

“From Ukraine, to Afghanistan, to Ethiopia, we know that women, girls, persons with disabilities, and other marginalized populations face heightened risk of discrimination, violence, and economic instability, particularly in humanitarian crises,” said Patel. “The U.S. plays a critical role in turning the tide through its diplomacy and foreign assistance.”

She continued: “The Biden administration made a commitment to restore U.S. leadership on issues of gender equality and human rights. To do so requires both political will at the highest levels of the government and robust resources to put commitments into action. Today’s announcement takes us firmly in that direction.”

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